Replies

1. 
   Ralph_Wicklund | Oct 11, 2001 07:09am | #1

   *
   You could ask him if the difficulty is caused by a lack of skill on his or his employees or subs part. Or you could forego the snide remark and ask him to please take the time to fit to the round columns because that is what you REALLY want on YOUR new porch.

1. 
   piffin_ | Oct 11, 2001 07:28am | #2

   *If he finds that hard, how will he ever manage to run the fascia straight, lay out the stair stringers, and hang the doors plumb?He needs to take a scrap of ___________(I use metal flashing) and make it the width of the rail as a pattern. He can use some snips to make adjustments to shave it to fit the curve of the column until it's perfect. One pattern works for the whole porch. Then he needs to use this new fangled little old tool called a jig saw. It will cut curves in wood - but only after he puts a blade in it.Sorry for the faceciousness(sp) but it is unbelievable that a man calling himself a builder would shy away from a task like this that will add so much to your satisfaction, the appearance of the finished product, and his own reputation. It is really not that hard if he has basic carpentry skills. If he is really afraid to tackle this, I wopuld be afraid od where else he is inadequate to the task.If the columns are composite material he needs to mount the rails using little 'L' brackets and predrill for the screws to attach. I also use PL Premium polyurethene glue. The reason for predrilling is to avoid cracking the material and ruining the column. It's all in the instructions that come with the product. But then, some people only read the instructions to find out what went wrong and figure out how to cover their tracks.

1. 
   SHGLaw | Oct 11, 2001 11:13am | #3

   *You're not missing anything. It's no big deal. And if the house should have round columns, than insist that you want round columns and don't let anybody tell you that it's a problem. It just isn't a big deal.Jig saw Piffin? You think all carps have the talent to use one of those fancy machines?

1. 
   Keith_C | Oct 11, 2001 12:59pm | #4

   *What if they are round fluted columns? Can you say "SILICON"?

1. 
   Jeff_Clarke_ | Oct 11, 2001 02:00pm | #5

   *Hello Steve -Well, I've been there and done that many times - the difficulty is not really in execution but in getting the artistic effect to be 'correct.'Two examples:(1) If it is a proper column, it has a base and torus. Depending on the size of the column, the bottom member of the railing may interfere with the base and torus or be forced to join them at an awkward height. Moving the bottom rail up to join the shaft of the column may produce an unnaturally wide gap at the bottom of the rail. This needs to be planned out. The upper member of the railing may be longer than the bottom member also (due to the entasis of the column at that point, if any, and any base projection).(2) The need to join a railing to a round column at or near the centerline of the column reduces the flexibility that you might have with a square column. For instance, with a 10" diameter round, by the time you have allowed for the 13" square base (typical) and a little space back from the edge of the deck, your centerline might be back 7-1/2". You will lose some space on the deck and show more deck to the outside edge than you might want. Again, it depends on the size of the column. I have set railings off center, pushed forward on the column, but if your top rail member is very wide it will tend to wrap around the column before long.To answer your question, a bit more planning is called for, but the technical difficulty of attachment is not usually an issue.JeffPS - Make sure that you i ventthose columns, if wood.

2. 
   Phill_Giles | Oct 12, 2001 10:33pm | #6

   *For "fluted", we've been letting the railing into the column. Is this not okay ? We cut a deeper relief on one side so that we have clearance to put a shallow side in opposite it, then bottom the shallow side and let the deep side find its own level.

3. 
   Theodora_D. | Oct 12, 2001 11:08pm | #7

   *If you really want to get fussy, it's probably historically incorrect to attach railings to a fluted column, but Phill is right on how to do it. But that is hardly even the point here. For Heaven's sake I think even "I" could do what you're asking. Fluted or not! Someone is being very lazy here. You insist on what you want.i "I'm sorry, President Thomas Jefferson, but we can't possibly figure out how to build a building here in America that looks like one of those Palladian thingies, it's just too dificult."

4. 
   piffin_ | Oct 13, 2001 01:30am | #8

   *Keith, Your painters must love you for ruining their paint job. Try painters caulk or bondo filler or even a tight accurate cut/fit

5. 
   Keith_C | Oct 13, 2001 04:51am | #9

   *Don't fret.. I don't use silicon. But, when the contract doesn't call for railings, and someone wants them, then they BETTER be prepared for the extra bill for doing it right. I would charge at least an 8 hour day for doing the fussy stuff on fluted columns. These are the "little things" that can break a budget and wreck a good relationship.

6. 
   jim_"crazy_legs"_blodg | Oct 13, 2001 04:58am | #10

   *Unless they're cathedral columns.

7. 
   piffin_ | Oct 13, 2001 06:55am | #11

   *Keith, Sure thing! Extras are extras and the money is extra too but the openning line here is that the owner planned round, not changed to round and the builders excuse is the degree of difficulty that he wants to get out of.

8. 
   FredB | Oct 13, 2001 07:23pm | #12

   *I'm joining the chorus telling you to find another contractor. This guy isn't even up to minimal do it yourself standards. Kick him off your property before he hurts himself with his hammer and sues you for it.

9. 
   phil_eves | Oct 14, 2001 05:10pm | #13

   *SILICONE,not silicon.Silicon is for microchips and sand, silicone is for gap filling (not paint grade), and large chests (wood or otherwise).

10. 
    Mark_McDonnell | Oct 14, 2001 05:18pm | #14

    *Jeez, can the idiot already.....This contractor (that's pushin it!) is a waste of time!

11. 
    Rich_Watkins | Oct 15, 2001 06:18pm | #15

    *tape, profile jig, pencil. jig saw. the end

12. 
    Jeff_Clarke_ | Oct 15, 2001 06:42pm | #16

    *... and most cathedral columns that I've seen are stone anyway.

2. 
   Steve_Parham | Oct 15, 2001 06:42pm | #17

   *
   Hi!

   I'm having a front porch built and planned to use round columns. The builder recommends against the round columns, saying it is difficult to attach the railing to the column.

   It seems to me it is just a matter of getting the curve of the column, transferring that to the rails and cutting it to fit. I realize it would not be as easy as fitting the railing to a square column and I realize that it will take a little more work to get the fit right, but it doesn't seem like THAT big of a deal. Am I missing something here?

   Thanks for your help!
   Steve