On 27 Sep 2006 08:48:22 -0700, "MacGyver"
wrote:

I'm relatively new to the home repair scene because it wasn't until
recently that my home needed some repair, I got the inside covered, but
the outside is in need of some help. I have a porch outside that is
your standard six step porch to the front door and it has a beam that
supports the small portion of the roof that hangs over the proch.

The beam itself is rotting on the bottom, well, not so much rotting,
but inhabited by chipmunks. It looks like the lower 7" of the column
needs to be replaced. There was also some moulding around the base of
the column which will need to be replaced, but I've done that before.
Any ideas on how to fix this sucker? Any help would be greatly
appreciated.

Beams are horizontal, posts are vertical. Column is another
word for post. You have a post.

There are two ways to fix the thing, both of them involve
putting temporary posts up next to the damaged one.
After which you take out either (A) the entire post, or
(B) the damaged section and replace it.

If you have chipmunks living in it, does this mean it's
a hollow column? If so, there's a good chance that
what you see is just a decorative shell around another
post that's doing the real support work, in which case
you can just carve out the rotted wood and fill it in with
bondo. (use a good section of the post to make a template.)