For the best basement support columns, and columns installation for your Chicago project, call Structural Beam today at 773-917-8998!

Buy Steel Basement Support Columns for Your Project in Chicago

Basement support columns do an important job, away from the sight, literally holding the internal weight of your house. The quality of that support is determined by the quality of the materials used for fabrication, the quality of fabrication itself, and the quality of the installation job.

For the best results, get your basement steel support columns manufactured and installed by Structural Beam, call 773-917-8998 for a free price quote, today!

The deal with the basement columns

Supporting tremendous weights

The basement columns are there to support the dead and live weight of the internal part of your home, above them. You might not realize this, but basement metal columns hold tremendous loads, e.g. a four-inch steel column of 6 feet in height can support more than 20.000 pounds, which is a lot of weight!

Weight transfer

That weight is the dead weight of the flooring, floor joists, and joist girder beam, plus the live weight of the furniture and house inhabitants. The load from the floor goes to the joists, then from joists to the joist girder beam and through it, to the basement beam, and into the foundation walls.

The steel basement columns support and transfer a part of that load from the basement beam, to their footing pads under the basement floor. The pad under the concrete floor transfers the load to the ground under it.

Structural elements, not “just some posts”

The point is that steel basement support columns are structural members under a heavy load, and their engineering, placement, fabrication, and installation are not to be taken lightly and must be done by qualified and certified professionals, and planned by the structural engineer, according to the IRS codes.

The Lally column, named after the American inventor John Lally, is essentially a composite column that synergistically utilizes qualities of structural steel and concrete.

The form and the function

The typical Lally basement support column is custom made of square or round section HSS (tube steel or box section), filled with premium quality concrete, made for extra strength.

The concrete’s compressive resistance increases the structural stability of the column and prevents it from buckling.

The installation/erection type

Lally columns rest on the concrete footing, the basement concrete floor is poured over it after the installation, and the footing is thus encapsulated. This way, lasting structural stability of the lally column in place is achieved.

Basement support column types

Permanent Lally posts

Permanent support posts Lally- style, a permanent column for permanent structural support. This Lally type is a non-adjustable, fixed-height, concrete-filled basement support post. This type is stronger than the other two lally types, and because it’s a fixed-length, it’s best suited for permanent support applications.

To secure the column to the beam, a beam plate at the top of the column is used. There’s an end plate at the bottom, to prevent any lateral movement.

Adjustable permanent support Lally column

Also known as mono-post, tel-o-post, or red-I-Posts. These steel support posts are adjustable, self-contained, pre-fab, and fully assembled units, with up to 12 feet adjustable height. The post adjustment is locked in a permanent position either by the spot weld lock or by the concrete poured. Red-I-posts are particularly corrosion-resistant, and great for potentially humid basement environments because they are done in the red-iron technology, covered with an iron-based primer, that protects them from rust.

The regulations have to be checked before using these for permanent support, so better check with your building inspector or with our legal and regulatory compliance team.

Adjustable temporary steel support posts, or Floor Jacks

Also known as screw jacks, they are not intended to be permanent posts anywhere in the U.S. The unintended use of these units for permanent support post applications can lead to fatal collapses and danger to human health and life. But, they do a great job during the leveling of the beams, temporary support of the sagging floor, etc.

For the basements that are actually used as living or entertainment spaces, structural framing is used, and basement support columns will be made of structural steel beams, like I-beams, W-beams, or H-beams.

The size and the placement of the structural steel members must be determined by the structural engineer according to the IRC codes and detailed in the blueprints.

There are various creative basement pole covers ideas that can be implemented to integrate the basement structural support columns of this type into the interior design.

Do it with the best, do it with Structural Beam

At Structural Beam, we can fabricate, supply, install, move, and replace basement support columns for your projects in Chicago IL. Call us today at 773-917-8998 for a free consultation, and we’ll take it from there!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are basement columns called?

Basement support columns are called Lally columns, after American inventor John Lally, who owned a company that started producing these columns in the 19th century.

How do you replace basement columns?

The best way is definitely to use professional help, Structural Beam would be happy to be of assistance. When replacing basement columns, proper calculations have to be done, and a sound plan of the job has to be created, so the structural integrity of your home is not compromised.

How do you hide structural columns?

There are many creative ideas for pole covers and column covers, talk to your interior designer and you can come up with a way to successfully integrate support poles into the living space, enhancing the aesthetic appeal.