Repairing Historic Fluted Wood Porch Columns

Repaired & restored fluted columns on a greek revival home. Hamilton, NY.

Opening the columns revealed carpenter ants. Moisture was suspected to have contributed to the deterioration and conditions favorable to nesting; the source of moisture was addressed through a separate project. The affected areas were left exposed to air out, and the homeowner hired a pest control specialist to treat the area before our column repairs continued.

Our team then fabricated replacement lower shaft sections in cedar, recreating the existing fluting—the vertical grooves that give the columns their distinctive appearance.

Before the repairs.

Deterioration at the foot of a historic porch column does not always require replacing the entire column. At this Hamilton, New York, home, our team repaired the damaged lower sections of two fluted wood columns while retaining their upper portions.

We first installed temporary shoring to support the porch roof during the repairs. With that support in place, we cut away the deteriorated lower sections of the column shafts.

The repair retained much of each existing column while restoring the detailing of the damaged sections. It reflects our approach to older homes: investigate the condition, retain serviceable material, and carefully reproduce the features that need replacement.

C. Cooper Construction works on historic and older homes throughout Central New York, including Clinton, New Hartford, and Hamilton. Learn more about our historic restoration work.