Post-constructivism

I am still patting myself on the back for the title of this post*.

See, this weekend we constructed a post. So it was a post-constructivist weekend. Ok, we actually fixed the post - one of the four cedar posts holding up the porch roof on the guest house.

 

Here's the problem - the post had rotted out at the base.

 To start the repair project, we used a 2-ton jack and a leftover board from the barn construction to prop the corner of the roof up. When we did this, the entire post broke free from the concrete base. Oops. Good thing we were fixing it?

 Close-up of the jack. These things are really handy, and I used this one before to prop up the shed roof when it collapsed. (Dang, that post is embarrassing. We used to keep the boys like that!?!?)

 Next, we took a saws-all and chopped off the rotted base. That's when we discovered that the posts had barely been set into the concrete, instead of several inches into the slab. When you think that this is what's been holding up the roof for 60 years, it's impressive to think how long it lasted.

 We then used a hammer drill to drill a hole in the slab. Drilling into cement is one of those jobs where you need a hammer drill.  Buy a good one (our is a Bosch, which I would definitely recommend).

 We fitted the support base over the cement and placed the Red-head bolt (for real, that's the brand) into the cement.

 Here's what it looked like after we'd pounded the bolt in with a mallet - all nice and fastened. This baby isn't going anywhere.

 Next, we measured a block of 4x4 to slot into the base, cut it to size, and slid it in place.

A bunch of Deckmate screws and hurricane straps to hold everything together, and volia! Good for another 60 years at least. We'll build a little base around each post to hide our handiwork, but otherwise this is done. I even gave it a few good shoves to make sure it's in place.

PS. Hubby says this is really more post-repairism than post-constructivisim. Pffft. He's no fun.

* Post-constructivism info can be found here. I especially like how the columns are simple, like ours. :)