Fiberglass Bondo is your friend.. =)

Status
Not open for further replies.

Cpl-Chronic

Member (SA)
I recently took on the monumental task of restoring a 102 year old Cedar porch that goes across the front of our modest home. I talked to a few contractors & some said they would be able to do the job but never returned because we started asking too many uncomfortable questions about insurance, experience, references, etc. One guy wanted me to tear up the wet room underneath the porch so rain water could be reabsorbed into the ground, etc.

Finally took matters into my own hands & proceeded to fully strip 100 years of paint away & sand down the rest. After that the plywood we used was the tongue & groove subfloor stuff but the good side still had voids & knots & worn grains, etc. I had to strengthen the weak spots so I could drag a shovel across the surface to remove snow in the winter,etc.

I decide that the fiberglass bondo used in cars would do the trick so check out the progress on the floor prep & stay tuned for more pics, etc....

kar09u.jpg


Cpl
 

duckman

Member (SA)
That stripping of the railing is bordering on a monumental task Bro ! :bow: So hard to quote on work like that that most guys won't give a price as they think you'll laugh at them. Meanwhile you could be a millionaire that just wants it done, Fark!

Fiberglass, eh?

Is there a railing on the other end too?

I would like to know details of the work as well as pics, being in the business.

Looking forward to process & final pics! :yes:
 

Cpl-Chronic

Member (SA)
Thanx Duckman! :-D

Yeah, it's been about 4 weeks of a few hours every other night to prep for final paint & detailing. The last pieces of the project will be a natural wood skirt around the outside of the deck finished off with a square trim piece to finish the edge.

I'll post more pics later. I had to remove the old skirt on the right side of the porch & fix a sagging support underneath the corner pillar that holds the roof of the porch up. I cut 2x4's to size & tapped them into the corner, underneath the wooden pillar & the floor of the porch & used 3-1/2" x #10 screws to bolt everything together & used sub-floor glue to seal all the gaps & crevices while removing the mickey mouse crap that was shoved in there before. Lots of gaps & nail-holes to cover. Removed old rusty nails that were hammered into the railings over the decades by hacks & dumb-dumbs & filled the holes with bondo. used 1/4" good 1 side plywood to strengthen & finish rotten spots I couldn't repair with filler alone & used the same strong glue to seal everything together tight....


It really has strengthened the whole porch by a great deal & will seal it completely from rain & snow. The goal is no voids ridges or holes, knots etc. & to keep water from standing or getting trapped in those Imperfections....

Now, I can pull with my whole 200+ pounds of weight on the railing & pillars & they feel like cement.....BAM!!!

Cpl
 

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
Wow man....Heavy Duty!

I took on deck restoration at our old house, told the wife it would be a weekend job. A full summer later I was ready to inhale the gas pipe :sick: :bang:

AND I didn't have hand rails to do :no:

102 years old deserves it! :yes: Top work man! :thumbsup:
 

Cpl-Chronic

Member (SA)
OK, a few more pics to show the progress as requested...

This is before I started finishing the floor & the small post to the right side of the pic is still in it's horrific condition from all of th rain we get every year.
126a1i8.jpg


Here, you can see the same post, but I used 1/4" 'finished-1-side' plywood & glue to cover the rotting pillar & strengthen it with the sub-floor glue to give it structural strength again.
2kjwvb.jpg


Here, the same post again but all sanded & finished for paint.....An old friend installed the steps & railings & saved that old post the best he could but it is still a bit crooked....Now it is strong & looking clean again which is way better than it was...
mrbb4z.jpg


Another post & trim filled & ready for sanding...
rm5pa0.jpg


Every good contractor will go to great effort to keep the mess down so I decided to encase the porch with plastic to keep the dust & debris in & the weather out. Twice, I was able to work, completely dry during a rainstorm & without any issues & no dust got onto any of my neighbors' property. My area is a bit snooty & they tend to over-garden everything, competing for notice....
117wk8z.jpg


So, at this point, I'm waiting for the morning to finish applying the fiberglass filler to the last sheet of plywood for the floor & will hopefully sand it down by tomorrow night.....
1zg6zjn.jpg


2po9y6s.jpg


The idea is to smooth out any voids, knots, edges or holes, etc. that will hold water. Also, the smoother the finished surface, the easier you can push a shovel around without catching the corners of the shovel on knots, grains, un-even spots, etc. I think it will be the difference between lasting 5 years & 30. Also, because the seams are also bondo'd, I created a fully sealed deck, front to back, all the way across the front of the house so no water can get in-between boards or along any one seam....

More to come....

Cpl
 

Cpl-Chronic

Member (SA)
oldskool69 said:
What do you intend to use for long term water treatment?

Nice work! :-)
Thanx! :-D

The idea is to be as thorough as possible & not have any cracks, holes or crevices for water & ice to take hold. I want to touch it once & make the paint last 20 years & the repair & prep last 50. That meant making the deck water tight & without any rough spots if possible, or screw holes, etc. I'm going to use Behr Porch Paint(enamel) & Behr #75 'problem solving', 'sticks-to-everything', primer for the base. Two coats of paint with no slip additive to make it 'sandy' & non-slip for the deck. The railings & pillars are going to get Sherwin Williams Emerald Exterior, French Roast Brown & Tuque White to continue the brown/white theme of the roof & siding. New windows in the front, coming next month after again 102 years of service from the old ones. I even have the original wooden framed storm windows still in the basement for the front windows :w00t: ....

Cpl
 

Cpl-Chronic

Member (SA)
Porch deck fully finished with bondo fiberglass filler & ready for final inspection & final finish. I washed down all surfaces with a good rag & cold water so I do not pull too much material away. I just want to remove the dust & debris that a sweep & complete vacuum didn't remove. No soap or any chemicals were used. just straight cold tap water for a pure substrate for the primer & paint to stick to...

Now, I'm washing the railings & trim pieces & using more stripper to strip the edge surfaces of the railing cutouts....

See pics soon to come....

Cpl
 

duckman

Member (SA)
Good plan man, sounds like you have it under control ! Can't wait to see more and Final pics !

If you don't have plans for the old storms and double-hungs (if you aren't aware, that is) there are usually local artisans and stain glass types that will take these off your hands.

Post them and maybe get some $ for a new box, or some well deserved sodies after the project is done! :thumbsup:

Remember to give your primer time to cure out , and I hope you get decent weather dude. :yes:
 

Cpl-Chronic

Member (SA)
Thanx duckman! :-D

Good advice on the primer. I plan to prime it with 2 coats & let cure for 2 days before painting the floor. The Shirwin Williams Emerald Exterior is self-priming but I will allow everything to set for at least 2 days before painting the pillars, trim & railings.

Cpl
 

floyd

Boomus Fidelis
this product is awesome! , i used it to fix the floor pans in my jeep after i replaced them , i basically put the bondo over the seams and on the floor to make it stronger , used it to cover the welds and smooth out the floor. i had almost no floor pans left in the whole jeep and i use a lot of that bondo. ****in great stuff!.
 

duckman

Member (SA)
Cpl-Chronic said:
Thanx duckman! :-D

Good advice on the primer. I plan to prime it with 2 coats & let cure for 2 days before painting the floor. The Shirwin Williams Emerald Exterior is self-priming but I will allow everything to set for at least 2 days before painting the pillars, trim & railings.

Cpl
NP , and I see you are getting smoked again tonite with rain! ugh

Have not had the chance to use the Emerald Exterior line but I have been using their Duration (The ORIGINAL self priming exterior paint) products for years with great success, though older wood has proven the only weakness in sketchy areas, The Touque white is a great choice BTW, as I have used it on trim for a few jobs.

The fiberglass is interesting and have never used it on wood, but as Floyd just mentioned, it is great on metal (that was the only thing I used on an old rust project after getting advise from the community college teacher up here)

:popcorn:
 

Cpl-Chronic

Member (SA)
OK, UPDATE:

I finished inspecting the final surface prep & found 3 screw holes & a couple of rough spots that needed more bondo & sanding. I again attacked the last patch areas with the 60 grit palm sander & cleaned all surfaces again with luke-warm water & no detergents at all. Let dry overnight & then applied 2 coats of primer & let dry 24 hours before walking on it. So far, the primer & wood is holding & no cracks or creaks at all. great news so far....

Next step.....paint the white portions of the pillars & railings. so far I've got 2 coats on the bottom portions of the pillars & almost finished 2 coats on the spindle boards that make up the center portions of each railing....

Check out some pics of the progress so far....

r9psuh.jpg


2lkbhi1.jpg


1zvtzd4.jpg


xoock3.jpg


jp91nd.jpg


wi8oxe.jpg


288a6qb.jpg


Cpl
 

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
Wow man, absolute top work.

When you work on your own stuff, you go further than someone you would hire would. I'm not saying that to put down contractors, but they have a bottom line to work in. They use the least amount of time and materials to get the job done in the shortest amount of time and onto the next job.

But when you are this thorough, this will last a very long time.

BTW, I fricken HATE floor creaks! I hate rattles in my cars & in my radio's....they make me crazy. So I can totally appreciate being able to walk across the porch of a 100+ year old house and not hear anything!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.