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Removing Scalloped Porch Trim & Fixing Porch Columns

We’ve been talking about streamlining (buh-bye scallop) and beefing up the porch (namely those columns) ever since we moved in back in 2010. And it’s finally warming up enough for us to tackle an outdoor project after a long winter – seriously, we were still getting snow a few weeks ago.

Porch 2 Before House Close

Most of the ranches in our neighborhood either have chunky square columns or a more traditional colonial style. We prefer the former, but inherited the latter. Along with a curved scallop header that isn’t exactly our style either.

Porch 3 Before Columns Close

Our first house had an issue with a scalloped header too, which Sherry tackled back in 2008 (one of her most exhausting projects to date – which she recounts here). She ran into some challenges when some metal flashing didn’t want to give up the ghost – and thanks to the fact that she wasn’t quite tall enough to make the task easy (she did this by herself as a surprise for me while I was at work one day). But we loved the more updated, clean-lined look that it gave our first house. So it was finally time to get on it here…

Porch Last House

Of course this porch is a whole new beast (no metal flashing, a lot more wood trim and stuff to deal with, and columns that we’ll be altering this time). So before we started hammering away at things, I ran a utility knife across the seams to “encourage” the paint the break in the right spot – not crack, peel or flake off in areas that we didn’t want it to. This is always a good idea before demoing surfaces that have been painted together – especially with lots of thick layers of exterior paint.

Porch 4 Slicing Paint

I was fully prepared for our demo process to be exhausting, considering the horror stories that Sherry told me about her last attempt at scallops, so I was cautiously optimistic when a few whacks with a rubber mallet easily loosened the scalloped header while Sherry watched with bated breath.

Porch 5 Malleting Scallop

Thankfully, once things were loose, we were able to quickly pry that part of the curved scallop off with a crowbar.

Porch 6 Prying Scallop

Not too pretty looking yet, but at least the demo wasn’t too bad:

Porch 7 Halfway Done

The combo of not having metal flashing to contend with AND my height being available (along with 4 hands, which are always better than 2) helped things work in our favor for sure this time. Soon enough all of the scallops were gone and we were already feeling better about things. Now we just had to put a new straight header (along with those boxed our columns) together.

Porch 8 All Demod

We started off by nailing and gluing a simple pre-primed piece of 1 x 3″ pine where the scallops had been. Curvy header out. Crisp, straight header in.

Porch 9 New Thin Header

That was the easy (slash boring) part. This is where the fun began – boxing out the columns.

Porch 10 Starting To Box Out

Rather than go through the trouble of removing the existing columns, we decided to achieve our more modern, chunky square column look by just “boxing” them in on all sides with some pre-primed pine boards – which is faster and easier (not to mention cheaper). Our columns were a few inches shy of 8 feet tall, so we had to trim each board first (thanks circular saw!).

Porch Cutting

Here you can see what one column looks like with two sides of the box added. Our columns were exactly as wide as a 1 x 6″ board (we will now pause to thank the home improvement gods for that awesome discovery) so it didn’t require any additional cutting besides trimming the length, as shown above.

Porch 11 Cross Section

We attached them with some heavy duty wood glue followed by a few 2″ nails into the bottom and top (where the new boards rested flat against the square part of the old columns). We also added a few screws to keep them extra secure for the long haul.

Porch 12 Nailing Base

Since adding those two 1 x 6″ boards essentially made our columns wider, we had to use 1 x 8″ boards for the other two sides. That sounds confusing, but it made them end up as 8″ x 8″ squares since the sides of the boards overlapped (this very rough Sherry-sketch should hopefully make sense of the overlapping concept that I’m trying to explain).

Boxing Columns Sketch

Well, actually they’re around 7.5″ square since 8″ boards are never really 8″ (they’re more like 7.5″ wide). But you get the idea.

As for physically boxing the columns out, two things really helped: our nail gun, and Sherry’s hands. Obviously the nail gun made things go faster and this whole project is ideally a two person job (although once we had things secured in a few places Sherry could step back and snap some fantastic photos like this one).

Porch Nailing Front

The process actually went fairly fast, just not fast enough for us to finish before Clara came home from her afternoon with Grammy & Tom Tom. So our progress got cut short a bit – but you can at least see where we’re headed. Oh but see how the header looks a little thin compared to the newly boxed out columns? We have plans to beef that up under the roofline so it’s nice and balanced. Stay tuned…

Porch 14 Halfway There

So here’s our remaining to-do list:

  • get that last column boxed in
  • add a chunkier header piece to visually balance the columns
  • get all of  those seams caulked (don’t want any moisture getting in there)
  • paint everything so it’s seamless

So we hope to be back with some true before and afters once we knock those things out. In the meantime, you can also check out this little loot-related craft that Sherry whipped up for Clara (and Will Bower) over on Young House Life.

Money 2

Anyone else moving on to outdoor projects finally? What’s on your spring DIY agenda? New flower beds? A patio upgrade? Mulch galore? Or are you making fake money? Be careful that it’s not too realistic (don’t wanna end up in trouble…).

Comments

  3. Henna | HENNA BLOSSOM BLOG says

    This is one of those projects that would bother me but I might never get to. So smart though to tackle it since it’s the first thing you see every time you see your house.

    But then again, I’m crazy and I DO think of things like cutting into our house and adding more window (yep, already done two)…but we live in a 100 year old home and while I love character, I also need LIGHT! :)

    Looking forward to seeing your porch all finished off! Always an inspiration! :)

    Reply

  8. Susan Hines says

    That looks so good! We have a huge pergola out back that my husband built 5 years ago. He used wooden trellis on top for more shade for me. This year we have to replace the wooden trellis that isn’t holding up well and replace part of it with opaque roofing stuff (?) that will allow us a rain free area over part of the patio and the dog door. I can’t wait!

    Reply

  9. Ellen says

    Do you have any plans to paint the exterior of the house now that you’ve added crisp white in the form of the columns and header? The paint behind it is a bit creamier…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, the columns and the header will be painted to match the rest of the house (it’s on the to-do list once we’re done and it’s all caulked). It’s too much work to repaint the entire house (the whole back of the house is that color and much of the sides) so we don’t mind it too much :)

      xo
      s

    • Meagan {Green Motherhood} says

      I was wondering the same thing! I recall some gray test paint on the porch over a year ago (memory like a steel trap!) and always wondered what y’all decided to do. The gray would have been neat to see, but yes! A huge undertaking.

  10. Courtney @ FamilyGoneHealthy says

    We have a small porch but spend a lot of time sitting out there. This week we have to finish mulching the flower beds and herb gardens and then fertilize the grass. So many outdoor tasks but at least the weather is beautiful here in NC!

    Reply

  12. Casey says

    I would love to get working on outdoor projects or projects that need to be done outside… but our lovely Minnesota weather just dumped more snow overnight. Hopefully it melts fast and warms up. The cold weather makes things as simple as spray painting difficult…

    Reply

    • Catherine says

      I am in MN too and looking forward to seeing this last lot of snow melt and some warmer temps so I can GET OUTSIDE. I really don’t like the heat of summer but I could do with some warmth right about now.

  15. Shannon says

    It is amazing what a difference that makes! I am going to do some planting tonight and get the porch going! Spring Fever!

    Reply

  19. Teresa @ wherelovemeetslife says

    Love the changes!

    I am tackling the flower beds this spring. I tried to do a full, lots of flowers and plants thing..but I just don’t care for it. So I am diggin up and de-cluttering my flower beds :) One hydrangea (that I have worked hard to keep alive) and some hostas may be all that remains. I have a bunch of hyacinths that I want to move indoors so we can enjoy that wonderful fragrance!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We can’t make them boxier on the bottom or they’ll overlap the foundation of the porch in a weird way, so we’re happy with the straight chunky look (many other ranches in our neighborhood are sporting the same look). As for the railings, we’re just afraid it’ll close it in, and it’s not very high at all (Clara jumps off the side if that illustrates how low it is).

      xo
      s

  21. JenB says

    I wouldn’t have thought that getting rid of the small arches and boxing in the posts would make such a difference. Wow! It really does!

    We have more of a front “stoop” with black metal railing about 4′ X 5′ or 5′ X 6′ (I’m terrible at guessing that kind of thing. But it’s so 70s or maybe 50s? I keep trolling the net looking for ways to make it over. No clue.

    Reply

    • Lisa in Seattle says

      Jen, we have the same thing (late 60s for us) and I haven’t found any good inspiration either. Nobody in our neighborhood has successfully upped the wow factor. I get so jealous of people who can decorate their porches for various holidays. We don’t even have an overhang!

    • Laura says

      Can you change out the railing? I had a rusty, dated railing that I had a local railing company replace with an updated, bronze finished railing that I love…its not something I could have done myself. Mine was about $250 for a handrail with spindles underneath along 3-4 steps. The company I used specializes in railings…for porches, decks, etc, and is the only supplier for many local builders. If that isn’t an option, I wonder if you could spray paint it?

  22. Sandra says

    I love the new columns. The old columns look like they would be a catcher of all things allergic since the pollen could easily collect on the ridges. Pollen season has started early in Georgia, so I am a little obsessed with ways to reduce the collection of it. :)

    Reply

  24. Victoria • Restoring our 1890 Victorian says

    After three years, we finally restored our (rotting) old-house, front-porch last summer… we had put things like working bathroom ahead of it… but after we were done, we realized we should have made it the first project… it’s so nice to drive up and not mistake our house for a crack den. (It was really bad)

    p.s.- reading your post from yesterday about time management… I find it incomprehensible how you do seven posts a week. AND the projects behind them. Literally… I cannot imagine it.

    Reply

  25. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    Looking so much better already!

    We’ve been wanting to clad our lone front porch column since we moved into the Little House (you can see it here in our April Fool’s post). It’s that old curly wrought iron and just not our style. Do you think we could clad it even though it’s not wood? Maybe with brackets?

    Reply

  26. Allison says

    I wish we could get outside, but here in MN we got a rain/snow mix last night (thundersnow!) and it looks like more to come today! *sigh, where is spring! At least I can live vicariously through you both, so keep up the good work, it’s looking great!

    Reply

  27. Elizabeth @ Southern Color says

    I love how boxing in the posts completely modernizes the porch. Living in an apartment there’s not much I can do to my patio, but I hope to at least add some fresh potted plants. Looking forward to seeing pics of your finished porch!

    Reply

  28. Micha says

    Wow, that a difference! Your porch just grew an inch in height (visually and in self-confidence, I think).

    Well, the plan is to paint the exterior of our house this year and add a fence to the front yard. We’ll see how much we get done *L*

    Reply

  29. Melinda says

    You guys are amazing! Small changes make such a BIG difference!

    Ok – so I want you to come to Maine, make a list of all the things I need to fix in my house and then directions on how to do it. K? thanks. We’ll pay you in lobster and beer :)

    AMAZING!

    Reply

  30. Wendi S says

    Are you guys considering shutters for your big picture window? We bought our home last year and the front is very similar to yours and I’m wondering how to beef up the windows.

    We also have a brick pony wall lining the outside edge of the porch with flower boxes inside of it (kind of hard to explain) that had overgrown ranunculus in them and we want to tear that out before the end of the summer. I wish the porch overhang extended out a bit more so we can make the porch wider without it looking wonky. If you have any suggestions that would be great!

    PS I think we have the same porch light!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I bet shutters would be awesome for that window. We would want them to match the rest, so we might see if we can find some (and give up if we can’t since we don’t want to replace them all, haha!). Hmm, as for extending the porch, can you build long wide steps or something on that side to visually extend it and somehow make it feel integrated?

      xo
      s

  31. Reenie says

    WOW… just knocking off that lil scallop opened it up so much more. Can’t wait to see the finished thing :)

    Reply

  33. jenn aka the picky girl says

    I’ve wanted to do this exact thing for ages. I just really don’t like the colonial columns. But here’s the thing – my neighbor used to own my house, and when I mentioned boxing in the columns, he seemed upset. He talked about having to replace one and how expensive it was (our houses are over 100 years old) and about how much work he had done on the house. Now I feel like I *can’t* do it. And I hate that, but I also want to keep friendly with the natives. :)

    I can hear you guys chanting: Do it anyway…Do it anyway…

    Reply

    • Angel says

      If you do it like J&S, looks like if someone in the future wanted to pry the wood off and have the old columns, they could. Also, if you didnt do it that way, you could always offer to take down the old columns carefully and give them to the neighbor, to sell or something. Or sell them yourself on craigslist!

      I would hate living next to the person who used to own my house! Makes me think of that show “Moving Up” where people tour their old houses after the new person moves in and makes changes. Its so funny how crabby some people get! But, also, I get it. My grandma hand painted a mural in my old house and I would die if I saw the new owners painted over it (which, I’m sure they have).

      The circle of life, house style!

  35. Nora Rose says

    How do plain painted pieces of wood hold up outdoors? Not really familiar with using anything but pressure treated outside. I’m sure you guys have done more research so I’d love to know!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      As long as they’re primed and painted with exterior paint (and all of the cracks are caulked) they’re great! We used the same method when we rebuilt the porch header in our first house in 2008 and it still looks great (we drive by it and stare, haha).

      xo
      s

  37. Cat Johnsen says

    I literally woke up this morning to a gorgeous sunny day up here in New York and thought “man, John and Sherry better get on boxing those porch columns out before it gets too hot outside!” Great progress and can’t wait to see the finished product :)

    Reply

  39. Sadie says

    Looking good! We woke up to snow in Minneapolis, so no outdoor projects in the immediate future here. Boo, snow!

    Reply

    • cindy says

      Sadie, the snow hasn’t started up here yet and I have a porch needing similar destruction /construction. Just a quick 45 minute drive from downtown and you could be hard at work. ;-)

  42. Katie DeYoung says

    So awesome! You guys make everything look so easy! I can’t wait to get outside and work on yard and exterior projects. We have some new window boxes to hang! Yippee! :)

    Reply

  43. Karen says

    This may sound silly to you, but I’m not very good at visualizing things–is there a rule of thumb you use for balancing things or does this just come naturally to you two?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I honestly think that our best method is trial and error. We put up the small header and boxed out those two columns and stepped back and said “a slightly beefier header would balance them more” so that’s where we’re headed. There’s lots of course correcting! But I definitely think the best way to visualize something is to do it, and step back, and see what you think as you go :)

      xo
      s

  45. Emily says

    The progress looks great, guys! We would love to be starting on outdoor projects, like planting our new garden and removing an old sandbox, but it’s snowing here in Minnesota still! Can’t wait for spring to finally get here!

    Reply

  47. Annelies says

    Such a different view without the scallops ! And yeah for the sun to come out !
    Will you be making a fence around the porch as well as was in your old house? And is there any improvement foreseen for the porch stairs?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We don’t want to add a railing since this porch is lower to the ground and we think it’ll close it in (we love the openness) – and as for the stairs, if I had my way they’d run the whole length of the porch (I love wiiiide brick steps) but for now that’s not in the budget :)

      xo
      s

  48. Sarah says

    Wow what a difference! I absolutely can’t wait to get outside and start working on my long list of exterior projects! If only this whole rain/snow/hail/freezing rain situation we’re currently experiencing would get lost!!

    Reply

  49. Parke says

    Are y’all planning on painting the house’s siding? I can’t remember if you mentioned that at some point

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We wanted to paint just the porch siding gray about a year ago but over time we realized it might look strange since the cream siding is on the sides and almost the entire back of our house (and that’s too much painting to bite off right now, haha) so it has grown on us! We’re hoping other curb appeal updates like the columns and our big carport project will freshen things up that way instead :)

      xo
      s

  50. Erin says

    Ahh, spring. What a wonderful word! Here in New England, it’s been long awaited. We finished building our new construction home in September so we can hardly wait to get our hands on our blank slate of a backyard! We’ve already started putting together a fire pit made from cobblestones. Summer nights here we come!

    Reply

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