I'm hoping to turn half of my basement into a home theater room. However, there is a support pole in the middle under a manufactured wood beam. The beam spans the width of the room or about 14 feet (room length is about 30 ft). I've been told that over this width, I should be able to just remove the pole. Now I don't expect a certified structural engineer to give me a guaranteed answer, but has anyone had experience with this?
The only way to know for certain is to have a strucural engineer look at the house and at the blue prints. you might be able to get a copy from your local building department. The pole is there for a reason. Taking it out without consulting a structural engineer is dangerous. Please don't base your next move on what anyone here says, they have never been to your home, they haven't seen the construction, they haven't seen the engineering reports from the beams manufacturer, etc, etc. There are far to many variables to consider, this is a job for a professional. Make sure that you get everything in writting before starting the job. it will come in handy if there is a problem after the jackpost is removed.
I'm just looking for any opinions before I decide whether it's worth it or not. But if I do, I'll definitely consult an engineer first.
Sure it can be done, but it might require removing the existing beam and replacing it with a larger one. Having a an open space without any obstructions is great if you can do it. I recall seeing one or two HT sites that showed the home owner replacing the existing beam. You might want to get real tight with as many neighbors as possible before starting the job.
James: I had the same situation in my basement (1 pole in the middle of my 22' x 15' room, ranch style house). I consulted a structural engineer and hired him to devise a plan. We came up with a plan to use two 8" x 20' steel plates sandwiching the 6" support beam and secured with 164 5" lag screws (offset every 4"). The beam was raised about 1/4" with two 4 ton floor jacks supporting 6x6's, plates installed, lally column removed, and beam lowered...it only came down 1/8"! I was sweating bullets... I am very glad that I did this, but I can't stress enough that you must have a structural engineer plan out the project for you. You don't want to have your house collapse on you!!!! One thing I had to do that I did not plan on was to build soffits to hide the plates. That was a pain in the neck, but that's another story. Good luck, John
I am not a structural or licensed professional engineer of any kind. It may be possible that it can be safely removed. They may also propose a work-around of adding two or more columns, not exactly in the center of your space. But under no circumstances should you attempt to do any modifications like that without a PE blessing the project. I'd recommend also (not without knowing,) that for the scope of the project (removing the pillar,) you may want to get any local construction permits, attaching your PE's sealed and stamped certification that it's a valid and safe modification. Gives a better paper trail in case the PE's wrong... (not that it'll be much comfort when you see your home has collapsed into the basement ...) Leo Kerr
I'm not sure who told you this, but logically: that column was put there for a reason. Trust me, in the day of Value Engineering, NOTHING is added to a structure that doesn't need to be there. I work at a structural engineering firm in Cambridge MA, sorry I'm not closer or maybe I could help you out. But, just as everyone else said: must consult a PE and have him stamp and sign plans.
My X just did this in her basement. It was a massive project. There was a new metal beam involved, which took 11 large guys to move and 20 to lift up into place. They had to cut a chunk out of the basement floor, too, to put in a structural support for the new post.
I just had this done. In my case, they replaced three sistered 2x6's and took out three colums equally spaced. Now there are two 8" steel I-beams (end to end) with only two posts which hold up the end of the beams in the center of my basement (under the stairs). The other ends of the I-beams are supported by the foundation. It was a big ($$$) job. I'll be posting photos as the project starts to come together.
I will hopefully be doing the same my basement. It's roughly 16.2" wide and we have a steel pole right in the middle that is holding up a Steel I beam for a 2 story house. the contractor that did our kitchen brought in a engineer and he devised a plan to sandwich the I beam with 2 beams of steal that look like C's like this ]I[ then weld it all together. The price would roughly be $6000~ including tax and everything except paint... I am happy to know that a bunch of other people here have done or will be doing the same thing. The other solution was to put 2 Steel poles, one that either end of the room a couple few feet in from the wall. That would most likely require pouring new footings for the new beams and a lot more (messy) work.. not sure how much less it would cost... if at all... if anyone was pictures it would be helpful for you to post them.. Thanks also was about $400 to have an engineer visit and have plans made... (all CAD funds aswell )
