Step #1 Choose Plain or Fluted Shaft
Shafts for FRP columns can be plain or fluted.
(Column shafts can also be tapered or non-tapered. We think the classic tapered style looks best.)
Step #2 Choose a Cap and Base Style
There are five capital styles and two base styles. Tuscan cap and base is the cheapest.
Go ahead. Mix and match. Click the blue links to see prices for different sizes.
Step # 3 Choose the Surface and Color
The prices posted on various for FRP Columns are for paint grade columns, the least expensive and best performing option, once they are painted.
If you prefer you can order columns color already in the material.
FRP Column Color OptionsWhy We Like FRP Round Columns
We think fiberglass-reinforced polymer columns give you the best bang for the buck in the round column category. Their advantages inlcude: good durability, holds paint well, good price, high load bearing capacity, good look, heavy and hard (feels like stone), fiberglass is a hollow cast product, the wall thickness is generally about 1/2-inch thick. The shaft runs full length, unless you are using the more decorative capitals, the simple Tuscan or Roman Doric cap and base wrap around the shaft. Because they are cast the details are not as crisp as a machined product but more than adequate for most applications. Generally the cost is about half that of an architecturally correct wood column. The most common and therefore best priced fiberglass columns are round, plain shaft, tapered, Tuscan columns. Fiberglass diameters net about 1/2 inch less than the nominal size (a 10 inch column is actually 9-1/2).
Fiberglass columns are made from molds that are expensive so custom columns (other than heights) are not practical. Custom heights are generally not a problem because the first third of the column shaft does not taper so a considerable amount can be cut off the bottom without affecting the base fit. If you are mixing round and square columns the trim (cap, base and necking details) may not match. Fiberglass column flutes are normally molded (we can custom flute columns but it is expensive and those flutes are machined in and tend to be very shallow). Because of the variety of caps and bases and heights required it is often the case that the column shafts get trimmed at the bottom to achieve the required net height, often times this process cuts into the flutes. If that is the case there are 2 options: bases can be provided, usually at no additional charge, that fill the flute or for an additional charge flutes can be filled at the factory to terminate above the base in a half circle. Load bearing: fiberglass columns can hold substantial vertical loads but cannot pick up any lateral or lift loads. Charts with loadbearing specifications are on each of the product price pages. This means that a free standing structure, such as a pergola, will require additional structural support. If lateral or lift support is required a structural post will need to be installed inside the columns. Columns can be provided split to wrap a structural post for an additional charge.
Fluted or Smooth Shaft, Your Choice
The columns show above have a fluted shaft. Our fiberglass-reinforced polymer (FRP) columns are also availble with a smooth shaft. Smooth shaft columns are available in a wider range of dimensions and are cheaper.
You can choose from several different Cap and Base styles for your columns.
Cap and Base StylesGreek Doric Columns
As an alternative to the columns shown on this page we also offer Greek Doric columns. Made from the same fiberglass-reinforced polymer (FRP), the shaft is stouter, and the overall feeling more substantial. You may order these columns with either a fluted shaft or a plain shaft.
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Price quotes email: pagliacco@comcast.net
Column price quotes phone: 415‑488‑4333
Column price quotes fax: 415‑488‑9372
