Decorative Post Wraps Beautifies Ordinary Porch Columns

Outdoor living spaces like porches can greatly enhance a home's curb appeal. With clean lines and decorative accents, your porch emanates style and charm. Yet often overlooked are the structural posts holding it all up. Plain square pillars without adornment can detract from your porch's overall visual impression.

By installing decorative post wraps, you transform drab posts into striking architectural features. Available in various materials and endless design options, post wraps upgrades your porch's aesthetic. Here we'll explore different styles to consider, benefits gained, proper installation, and creative repurposing of materials.

Materials for Decorative Post Wraps

When selecting your decorative post wrap material, consider its visual appeal along with durability and weather resistance. Common materials include:

• Wood: Naturally beautiful while strong, wood types like cedar and redwood endure weather extremes with proper upkeep. Composite wood mixes also gain popularity.
• PVC: With molded detail, polyvinyl chloride wraps resist moisture,decay, and insects. Cost-effective, low maintenance, and durable.
• Polyurethane: This synthetic material offers intricate architectural detail, resistance to weathering, and colorfastness when painted.
• Fiberglass: Extremely durable yet mimicking wood grain, fiberglass allows for custom sculpted architectural detail.
• Metal: Wrought iron and aluminum can be shaped into designs from modern to antique. Durable yet may require protective coating.

Wood

For a natural look, wood post wraps enhance your home's character. Cedar and redwood contain high oil content allowing resistance against insects, decay, and moisture damage. Though more expensive than synthetic materials, properly maintained wood wraps impart beauty for decades.

PVC

For cost savings, durability, and low maintenance, PVC post wraps work well. Mimicking painted wood details, polyvinyl chloride is a plastic impervious to moisture, decay, and wood-boring pests. PVC wraps resist denting, splintering, and peeling for long-lasting quality. With no sanding or staining required, upfront investment means fewer upkeep costs down the road.

Styles of Decorative Post Wraps

Style options for decorative wraps vary from tapered and fluted designs to squared or rounded beams. You can also mix different combinations for added uniqueness. Determine which architectural styles blend best with your home's exterior design.

Tapered

Visually lightening porch structure, tapered post wraps slightly slim toward the top. This style allows your eye to draw upward, imparting a sense of additional height. Fluted tapered designs add horizontal detail, contrasting straight edges with concave curves.

Fluted

Fluted details involve concave vertical channels from top to bottom. This style stunningly plays with light and shadow, adding visual drama. For contemporary appeal, pair bold fluted posts with strong horizontal lines across beams, railing, and decking.

When selecting your decorative post wrap material, consider its visual appeal along with durability and weather resistance. Common materials include:

Wood naturally imparts beauty to your home's architecture. Cedar and redwood contain oils allowing resistance against insects, decay, and moisture damage over decades. Though expensive initially, proper maintenance preserves this natural material.

For cost savings, durability, and low maintenance, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) works well. Mimicking wood details, PVC plastic cannot warp, dent, peel or splinter. Impervious to moisture, decay and wood-boring pests, PVC requires no staining or sanding for longevity.

Adding Decorative Elements

Further enhance ordinary porch posts with decorative elements. Creative touches like trim accents, lighting fixtures, climbing vines, or hanging planter boxes infuse character. Mix designs, shapes and materials for customization options limited only by imagination.

Installation of Decorative Post Wraps

When installing wraps, carefully detach railings or existing decorations without damaging framework. Prepare posts by securely anchoring to footings below frost level. Level surfaces eliminating protruding nails, splinters or old caulk.

For structural posts, ensure wraps withstand weight loads without buckling. Secure panels with weather-resistant exterior construction adhesive for longevity and strength. Ensure proper ventilation if enclosing hollow posts while allowing moisture escape.

Benefits of Decorative Post Wraps

Upgrading porch posts with ornamentation yields many benefits beyond enhanced curb appeal:

• Weather Protection: Vinyl, PVC and synthetic wraps shield vulnerable wood from moisture, UV rays, pests and rapid temperature changes.
• Durability: Materials like aluminum, PVC and steel last for decades with minimum maintenance.
• Customization: Tailor wraps with paint colors, trim accents, lighting and other decorative elements syncing with home's style.
• Cost Savings: Wrapping existing structural posts rather than full replacement saves on demolition, labor and material expenses.

Balancing aesthetics and affordability, decorative post wraps enable designing your dream porch within budget. Consulting home improvement experts ensures proper installation for enduring enjoyment of your upgraded oasis space.

Over time when structural posts warrant replacement, consider repurposing old decorative wraps instead of disposal. For example:

• Cut decorative caps to top garden planter boxes adding architectural flair.
• Use fluted panels to face garden sheds or accent walls matching house detail.
• Incorporate sculptural posts into backyard deck or patio designs.
• Sand and seal into outdoor bench seats with wood plank topping.

Whether enhancing existing framework or fashioning anew, decorative post wraps infuse style into ordinary porch posts. With myriad materials and customizable designs, options exist for complementing any architectural vision or budget.