RESTORING PORCHES DECK & RAIL

Beautiful but frail, the 115-year-old verandah was beginning to come apart.

Columns and capitals were damaged, spindles and railings needed attention, and the porch flooring—originally laid in a herringbone pattern at each rounded corner—was beyond repair. • Once master woodworker Sidney Furst and his team stripped off the old deck, however, they were surprised to find mostly solid 2x12 support joists beneath it. The previous restorer had even signed his work, noting the date of repair: 1986. • That the porch had survived more than 30 years since the previous restoration shows how durable porches can be when they’re kept up—and how vulnerable they are when not. “Rebuilds are not cheap,” says Furst, a fourth-generation cabinetmaker and restorer who lives near St. Louis, Missouri. “To do them right takes a lot of time and effort. If the porch is kept in good repair, you’ll get a lot more [years of] use out of it.”

Sidney Furst admonishes. The most vulnerable areas on the porch, and the quickest to show signs of wear and tear: the porch floor (deck) and the balustrade (comprising balusters, top and bottom rails, and fasteners). “Make sure the porch