Central City Millworks recently contracted to build a portico as an architectural enhancement to a New Orleans home in the Riverbend area. A portico is usually located at the entryway of a building or residence, and, as shown in the first photo, is a covered entrance with a roof supported by columns or a series of columns.
This first photo captured the completion of the “dry assembly” phase, where we aligned all of the unpainted parts of the structure at our facility to ensure a perfect fit. We then disassembled all parts for the priming and painting phases. First, during the priming phase, we primed the end grain of all wood pieces with a clear epoxy primer. Due to the clear epoxy having a low viscosity, it flows into the end grains of the wood before solidifying. Once it hardens, it forms a permanent moisture barrier to protect the wood against the wet and humid New Orleans environment.
Sealing the end grain on wood that is exposed to the elements (on columns, railings, etc.) is extremely important because most wood damage occurs from moisture wicking up into the wood from the end grains, following the same pathway that moisture once wicked up into the living tree.
The photo to the right shows the portico after having been primed, painted, and reassembled for installation.
The custom door (photo #3 below) and custom transom (photo #4 below) are shown prior to being installed in the existing jamb once the portico has been set in place at the job site.
