As we were digging the basement under the main house, and removing the foundation wall, a beam would have to take its place. For the time being, a temporary stud wall was installed to hold up the house.

Across the center of the new basement, the plans called for a triple 2 x 12 held up on the ends and 2 piers in the middle. This was clearly undesirable, to have columns in the way, so the goal here was to span the basement clear from end to end. The side by the porch edge would need a column and footing because the old cinder block wall would not support the load. To use this as a temporary support, I filled the blocks with cement and made a pocket shelf to set the beam on.

The other side was a bit different. The plans assumed that there an existing wall to set the beam on, however the existing wall had no footing or support. This corner was also a transition from the entry slab height to the new basement height. A 12-inch block wall complete with footing was needed.

I decided that we could land the stair wall and the column on the same wall if I shifted the wall over an inch or two. This would make the column shorter, only 3 feet or so.

Since we were thinking steel, I noticed that the original 4 x 6 wood beam holding up the house was badly sagging and cracked. After a discussion with Rich (the architect) and Scott (the framer) we thought it best to replace it with a steel beam. Head height was a problem so I was anxious to use a 4" beam. The existing columns were shabby and the footings non-existent, so they couldn’t be reused. Also it was easier to put the new beam up next to the one first and the remove the older one. This would also enable the use of the new pier footing to set the column on in the center. To make this installation easier, the beam would be in 2 parts with the joint over the column. Each end would be pocketed into the existing foundation walls.

I had the steel delivered. The steel company, Arco Trading, from Newark, NJ needed some workers on site to help get the steel off the truck. They came a day early when no one was there and just pushed the beams off into the dirt on the edge of the driveway. There were 4 pieces total.

2 – 4" deep by 12-foot beams would replace an existing wood beam holding up the existing living room joists. The next was an 18 foot 12 inch deep beam to replace the foundation wall that we removed digging out the basement. The last was a 14" deep beam to span the new basement and support the new dinning room floor.

Working nights with Al and Bob we cut pockets into the wall, and installed the beam on temporary jack columns. To make the permanent columns, I bought a length of schedule 40 steel pipe and Don Nelson at work welded flanges on the ends. When I brought the column home it was filled with concrete and set in place. Drilling holes in the beams was lots of fun with the hot metal chips flying into my collar and down my shirt.

family room end of W4 beam while jacking house

filled in wall and packed non shrink grout under beam

center support

driveway end of beam above washing machine

These were the light beams, they were only 100 lbs. or so for each half. The next beam we installed was the replacement for the foundation wall we removed. Scott built a wood scaffold under the beam location. 

This allowed us to first get the beam close to where it had to be and then jack it into place. It took 4 of us to get the beam onto the scaffold. It weighted about 400 lbs., but with careful movement it wasn’t that much of a lift. Temporary jacks were used to get it up and into place.

To install the center span beam, I borrowed Asen’s scaffold. 

This was much easier than nailing together a wood scaffold. Scott and Fred managed to get the beam into place themselves. I was impressed.

Temporarily the beam was set into the porch wall on one side and sitting on the scaffold on the other side. 

The permanent wall to land the column on needed to be built. After many promises from John, the mason to come and built the block wall but not showing up, I decided to build the wall myself. After all, the buck stops with me!

I laid the corner of the wall from the footing to the top one night myself and filled the block solid with concrete. The short column was made and I installed it. Al helped me finish the wall, actually I helped him lay the rest of the block.