Porch Rails and Balusters

[SHADOWFOX]

The rails and baluster on our porch is rotting and I am planning to re-do the entire porch railing and balusters.. The current rails and balusters are painted white and I wanted to know if I should use cedar, pressure treated, or composite type material. If I buy pressure treated lumber can I paint it right away or should I buy regular untreated lumber and prime and paint it? I'll take pictures of the current porch rails and balusters tomorrow so I can better show you what I am trying to work on. There are a total of 35 balusters that needed to be replace.

[LinuxRandal]

When I replaced my porch floor and raillings, I was advised to use cca for the floor, and then regular wood, for the painted raillings. From what I have seen, most of the jobs didn't stick when paint was applied to presure treated lumber.

[crokett]

Chris,

You can paint pressure treated, you just have to wait for it to dry out. I put some lattice walls in our carport. The framing is pressure treated painted white. That was done a year ago and the paint is holding fine - I just let the wood dry thoroughly first.

[SHADOWFOX]

How long do you have to wait before painting the PT lumber? The reason why I ask is I cannot install an unpainted lumber because the association is very particular when it comes to exterior stuff on the house.. One of the neighbors painted his trim outside the house, to add some color and it looked nice but the association still sent him a notice to paint it white or he will get fined. Would I be better off using regular lumber and priming and painting it, if I have to have it painted white? I was thinking of using the plastic PVC ones but they just look so cheap and ugly so I think I am staying with wood.. I was also looking at composite type material but not really sure if paint would hold up plus it is twice as much as cedar.

[crokett]

The wait time depends on where you live. Recommendation is a month. I live in NC and only had to wait 2 weeks during the mid-90s summer last year. The difference between treated and not treated is they both need to be repainted at some point. But after the paint wears off the treated it will take a whole lot longer to rot.

If you go with treated make sure your fasteners are rated for the new stuff if you use it. It attacks pretty aggressively straight galvanized. This was much less of a problem with the old school green treated.

[JR]

I'm not that big a fan of PT. Sure, if you're talking about posts that will come in contact with the ground or are exposed to standing water, PT is what you need. For rails and balusters, go with the cedar, .

I'd suggest you set up a painting station for use before assembly. As an absolute minimum you want to make sure the ends of the balusters are primered. I'd guess 3/4 of the problems you'll see down the road will be rot coming in at the end of the boards. Primer will protect against this very well.

Also, I've been having good luck with colored stain for my deck. LOML sensibly wants a gloss paint for ease of cleaning, but the stain (tinted white) is gripping so well I don't want to change.

JR

[JimD]

I used PT for the screen frames for our screened porch. I painted them right after getting the wood but was a bit picky to get the pieces that were not dripping wet. They have been up at least 5 yrs and the paint is still adhering. I would use PT but get it a week or two in advance to allow it to dry a bit. PT also likes to warp around as it dries so it would be good to let it stabilize before using it. I used Kilz primer and a 100% acrylic house paint - I think it was Thompsons. I recommend Kilz highly, especially for any wood that has knots. They bleed though most primers quickly.

Jim

[parnelli]

As an absolute minimum you want to make sure the ends of the balusters are primered. I'd guess 3/4 of the problems you'll see down the road will be rot coming in at the end of the boards.

JR is spot on here- probably half of mine have peeling and or rot issues and 100% of them are at the bottom of the balusters where the water collects and wicks up the balusters because the bottoms weren't painted before assembly by the builder.

[SHADOWFOX]

Jr pretty much describe the problem with the current balusters, rotted in the end.. Definitely going to prime the ends.

[JimD]

I don't know what look you are going for but I did our open porch balusters out of painted 3/4 electrical conduit. I have also seen copper. I put a hole in the top rail for the baluster to go up into and a dowel on the bottom rail for it to set on. They've been up several years and still look fine. I used cheap cans of spray paint from Wal-mart for the paint (primer then top coat). We think they look nicer than plain PT balusters.

[SHADOWFOX]

Jim,

I've thought about that a hundred times.. Do you have a pic of your porch rails and balusters?? I was just concerned of the cost and the look.

Chris

[Deadhead]

I used the vinyl pre-made sets in 6' sections. I've been very happy with them - especially since I haven't had to paint them!

They probably cost more, but I bought time by not having to paint them then on in the future.

[brooks]

One of the neighbors painted his trim outside the house, to add some color and it looked nice but the association still sent him a notice to paint it white or he will get fined.

This, ladies and gents, is why the developers who want a captive market are bribing folks in power to give them virtual monopolies on HOA-ruled real estate. It gets people used to the idea of a non-governmental entity can act just like a government, except for accountability and balance of powers.

If you can tell a man what color to paint his house, what can you NOT tell him? Whose house is it?