Hello all, OK, 3 columns in basement. One of them has leaking rust spots, 3 of them. Bottom, middle and towards top, Is the moisture seeping up from foundation into center of column? I live in an area where it floods in the street about every 10 years. Thanks.
It's extremely unlikely that there's water coming up the lally columns. I'd suspect condensation, unless there's evidence of water damage to the overhead beam.
No damage to overhead beam. Thanks
That's a weird one. A couple of comments and observations, if I may. If you have leaking rust spots at locations throughout the height of the column, then you have rust-through and seriously weak areas. This is not a good thing to have in a column that is supporting substantial weight. Some of the Lally columns are plain steel tubes and others are concrete filled. If you have the former, and it's leaking from a point near the top, that would mean that the tube is filled with water which
- a rather unlikely situation. If it is the latter case, the concrete may be wicking water up from below. That is also rather unlikely, but possible. You didn't mention whether or not that you had water problems in the basement.
As the Big G mentioned condensation is a potential source, but that is also unlikely. Having that much condensation inside the tube is pretty bizarre. How would all of that moist air, enough to cause all the leaking, get inside the column?
So you have three unlikely scenarios, one probably is the culprit.
I think you had better plan on replacing that column sooner rather than later. It's easier to determine what is causing the problem once you have removed and inspected the post. Then you can install the replacement post in a new and improved fashion.
R
Lolly Columns require lollp pop sticks to hold them up.
And yet steel sheet piling can last for decades in a marine environment.
If the post is painted with rustproofing or even a good coat of paint, humidity won't be much of a problem.
The OP should scrape away at the rust spots and see if it's just a bit of surface rust or deeper.
Mike
All steels are not created equal.
The OP said the spots were leaking. That would mean leaking from the inside out. That's a serious problem anyway you cut it.
R
Any steel used in a structural application (assuming a standard lolly column) is not going to rust that quickly. It isn't sheet metal.
Is that what he knows or what he thinks? I don't take things like this at face value.
Mike
Sheet piling isn't a Lally column and you have no idea how long the column has been there. The OP said that his street flooded "about every ten years". Your guess as to how long he has been monitoring that flood data...? I have no clue.
The OP wrote, "One of them has leaking rust spots, 3 of them. Bottom, middle and towards top." I can't imagine another scenario, other than water originating on the inside that would cause three such spots to leak. Anything originating on the outside would be uniform (condensation) or there'd be a visible trail of water (leak from above). If it's leaking from the inside out, it's a lot worse than what you're seeing. Right?
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