Jack Post Column replacement
A temporary jack post is in the basement of the detached frame house we’re looking to buy. Structurally the house is very sound with no visible sagging but apparently a jack post is against building code. There is a concrete slab in the basement. The recommendation is to replace the jack post with steel pipe…
A temporary jack post is in the basement of the detached frame house we’re looking to buy. Structurally the house is very sound with no visible sagging but apparently a jack post is against building code. There is a concrete slab in the basement. The recommendation is to replace the jack post with steel pipe column. Is a steel pipe the same thing as a lally column? Do I have to break through the concrete slab to pour a new footing for this steel pipe column? Is this something I can do myself? Thanks!
So who did you get to look at the jack posts or replace them? It’s hard to find someone.
I just called Mark Hyman’s # and was told they don’t do residential work unless its a brownstone. So, does anyone know who will do work like this for one column and how much it will cost for everything?
Steve – who did you use to install the steel beam?
Thanks!
I have recommended these guys a few times: Mark Hyman @ Wolf Restorations, Inc.., 101 Lake Drive, Hewlett, NY 11557, Tel: 516-374-1294. They specialize in structural work and will provide engineer, architect, expediter, drawings, etc., as needed. They were originally recommended to me by a Manhattan-based architect who used them for work on his own home.
A jack post is against code for a reason — occasionally those codes are there for good sense. Jack posts are much thinner metal than pipe, and the joints are perforated to allow adjustment in height, so a sharp impact right at the weak midpoint of a jack column will snap it apart.
To answer your other questions, a pipe is the same as a lally column (Lally being an Irishman handy with some spare plumbing parts, apparently). Yes to the second question as to whether you need to break your slab — the average cellar slab won’t bear the weight of a point load added to it. The slab should be broken open for a proper foundation.
And in terms of a do-it yourself project, that’s a good question. After all, if you’re good enough, you can remove a bullet from your stomache yourself without the help of a doctor, right? Do you really want to? I would think that unless you are unusually capable you’d be better off hiring someone for this.
Anyone have engineer and contractor recs for people who specialize in this kind of work? Our tired old frame house has a bunch of jacks, and some big sags and some older sistered joists, and some time soon we need to address all of it.
I had both lally and screwjack columns littering my basement to compensate for a cracked center support beam. The obstructions made the basement almost useless for a shop so I replaced the wood beam with a steel I-beam, which got rid of almost all those columns. That’s one option to consider.
I bet a new beam (or reinforcing existing beam) is cheaper and better in the long run. If there was no column there, solve the problem that the temporary jack is trying to address.
Have an engineer look at it and avoid a jerry rigged solution. Good luck.
A lally column is essentially a steel pipe. You fill them with concrete for added support. The size and placement should be specified by an engineer. Any post whether it be masonry or steel needs a dug and poured footing, even a deck.
The jack column is a good temporary fix but correct, not code. You can do it yourself if you pour the 2′ fooring and install the column with steel plates at the top and bottom but installing it yourself is against code as well!!!