How to Update and Repair Old Porch Railings

Porches can be beautiful and wonderful places to hang out on a sunny summer afternoon. However, unsightly and dangerous porch railings can make it difficult to enjoy your time outdoors. With the cost of hiring a carpenter so high, why not just try to do it yourself? DIY porch railings are relatively easy, as long as you have some time and some energy. First, choose the correct type of wood. To avoid unsightliness, it is best to choose the same sort of wood with which your porch was originally constructed. For homeowners, this was typically provided for you upon purchasing the home, but, if you’ve forgotten or cannot find that information, the local hardware store can help you out. There are experts at almost all hardware stores who know all about different types of wood. If you’re truly stymied or want to make extra sure that you’re getting the right type of wood, you can even bring a piece of your porch railing in to most local hardware stores. Just make sure you let someone know when you enter the store that the termite infested, rotten wood you’re bringing into their store is for that purpose. They’ll be more than happy to help you out extra quickly!

Another feature of your wood that you need to determine is length and width. This is a simple enough task. Just measure your current porch railings, decide how many you will need and multiply it out. You can get pre cut wood at some larger chain hardware stores, making your DIY fix of your porch railings even easier down the line.

Now that you have type and measurements, purchase your wood for your porch railings and bring it home. You’ve completed the easy part of the task. If you did not get pre cut wood, you’ll need to cut your wood. Careful measurement, and I cannot emphasize here how important the “careful” part of that phrase is, is vital to correct reconstruction of your porch railings. You can do this step first, or you can go ahead and engage in the exciting task of removing your old porch railings. Based on personal experience, I would recommend only removing only a portion of the old porch railings at a time if this is your first project, and particularly if this is your first DIY home improvement project. That way, if something is going wrong or you must take a break, you do not leave the even more unsightly and dangerous problem of having few or no porch rails.

Next, using your properly measured rails, hammer the rails into the wider top and bottom. This is easiest if you hammer in one side first, and then fit the other side. Again, proper measurement is critical here, and it really helps to have another set (or two) of hands. Once you have properly nailed in all of the rails to the top and bottom of the porch railing, you’ll need to hammer it to the large poles that will hold it up on your porch. Depending on how your porch is constructed, this can either involve hammering it into already constructed large poles that hold your deck up or into smaller ones that are hammered into the porch itself. It is important to hide these nails and hammer them in completely to avoid problems. A poorly hammered nail can lead to major problems down the line, particularly if you or someone you know likes to sit on porch railings.