I was referred to a woman who lives in Boston because the home inspector said there were multiple problems with lally columns and one in particular. I asked her to send me photos, which were right in her home inspection report. I couldn’t believe what I saw.
What I saw was a temporary lally column sitting on the cement floor and what was on top of the lally column in between the beam and the ceiling was what looked like a cast iron frying pan. I’ve been in the business for 15 years and I have never seen anything like that. This homeowner has taken the cake for unusual lally column structures.
Another had no footing. A footing is a solid piece of concrete that goes down about 12-14” to help support the lally columns.
The one I saw was a temporary lally column. Those are the ones with the screw jack. And being hollow they can’t handle the weight of the house. If there is a fire it is going to melt. Today’s building code says they have to be steel filled with concrete. Plus a frying pan may be nice to cook dinner, but you can’t put it on top of a lally column. What should be there is a thick piece of steel with a cup welded on and bolted to the support beam.
For more information on lally column replacement, contact A1 Foundation Crack Repair.