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January 11, 2009
Basement support replacement
We need to replace the brick center support columns with steel beam/columns. I recall seeing an article or forum post about a company that specializes in this and does it fairly quickly. Otherwise, any recommendations for contractors you have used for this would be great. (And yes, we have an architect and an engineer). Thanks!
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I've done this work a few times, and I've had contractors mess it royally.
I can tell you what you don't want. That's a bunch of settlement during and immediately following the reinforcement.
What competent contractors should be saying (unless house is gutted now) is they intend to excavate 36" footings and use cement filled columns. They also plan to shore and lift the present support system. I use 30 ton jacks.
Then the new columns are set, then a hole through garden apt or front masonry to get the i-beam in (it's too long to carry in).
It's too hard to get the height of columns perfect, but sturdy metal shims can fine tune the lowering onto the new support.
good luck!
Posted by: brucef at January 12, 2009 3:16 AM
neil, this job isnt as elaborate as brucef has described, if im understanding you correctly: you only need to replace the verticle structural members (they are now old brick columns) with new lally columns - NOT the horizontal girt beam (the beam carrying the garden floor joists). . . .unless of course the girt beam is rotted, etc...bruce is correct in that the footings for the columns should be a minimum 3feet deep (and mushroom out at the bottom). . . .
if you'd like me to look at your job, im a licensed carpenter-contractor 917-495-7120 shane
Posted by: chinaspice at January 12, 2009 9:52 AM
Thanks @brucef - that's helpful. @chinaspice, this is actually more complicated than I initially described. What's there now are arched supports, so there's no horizontal support in place. What I need is an I-beam and vertical lallys put in. To make things more interesting, we want to dig out part of the basement at some point in the future, so we need to account for the increased depth. Anyone with lots of experience doing this is welcome to contact me: nwehrle(at)yahoo.com
Posted by: neilw at January 12, 2009 11:43 AM
There was a house on the Park Slope house tour approx. 3-4 years ago that had excavated and refinished a large portion of their basement, while retaining the original brick archways and exposing the rock foundation walls. Very beautiful result. Can't remember the detail re: additional structural support. Maybe someone at the civic council, who organizes the tours, can put you in touch w/ them: http://www.parkslopeciviccouncil.org/
Also, recently attended a seminar re: cellar excavations by Bob Moulin, http://moulinassociates.com/
Posted by: vinca at January 12, 2009 12:16 PM
I know I'm late to the party, but ask some old timers on your block about digging out the basement. On our block there is an underground stream running down one side of the street. Make sure there isn't some similar situation at your place.
Posted by: Sisophys at April 8, 2009 6:17 PM
Neilw: Please keep us updated on the results of your research re cellar excavation. I have a similar project in mind, brick archways, would like to reclaim some of the space in the cellar, but it may be too expensive or there may be other issues (e.g., underground streams, footing problems).
Vinca: I tried the moulin associates website, but it's still "under construction" -- do you have direct contact info for Bob Moulin? Would be interested in such seminars.
Posted by: Silvermax at April 21, 2009 1:31 PM
Silvermax - we're moving ahead with things. If you're interested in what we're doing I'd be happy to share - you can email me at nwehrle (a) yahoo (dot) com
Posted by: neilw at April 30, 2009 1:31 PM
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