Today, everyone wants an open concept for their home. And even when they are redoing their basement, they want to open that up. It would be nice to get rid of some of those lally columns that are in the way, especially if you are putting in a pool table or something like that. We get the question “can I move my lally columns” pretty often.
You can do whatever you want to do, however with that said, it may not be good for the structure of your house. If there is a lally column in your kitchen/living area that runs to the and the basement area has been opened up, there needs to be support under the column in the kitchen. If you take those basement lally columns away, you could ruin the support of the whole structure. You could not only have damage to the beam because it is undersized, but also to the house itself.
If you want to get rid of lally columns always consult a structural engineer. He may want beef up that beam that is against the ceiling of the basement maybe with a thicker piece of wood, maybe steel or an LVL beam which will give it additional strength.
You can have lally columns farther apart and still provide support, but always consult a structural engineer. For more information, contact A1 Foundation Crack Repair.