LESLIE: Don in Missouri is on the line with a porch question. What can we do for you today?
DON: I have a four-post that has an exposed top.
TOM: OK.
DON: And the stair railing is fastened to it. It’s got a beveled top on it like – that’s what they put on most of them. It’s treated lumber and there is a crack that goes from, I’m going to say, a quarter, maybe three-eighths. And I don’t know how deep it is but it’s very deep. And I want to seal the top of it or seal it so that water doesn’t get in there for use and expand the crack.
TOM: Now, Don, let me ask you a question. Do you want to paint this porch railing? Or is it painted now or not?
DON: No, we do not want to paint it.
TOM: The reason I’m asking you these questions is because I’m going to tell you what to fill that crack with. But the problem is some of the materials that you use to fill the crack are not going to be the color of treated lumber; they’re going to stand out and maybe look worse than the crack looks right now. So I’m trying to figure out – how you’d like this to look when you’re all done.
DON: Well, just – the main thing is to keep water from running in there.
TOM: Alright. So if you’re not so concerned about the look, then what I would do is I would use an epoxy patching compound. You want to use a wood epoxy patching compound. And the reason I say that is because that has the ability to really stand up to the weather and bind to that wood material. You’re going to apply it with a putty knife and you’re going to press it into that crack and then let it dry and sand over the surface to try to get the excess off. That’s the best material to use for that particular situation.
Don, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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