CASE study

The failing cantilevered porch on a Spanish Colonial Revival house in Los Angeles looked to be beyond repair. Critical elements like the supporting rafters and porch posts were so badly decayed they were pocked with voids. One decorative corbel was so eroded, only a single screw held it in place.

When Mark Sauer of Mark Sauer Construction took on the project, the goal was to preserve the most critical wood elements, especially the support rafters—which feature sculpted corbel ends. The team salvaged and reused as much of the original material as possible. Techniques included strengthening and filling old, punky wood with Abatron LiquidWood and Wood Epox, and making Dutchman repairs with and without supplemental use of those proprietary wood fillers. As a last option, any element beyond repair was replaced with in-kind wood (of the same species, shape, and dimension).

Before work began on the support rafters, Sauer and his team installed ¾ " all-thread epoxy anchors for structural integrity. As a last touch after all the wood was stabilized and repaired, team members applied a texture to patched areas to re-create the appearance of wood grain.

ABOVE The wood on the cantilevered porch of a Spanish Colonial Revival house was so damaged, the porch posed a safety hazard. LEFT One of the corbels was decomposed, and barely held together.

RIGHT Once supporting beams were secured with anchors, the corbel ends were rebuilt using a combination of Dutchman repairs and wood fillers from Abatron. FAR RIGHT The restored porch is seen from below.

RIGHT A close-up of the WoodEpox repair: the material can be cut, sanded, painted or stained, and even scarified to create the appearance of wood grain, before finish painting.