walrus, I've cucessfully used cedar for many years and find it the best and probably the most expensive. I oil base prime the pieces before installation on all sides, including edges. Then I assemble them in place. Yes you can wrap the top with some horizontal detail trim but you probably won't find it in cedar. You'll have to use pine here. A gap at the bottom of the column is always a good idea as it helps keep the rain water from soaking into the wood. After completion I put two coats of acrylic latex top coat either in low lustre or satim finish. To close the gap on the bottom of the post you can always add some kind of complimenting base molding. Good Luck, The PorchGuy Here is a link that might be useful: My Album

Pacific Columns Sturdipost HB&G Crown Columns These are four options we looked into when deciding on columns. Our local lumber yard offered us 2 of the 4 and we went with Crown fiberglass structural columns. I wouldn't recommend the wraps/panels. They aren't that much cheaper than full structural columns, which IMO look much nicer.

I agree with mie0782. Experienced continual seam-splits with our builder installed columns. Unfortunately exact match replacements were unavailable in PermaCast but the millman recommended painting the hollow interior before installing new ones. I used highway striping paint using an old towel attached onto a piece of conduit as a paint brush. Original columns began showing signs of failure within a year, replacements are still like new after a decade.

It really doesn't make a hill of beans what the architect drew or says if the OP can't (or won't) spend the money on the columns designed. Is the architect going to fork over the money to pay for them just so the OP can have the home the architect originally designed? I doubt not. Does it matter if he/she is truly a licensed architect at this point? Nope. The only value I can see involving the architect right now is for a redesign of the craftsman column, which isn't what the OP is asking for. She wants the column designed but done with materials less expensive than $1500 per column if I understand correctly. OP, is the contractor saying the entire column will be $1500 (stone base plus tapered column) or is he saying the stone base alone is $1500? If the former, that's probably not an unreasonable price. If the latter, check out manufactured stone like Centurion, etc.