Almost drilled into basement steel column
rcguy1984
| Posted in General Discussion on
I was using a 1″ hole saw to drill through some studs adjoining the basement steel column in my 1970s tri-level home. I suppose I thought I wasn’t anywhere close to being all the way through, but when I removed my bit, I realized that I had grazed the steel column in the center of my basement. The drill did not go all the way through, although the center bit did go a bit deeper than the 1/16″ that the hole saw portion did. How bad did I damage the column by doing this? The column is in good condition: only minor surface rust on the lower portion. Will this compromise the structural integrity of the house?
Replies
Looks like a flesh wound.
I would go around with whatever you are running, and call it a day.
of course, it is weaker, but these columns are not closely coupled to the expected load. there are safety factors. YOu can give it a shot of spray paint if it makes you feel better.
Looks like neither of the cuts penetrated the column.
To come up with a real answer, you would need to know the design load and compare with the load capacity rating of the column, to know for sure if it was marginal to begin with, and you need to worry.
Are all the studs under the same load? If so, I would agree that there's probably plenty of safety margin.
It looks like minor damage that should not affect the home structurally. Lally columns compressive strength comes from the concrete that fills the steel tube, and nicking the thin-walled steel will cause a negligible reduction in column strength.