Homemade Columns
- More experienced craftspeople are capable of carving rounded columns, splitting them in half longitudinally and hollowing them out to fit over existing support beams. For the do-it-yourselfer, a simple homemade column approach is to measure the length and width around an existing column to determine if 1 by 4- or 1 by 6-inch boards are wide enough to box in the existing column. Find these boards, which come in very long lengths, at your local hardware store. Purchase long enough pieces to reach from the ceiling or the top position of the column down to the floor.
Use four boards of your desired width and butt the sides together at a right degree angle. Apply a thick bead of wood glue in between the parts that meet together. Clamp or hold together while tapping in a few finishing nails or using a nail gun to shoot the nails into place. - Place these columns wherever your heart desires within your space since they are not structural supports. Measure the height of the space for your column exactly to make sure that the top and bottom of the column are securable to the floor and ceiling.
Determine how massive you want your columns to be. Use 1 by 4-inch boards for narrow columns, up to 1 by 12-inch boards for massive columns. Purchase pressure-treated wood for outdoor columns. Build a small box frame for the top and bottom of your columns using 2 by 4 wood stud pieces, just shy of the inside measurements of your finished column. Screw these two frames with screws or bolts to the ceiling and floor of where your column will be to make them stable and strong.
Nail or screw the four, full length boards to the support, butting together the boards to make four corners. Apply a generous bead of glue along each seam and nail together using finishing nails or a nail gun. - To recreate the look of added detail to your simple columns, purchase crown molding for the top and bottom, and purchase trim molding of your choice. Miter the ends of the crown molding pieces at opposing 45-degree angles--four pieces for the top and four for the bottom--using the length and width measurements of your homemade column's top and bottom edges. Apply a bead of wood glue to reinforce the bond between the column and the molding and then nail into place.
Miter cut trim molding on a 45-degree angle to decorate the column a few inches down from the top and a few inches above the bottom crown molding. Apply a thin bead of wood glue before nailing into place. You will enjoy the results of your homemade columns.