main beam (girder) replacement
we are about to purchase a townhouse in clinton hill. we did an inspection and found out there is a problem with the main beam at the basement. it is an all-wood beam that is weak and there are some tracks of termites around it. the engineer said we will have to replace it with…
we are about to purchase a townhouse in clinton hill.
we did an inspection and found out there is a problem with the main beam at the basement.
it is an all-wood beam that is weak and there are some tracks of termites around it.
the engineer said we will have to replace it with a steel beam or to re-enforce it. also few of the poles need replacement (most of the poles were already replaced with steel ones).
did someone had any experience with something like that?
can anybody recommend a structural contractor that can deal with that? How much something like that costs?
thank you very much
I would not advise you to do it yourself, you do not want a house falling on you like he wicked witch.
Have a licensed contractor put in a steel beam, it is not a big deal. THe trickiest part is threading it through a window, oh, and then releasing the jacks so the house settles on it.
Don’t bother trying to salvage the old parquet, it looks like it has had it. Replace it. There are wonderful new wood floors readily available. You can even get a fancy border or whatever if you like. Nothing beats a beautiful new wood floor.
Get a new beam and a new parquet, don’t worry, you’re gonna love it!
10:55, plumbers are worse than termites!!!
we were recently quoted around $1,600 to sister and reinforce the main basement beam, which our engineer recommended repairing. it had some termite issues plus a notch cut out of it by a negligent plumber ages ago.
Bergenbabe,
That’s actually not true–volume for volume, steel is more flexible than wood, so an Ibeam would allow more flexing and movement than a similarly large wood beam.
In fact, steel’s relative flexibility (its ability to bend without breaking) is what makes it so great for things like earthquakeproof buildings and large skyscrapers.
I Beams are great for your house because they don’t get eaten by termites. Termites find their way into your house most often through your main beam.
Your engineer gave you erroneous advice. The beams must be wood when replaced to allow movement not steel as advised. This is information was passed on to me by every engineer and architect I ever consulted. Perhaps you should consult someone more knowledgeable.
when shopping for a brownstone you should expect problems to come up . After all most of these buildings has been there over 100 yrs in most cases .Termits are treatable .Beams can be replaced ,but brownstones will never be built again . i should of taken my own advice
by priced out renter
i agree with both comments . we almost did not buy our 100 yr old brownstone cause the engineer scared us half to death with the report . Thank god we did not listen to him otherwise we would be priced out forever .He found a whole slu of things wrong and said these items needed replacinf ASAP wood headers , beams , electrical , roof front stoop just to name a few . We took the plunge and never looked back . Everything is fixable and dont forget that . 1 thing that’s not fixable . getting priced out because you are scared of a few repairs . Good luck and don’t look back
I replaced my beam myself.
Ibeams running the span cost about $650. Lallycolumns cost about $200. I ran through about $45 in sawzall blades. I made big lunches for my helping friends, and that ran me about $100.
It’s not a hard job. In a typical brownstone your beam is not holding up the house–it’s just stiffening it. But you have to understand how your house works and be able to juggle a big I-beam in your basement.
Your beam is important because it and the load-bearing walls on top of it stiffen the whole house. If termites have eaten at the beam, the whole house is going to get all saggy, and that is no good unless you want to be constantly relaying your tile on your increasingly sloping floors.
If you want to find out whether your beam is bad, jab at it as hard as you can with a medium-sized phillips head screwdriver in many loctions. If you sink the screwdriver into the beam, generate a huge cloud of dust, or make an enormous gouge, that’s bad. If your hand bounces back at you or just thuds into the surface of the beam like you think it should, then you’re gold.
Oh, and if termites have eaten your beam, start poking at the joists that sit on top of the beam…
how did the inspector determine that it’s weak ? Those guys usually give you worst case dooms day advice , the brownstone has to be 100 yr old plus , it hasent gone anywhere yet . chances are its not going anywhere soon