On Jun 22, 11:38*am, dpb wrote:
Phil wrote:

...

The goal is not to repair, but to remove a column in the basement. I'd
like to have an uninterrupted span of 16 feet in the basement to use
as a family room.

...

Alternate suggestion -- instead of trying to replace the whole thing,
why not ask what it would take in a steel plate bolted alongside the
existing beam to get the span? *(I'd guess 1/2" would do it, but I
didn't try any calc's, that's just gut feel).

That would only require supporting the floor joists on one side, cutting
them back to allow sliding in the (predrilled judiciously ) plate
bolting it through the beam and attaching the joists. *If carefully
measured, you could even have the hangers welded in the proper locations
and simply attach the joists instead of both directions in place...

$0.02, etc., ...

That's Plan A, or close to it at least. The steel plate has been
speced-out and requires some, as you say, judiciously placed brackets
for the joists. The downside is that the engineer didn't seem to think
that I could get the 16 feet span using this. When we discussed this
plan, we immediatly thought we needed to place the basement columns
under the gound-floor columns to get proper support. You're right
though, I should get him to check if we can get a 16 feet span using
the steel plates solution.

Thanks!
Phil