Decorative Concrete or Stone work is expensive and looks great but it's always disheartening when customers call us with rotted columns that were prematurely rotted as a result of being encased in stone or concrete.
Firstly, concrete and wood do not get along very well, the concrete will begin to rot the wood after it has been installed around the base, this then creates a pool where water sits and collects over time. The water then begins to wick up the wood columns, rotting the columns which then invites Carpenter Ants to eat at the columns and potentially move into your support beams above. The pooling water will also freeze over the winter and further damage the columns, not to mention the damage that the expanding ice is doing to your very expensive concrete, the picture above shows cracking to both the stone and mortar, this is a result of the ice expanding and contracting over the course of years.
Our answer to this issue is to remove the existing column, clean out the rotted wood base from the surrounding concrete and fill the hole with new concrete. By filling with new concrete, we solve many issues, there is no longer a pool for the water to collect and damage your decorative concrete and it provides a solid foundation for us to install the new columns onto. The new concrete will always be a different colour from the existing due to it being new, however, our fibreglass column bases will cover up the new concrete, no-one will ever know the difference once we are done.
If this is what your columns look like and you don't know what to do, call or email us to find out how we can help you.
Decorative Concrete and Stone will often prematurely rot the base of your wood columns by creating an area where water will pool. The pooling water will freeze and wick up the column over time.
We take out the existing rotted column and clean out the hole left by the removal. We then fill the hole with new concrete to the height of the surrounding concrete or stone.
Once the concrete has hardened, we install your new columns over the new concrete backfill. This offers a solid foundation to fasten to and fills the "Pool" which helps prevent damage to your expensive concrete in the future.
Exterior Porch Column Replacement and installation of Fiberglass Columns including Round and Square servicing Toronto, GTA, Scarborough, Markham, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Woodbridge, Brampton, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Guelph, Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Grimsby, Lincoln, St Catharines, Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake.
Interior Column Installation and Replacement
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