Nothing beats the look of porch columns on a house whether you have them standing alone or built into the design of the porch. With the wide array of styles, you can choose from different columns rather than stick to the common and basic design. Four of the most beautiful column styles you can have for your porch are:

- Doric columns have parallel grooves on the sides and the tops are smooth and plain. You do not need to have a separate base with these columns, which makes then very easy to install. This style will give your porch the look of ancient Greece or the villas of Italy.

- Ionic columns have scroll-shaped ornamental designs in the top of the columns.

- Corinthian style columns are usually decorated with laurels and have inverted bell shapes at the top.

- The Romanesque style are square and usually rest on trapezoid-shaped bases.

There are many different styles of columns, as you will see when you search online or visit your local home improvement store. They can also be made from different materials, such as wood or fibreglass. You won't have as much maintenance with those made of fibreglass as you would with wood, but the wood is treated to resist mold, mildew, staining and fungi because they will be outdoors in all kinds of weather. The wood is also treated so that it won't shrink, swell or warp so that you have stability in the porch.

The main thing with installing wood columns on your porch is the installation itself. If you do not have the columns installed properly, you will encounter difficulties ?maybe not right away, but down the road. There are key features in installing a column that you should make sure you are aware of. These include:

- If you have to saw off a portion of the column to get the proper height, make sure you treat the sawed end with a liberal paint of coat or primer before installation.

- You need to ventilate each column. You can do this by either drilling a hole in the soffit directly over the column or by placing a block of wood between the soffit and the column.

- Make sure that your sprinkler system doesn't spray water on the columns and you should not have shrubs planted too close to the columns either.

- Because all sides of the columns will be exposed to the elements of the weather, you should inspect them on a regular basis.

Aluminum columns are best for outdoor use. The extruded sections of the columns are designed to withstand high stress and compression. Since they are so light they are very easy to install. You do need to be very precise in your measurements when you order these columns which come in heights ranging from 5 to 36 feet. You can also have many different designs in aluminum columns and even use them to support the joists of the second floor in a two-story home.