Expert: Dan Griffin - 6/3/2008

Question
Hi-
My husband and I are buying a house (new construction) and when we had the home inspected, the inspector found that the lolly columns in the garage and the basement are not in the slab, but rather on top of the slab. The builder claims that this is not a code violation or a safety hazard and the town bldg inspector said it is not required that they be anchored in the slab but my inspector said that this is NOT normal and he has not seen any done this way. Please HELP! We dont want the house to fall down on us a few years up the road. Thanks in advance.
Joyce Bagley

Answer
Lally columns carry overhead loads and reduce the span of bearing members.  The loads involved must be transferred to proper footings capable of carrying the loads involved.

The issue is whether or not these footings are installed under the floor at the load points.  It is more common, as per your inspector, to have the Lally columns resting on these footings with the floor poured poured around the columns often  with diamond block outs.  I would consider it minimal to have the bottom of the Lally columns fastened to prevent any chance of "kick Out".  Many building inspectors prefer the columns trapped in the floor to prevent any unqualified persons to move or remove a bearing support without adequate engineering.

I honestley do not know the residential codes involved, but defer to your local code inpector.  Your builder should be able to show you the footing design on blue print and be able to illustrate compliance.  The house will not fall down.  The imposed load may crack the floor and push the floor down under the load, though this would be extreme.  If this were to happen, it would probably take years and can be remedied after the fact by cutting out a section of floor large enough to create the proper footing size.