Cedar VS Pressure treated porch posts

11 years ago

When we built our house, the contractor put in cheap 4x4 porch posts to hold the roof up. The porch is about 50' long x 5' wide concrete. It has 5 of these small 4 x 4 x 8 posts that are clearly visible from the street. It's always bothered me that these things look like toothpicks compared to the size of our house lol.

This weekend I'm going to wrap these 4x4's with wood to make them essentially 8" x 8" square to really beef them up. Then also add trim pieces at the bottom/top. My question is do I use pressure treated or cedar?

I'm reading that pressure treated may warp/split after awhile.
I'm also reading that cedar doesn't allow paint to stick that easily and will peal because cedar constantly expands/contracts. These posts will be primed then painted white.

Cedar is also double the price. I don't mind paying more for a better quality product, but if the paint is going to peal every year I think it'll end up looking worse than a split board hear or there.

They will be exposed to the elements believe it or not, each time it rains/snows the first couple feet of the porch gets wet thanks to the wind.

Featured Answer

ricksample
Original Author

11 years ago

Alright I've decided against wood for this... I'd hate to have it crack/splinter down the road. If I go with PVC material it should only cost an extra $700 with a lifetime warranty compared to repainting every few years and/or replacing boards.

I'm not sure about Azek... our local home depot sells 12" panels... by the time you buy all the panels and the trim pieces we're at around $250 per column. Plus I would have to cut each piece, do the miter cuts on the bases/tops, then glue/nail everything together. From what I can tell Azek only sells column wraps in 8" square... I need 10 or 12"

I did find another company with great reviews... fypon column wraps. There 10" round size comes out to around $210 each shipping included. There 12" round size comes out to around $240 each shipping included.

It's a little more than wood... but I talked to the wife last night and we would rather pay a little more for something that looks great than something we're going to have to keep up with each year.

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Comments (8)

millworkman
11 years ago
Get Azek trim, pressure treated will need ti wait probabky 6 months minimum to paint
ricksample
Original Author
11 years ago
I was looking at that, but it was a little out of budget. I think I'm going to go with pressure treated only because I've decided to make them wider. I had a piece of scrap 8" board at home and I held it up... I couldn't really notice a difference from the street. There was some difference... but not the WOW factor.

I'm debating on going with making these posts 10"x10" or 12"x12". But unfortunately being pressure treated I can only get these in 2" wide instead of 1" wide boards. But on the plus side, they may not warp as easy once they're all nailed/glued together.

Here's some with a 12x12 posts... it really has a good wow factor... just hope they aren't to large for my house
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millworkman
11 years ago
I should have expanded more than I did on my quick response last evening. Pressure treated wood is Southern Yellow Pine and in my opinion mediocre at best for finish or trim work. I would definitely rethink your choice.
millworkman
11 years ago
Good choice......
houses14
11 years ago
Would it work for back deck posts as well?

Thanks
Jennette Home
6 years ago
glad you were changing the "toothpicks". That always bugs me too. Some builders get away with so much junk. :(
Jennette Home
6 years ago
Also...how has your work/posts held up & what did you go with?