I have a friend of mine that is finishing his basement. The home is a split level with the single level of the home over the basement the second story is over the garage. My question this there is a support pole in the middle of a 17' span that he wants to remove. The current beam is 3 2x10's nailed together. What beam or addition to this beam will support the floor without any problems? Someone has suggested adding a 3x10 laminated beam bolted to the beam would be enough support to remove the pole. Any ideas?

 

Definitely a question for a structural engineer. I would NOT remove this without the official blessing of one of these folks. Having said that, a steel beam probably solves that problem.

 

Well, here's something to give you an approximation: I knocked out a wall a while ago, which supported the side of the house (2 story) that left an 18' span. The engineer figured that am 8.5" steel I-beam would be required. Since they only came in 8 or 10". I ended up with 10".

Now, this may certainly change if the support requires more strength than mine, but I think that the 10" steel I-beam would be a minimum. The second story of my house at that point consists mostly of an attic-type area where the roofline slopes down to just above where the beam is, so it's not supporting all that much. If there's real living space above it, I'd be surprised if you'd get by with anything short of a similar steel beam. This is only an opinion based on what what needed in my house, plus 1 semester of structural engineering, so take it for what it's worth.

JonasM

 

Hire a structural engineer now. He's going to pay for it sooner or later, anyway. Eventually, the house will be for sale and no buyer will touch it without documentation that it still meets code. It will probably cost a couple of hundred bucks, but he's going to pay that either now or when he goes to sell the house.

Might as well just do it right now. Postponing can only mean that either he doesn't put in enough and has to add more later, or that he buys more than he needs now. Either way, eventually a buyer is going to require proof that it meets code.