basement question....support poles...you smart construction guys

cubswin

cubswin

Just call me Joe...
Silver Member
Anyone know how difficult it is to remove a support pole (what I mean by difficult is actually expensive *l*) have them down the center of my basement, and while I could get a 7' table down there and have to fight one pole (maybe..maybe not) I'd rather get it removed. What kind of support needs to be added to remove one pole?
 
cubswin said:
Anyone know how difficult it is to remove a support pole (what I mean by difficult is actually expensive *l*) have them down the center of my basement, and while I could get a 7' table down there and have to fight one pole (maybe..maybe not) I'd rather get it removed. What kind of support needs to be added to remove one pole?
Click to expand...

What I did years ago was to buy an adjustable pole and placed it in line with the other only three feet distant. I cranked it up until it supported the beam and then I took out the old pole. I then enclosed the steps coming down into the basement and the new pole was then encased in the wall.

Dick
 
cubswin said:
Anyone know how difficult it is to remove a support pole (what I mean by difficult is actually expensive *l*) have them down the center of my basement, and while I could get a 7' table down there and have to fight one pole (maybe..maybe not) I'd rather get it removed. What kind of support needs to be added to remove one pole?
Click to expand...
If you don't have too many obstructions, and you have a row of columns, and sufficient height, you could fairly easily remove one column and add a laminated wood beam (like LVL) under your existing framing. bring dimensions of your house and a simple framing layout to a decent contractor oriented lumber yard and they can size the beam for the span that remains when you remove the one post. You will also need to shorten the columns on either end of the new beam to support the new beam. And patch the concrete floor a little after you cut off the bottom of the column you take out. If one end of the beam is your outside foundation wall, that's a little more akward -- you might need to add a post flush against the foundation wall to catch that end of the beam. If you have to try to cut the new beam up into the exisiting framing for a more flush beam effect -- well that is much more involved home surgery :)
 
rhncue said:
What I did years ago was to buy an adjustable pole and placed it in line with the other only three feet distant. I cranked it up until it supported the beam and then I took out the old pole. I then enclosed the steps coming down into the basement and the new pole was then encased in the wall.

Dick
Click to expand...

One I'm going to want to move is at the end of the basement. My furnace and water heater are in the middle along with the stair well. Its about 1,000 sq feet, so not huge by any means. Have a cut out on one wall under our master bed room, but its not real wide elsewhere.

Thanks for the idea Dickie
 
i just had this exact procedure done end of last year. Basement room 16 by 26 with a pole in the middle almost. I called a local steel company, and the guy came out and measured to figure what kind of steel beam id need. He came back with a price of 900. I then looked into getting a laminated wood beam, given the dimensions of the room and i got one for 300......contractor came in, put supports in, took the pole out. Then he cut a notch in the wall and put one end of the beam over there, put in a new pole at the other end of the room (where the staircase comes down) and put the other end of the beam on it. The beam ended up beside of my heating/sc duct work, so i had the entire thing drywalled over. Im finishing up the room this summer. So anyway, labor, beam and all it ended up costing me just over $1000. His estimate for labor was originally 1200 but his helper didnt show up and i ended up helping him and he cut 400 off the bill. Id say you should be able to get it done for under 2k.
 
You can remove it temporarily to get you table in place if thats the problem. You could also remove the pole and get an I beam to span the distance. You would just use the two existing jack poles on both sides of the missing pole to support the I beam and your house. It will work great. My local building inspector said that it would be ok. I wouldnt tell him about it though.
 
Support pole placement is designed in to the plans for the house to support the floor load. You could remove 1 but it would need to be replaced with an alternate support such as a steel beam. An engineer would have to figure the right size based on the length of span and load but on an existing house you're looking at some serious money. I used steel beams in a previous house but they were installed during construction so the cost was minimized.
 
kennny said:
...You would just use the two existing jack poles on both sides of the missing pole to support the I beam and your house.
Click to expand...

He can also use 2 additional jack poles (placed next to existing poles) under a steel I Beam and then box them in to look good. Personall I would not want to be holding an I beam while someone was fiddlefarting poles under it and I doubt he's going to get a bobcat in the basement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top