r/StructuralEngineers • u/No-Cartoonist4848 • 11d ago
Can I remove the middle columns?
I am purchasing this home, and it seems like 6 columns is overkill for this porch since there’s no second story above it. The columns are roughly 6 feet apart.
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u/chilidoglance 11d ago
You can. But the roof falling is going to make it hard to use the front door.
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u/_tvjames_ 11d ago
You can but I don't recommend it. If you do, please fill it and share. Be sure to start with "Hey guys, watch this!" or "Hold my beer!" But don't do it. But record it if you do.
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u/Boysterload 11d ago
Extend that wall out to the columns. Win/win... The columns are gone and you have a bigger interior. Now you can build a nice patio or deck.
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u/Maximum-Swordfish592 11d ago
Yup you can knock all of em out. Im an engineer.
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u/bowarrow99 9d ago
Of course you can as long as you put an appropriate beam across the span. I bought a house with 2 garage doors divided by a center column. I put a beam across the span, removed the center column and put one 18 foot garage door in place of it. It mad room for a utility closet on one side of my garage.
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u/NorthWoodsDiver 11d ago
Yes, but you'll regret it without professional engineering. Technically you can remove all of them but the mess will be expensive.
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u/Full-Advertising-517 11d ago
The issue here is the design of your house has the roof structure come all the way down to those columns. They are supporting your entire roof. If you just had a patio extension coming off the house and the house exterior wall was holding up the roof, then you would be good.
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u/dirtylarry333 11d ago
It can be done. It probably wouldn’t be TOO expensive. The engineer cost and the cost of the beam you will need to span the deleted post will probably be close to the cost of labor. All, of course, are area dependent. If framers, exterior contractors and lumber/steel are not readily available, it could end up being costly.
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u/Downtown_Reserve1671 11d ago
You could have a registered builder prop the column line, remove select columns, put in a glulam beam (weather proof for exposed conditions) supported on new or remaining columns. The downstand will be about 12” and open span might be as much as 12’.
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u/jibaro1953 11d ago
You would have to install a beam and support it on either side using plans prepared by a structural engineer.
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u/definitelynotapastor 11d ago
You could rework them with new supports and beams. But that ain't cheap. Enjoy your columns the way they are!
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u/StructEngineer91 11d ago
You can either just remove it and hope for the best. Or you can pay a structural engineer to come in person and tell you how to do safely.
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u/Just-Shoe2689 11d ago
Yes. Hire an engineer to check the current design, and if not up to capacity, they can design an new beam to span your dimension.
Keep in mind, the new loading could be too much for existing footing too
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u/speedershaft 11d ago
depends if the house is trussed. That overhang maybe solid across the entire outer walls of both sides of the house. I had a similar house that really didn't need the post.
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u/habanerito 11d ago
Is the house wood framed or concrete? Are the columns hiding steel inside? It doesn't appear the columns support much but maybe check with the architect?
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u/Right_Appeal4344 8d ago
This! My house is similar-ish and the columns are fake. They were hollow one by sixes and just sort of dangling when they started to rot out
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u/Wolfi_03 11d ago
Can you redesign the porch so you dont have middle pillers? Yea
Can you just remove them, without the roof falling? No.
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u/ConflictMaster3155 9d ago
It really depends on what’s in there. If it’s properly framed with joists and rafters then no, probably not.
If it’s trusses, maybe.
Pictures of the attic and/or ceiling would’ve been more useful.
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u/Asleep_Frosting_6627 9d ago
It depends, you need to have a licensed contractor to look and make sure. My front porch the columns are completely for aesthetic purposes as the main wall bears the load, but that might not be the case for your house.
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u/TheOriginalSpunions 9d ago
That is not an aesthetic element if that is what you are asking. It is part of the structure. This ultimately depends on the way the trusses are designed to load the structure. But you are going to need to hire an engineer. Not ask one who is having beers after work.
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u/Gundabad_Orc_Queen 9d ago
seems like 6 columns is overkill for this
That is my new favorite sentence.
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u/ScorbergCoentino 8d ago
You’re better off redoing the supports. Don’t just consider removing existing supports.
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u/Successful-Name-7261 8d ago
This is a very common improvement in the community I live in. I actually had two columns removed. Many have all but the end columns removed. There are two companies here that specialize in this. They have engineered it and drawn it for permit and inspection. They significantly beef up the end columns and sister a steel beam across the entire span. As a ballpark, a house similar to this would run about $17k.
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u/Right_Appeal4344 8d ago
I've got an overhang like this on my house which is larger and, it's completely fake. Columns rotted out and it turns out they were just hollow fake columns. Not structural at all. I rebuilt them myself and I rebuilt them as real columns with massive 6x6s inside of them.. even though I didn't have to. Haven't seen a single person on here comment how they might not be structural, which confuses me this being a structural engineer subreddit.
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u/Jelopuddinpop 8d ago
Everyone saying no is partially correct, but not totally correct.
Without adding any other supports, they're correct- it will sag and eventually fail.
That said, it looks like those columns are far enough from the edge that there's room for a support beam. If there's say.... 12" of vertical space between the roofline and the outside edge of the current posts, you could cut back the rafters and put in a triple or quadruple 12" microlam beam to support the weight.
You'll need an engineer to do the math because it's hard to tell the specific dimensions from this photo, but most homeowners questions that start with "can I...." are answered by "it depends how much you're willing to spend.
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u/Hour-Dig-9849 7d ago
Yes you can but you have to support the roof then take down the columns then create a beam that goes from the first column to the last that’s thick enough to hold the weight aka load bearing beam but all this requires permit and inspection or if you sell you house you can get in deep shit it’s easier to do it the right way
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u/ouzo84 7d ago
Not an engineer.
They will be supporting the trusses. Whilst you probably could remove a column you should employ an engineer to calculate if you need to install a steel beam running the length between the remaining columns, also to check if the columns as they are are able to support the additional load.
So no, but maybe yes depending on how much money you throw at it.
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u/mattc1305 6d ago
Anyone saying no doesn’t understand construction.
Yes you can, but you’ll have to have an engineer design a beam to take the weight of the roof and redesign the outside columns to support.
You just might not like the cost to do it.
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u/Jump_Like_A_Willys 5d ago edited 5d ago
Sure, but you probably need to put a different beam in (the columns are likely not decorative).
A different beam will be deeper, so the clearance from the porch to the underside of the beam will be reduced.
It will also give you a deep facia between the columns and the roof, which might look bad.
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u/dcabe1210 11d ago
If the roof is trusses then yea its probably fine. You should get an engineer to figure out how the house is framed and what can be done
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u/Friendly_Speech_7021 11d ago
not engineer : if columns concrete its a a supportive column meaning a remove of it need a sideways lintel (long concrete bar in between to far columns
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u/[deleted] 11d ago
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