So, we decided to trace and build them in-house. That is how we did the majority of the fabricating on this project although we had help from Burkart’s Millworks and a few others.
Making the corbel templates
First we made a cutout sample of a corbel still in place and used that to trace our templates. Second, we cut the two outer pieces for all 32 corbels from 1×16 Miratec trim boards. To achieve matched pieces, we clamped two pcs of the Miratec together, this method yielded book-end pairs.
A rescued original corbel with the bookend templates
Once all the outer pieces were cut, we began cutting the centerpieces. We made a template for the centers because the centerpiece of each corbel was recessed 5/8″ on the lower face of the corbel. To make this piece we used treated 2×12.
The three pieces were then sanded using an oscillating spindle sander and a table sander to clean the profiles for assembly. They were then adhered together using OSI polyurethane adhesive and galvanized finish nails. The adhesive was over-applied at the seams and the pieces were tightly clamped with vise clamps to press some of the glue out. The excess was wiped away and acts as a sealant to prevent water from getting between the pieces.
Finally, the assembled corbels were given a fine-grit sanding and pocket holes – with plugs (drilled from like materials using a plug-cutter) were drilled for screws to attach the corbels. The pieces were the primed twice and painted twice. I do not recall the primer used but the paint was Sherwin-Williams Duration exterior paint. The paint has a lifetime warranty and does not require priming (although we usually do). Also, this paint is bombproof! I do not often tout painting products ( due to the risk of backing a product that turns out not to work 15 years later) but this is fantastic paint (and at fifty bucks a gallon it should be).
The pieces were then transported to the site and installed using DeckMate 3.5″ screws and the plugs were inserted. Then came the touch-up painting and standing back to admire…
The final product installed - a weather-resistant French Corbel
And the project result was…
The completed porch - Custom from top to bottom
How do you replicate 100+ yr old exterior items on a home with new items that look identical to the original ones and stand up to the weather? If you are lucky, there is already a matched piece made by one of the many manufacturers of synthetic architectural accents and trims (like Outwater or Fypon) that is worth its higher cost over traditional materials because of its projected lifespan. If budget is no concern, you can have a mold made of the original and new pieces cast in a resin or other synthetic material by a specialty manufacturer.
Or you can utilize the best available materials that will resist the weather and you can pay extra special attention to the assembly to promote the longest lifespan possible. That is the route most conscientious custom builders in historic districts will take – and for good reason.
Generally, if you buy precast synthetic trim and accent pieces you pay a premium and often the items are not an exact match. Another complication is that many construction synthetics (and pretty much all plastics) don’t take paint well unless it is very light-colored paint and specifically formulated for that synthetic/plastic material. If you have the item custom-cast for the project, you will need to order a very large quantity or the cost will be 10 times (or more) than the precast cost and if the casting is done in synthetics you face the same problems posed by the precast.
Which brings me to the project where we faced this problem on virtually every item.
Original Post Corbels that disintegrated when touched
A truly enjoyable project, this porch offered challenges for every piece installed. I will discuss the decking, spandrels, spindles, handrails, newels, accents, guttering with integrated crown and so on in a later post.
Note the shape and construction of the corbels. Everything had to match perfectly as the City Historical society oversees construction in historic preservation districts such as this one. Further, the need for painstaking accuracy was elevated as it was also reviewed by the Lafayette Square Restoration Committee who walked past and reviewed it daily. And as an added layer of project oversight, the many neighbors of this home in the Square would visit regularly and request that the porch be accurately rebuilt. At first (when we tore the old one down -basically we just hit it once with a hammer and swept it up), we thought some of them might run home and grab torches and axe handles, form a mob, and return to pummel us. But we reassured them that it was going back with looks exactly identical to what it was, and as it took shape they gradually became much more friendly. By the end they were as neighborly and welcoming as any neighborhood I have worked in.
So back to the corbels. The original pieces on the porch were 3-piece layered construction, and we decided that they had lasted this long, we’d do the same. See pt. 2
