When I built my house, I had the contractor install concrete block pillars (filled with concrete and stuccoed) so that I would never have to replace wood posts. The porch now has cracks from the pillars to the nearest house corners, which a house inspector explained to me happens because of the weight and stress. Would it be better to go for wood posts because of that?

Not necessarily because apart from the weight of the columns, you will still have the same roof loads being supported on the porch.

The problem may be stress related but perhpas not load stress related from the columns.

It could be what you are seeing is normal 'stress cracking' of concrete that occurs in all poured slabs.

do the masonry pillars run THROUGH the slab?

If so, the crack is likely due to stress concentration at the corners of the openings for the pillars. Too late now, but they might have been prevented by placing a couple of steel reinforcing bars diagonally just outside each of the corners of the opening, before pouring the concrete.

Homebild,

Thank you! Do you think patching and then tiling would be a good solution?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Richard Hetzel:
do the masonry pillars run THROUGH the slab?
QUOTE]

Mr. Hetzel,

No. They're sitting on the slab. Thank you for your response! Do you think that wood posts would have been better? (I've seen so many rotting wood porch pillars.)