ORLANDO, Fla. – Destiny’s mom asked us to get results at her home because she has a failing railing on her front steps.
It’s old, rotting and falling apart.
She needs a total rebuild, but we wanted to help her make it work better and look better so we used some hardware to put it back together to make it last a little longer.
We purchased:
3″ deck screws
6″ long galvanized metal plate
We brought with us:
Post-hole digger
We recommend:
Gloves (for the post-hole digging)
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Step 1
Dig deeper. The main 4″ x 4″ post at the bottom of the railing was wobbling so we pulled it out of the ground, used our post-hole digger to dig a much deeper hole, and then dropped the old post into the deeper hole. We pushed the dirt back into the hole around the post and used the handles of the post-hole digger to shore up the dirt around the post.
#Househack: if you really want to make a post permanent, use half a bag of quick-set concrete. Fast-setting Quikrete doesn’t even require mixing. Put the post in the hole, pour the concrete into the whole, spray in some water until it gets soupy and then let it dry. The post will never move again (you’ll have to dig it out if you ever want to remove it!)
Step 2
Screw the railing back together. At any point where the railing balusters attach to the post or the frame of the railing, drive a screw all the way through. This will improve the structural integrity overall of the railing.
Step 3
Use a plate for the weak spots. In one area of the railing frame the rot was so bad that a screw wouldn’t hold it in place so we used a metal plate. We placed the plate over the connection point between the frame and the post and then drove screws through the holes in the plate into the frame and the post.
Step 4
Paint the plate, if you’d like. We used Rustoleum paint to make sure the plate doesn’t rust and to make it match the white color of the railing.
You just got results at home!
If you have a project you’d like Erik to tackle, send us an email at GettingResultsAtHome@wkmg.com and next week Erik might just show up at your door!