My house has a steel beam supported by two columns dividing the family room and kitchen. It would likely be cost prohibitive to replace the entire beam (which hangs down about 15" from the ceiling), but I would like to remove the columns as they limit the usable space in our living room -- the house is only 25' wide, so space is at a premium. Are there any alternatives I can consider to support the beam without the columns (one is close to an exterior wall) without compromising the the strength and integrity of the steel support beam, such as steel brackets? I'm prepared to spend $10-20k to do the work. Would appreciate any suggestions or ideas.
You must really want this changed! Posting in several areas, wow. Get an engineer to see if the columns are structual in nature or just faux to seperate the rooms. There is no way to answer the question without knowing what the steel is holding up and how the ends are supported.
Posts: 1440 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: 31 January 2006
Yes, we're doing some work and this is becoming a major issue. We are definitely using an engineer, but I thought it would be good if anyone had alternatives I could ask him to explore. My cousin (who is a contractor) took a look this morning. It appears that only one of the columnsis for structural support and the other is cosmetic. The sky crain is a great idea, but i suspect the neigboors could have some issues with it . . .
