Lolly Columns

Client suggested that her Dad had a concern with leakage at the sanitary stack…
Turns out the leakage is from the foundation columns in the basement…
has anyone ever seen water collect within a column…
corrode thru…
and leak to the floor?..
I knocked off a barnacle and water leaked out of the column…
Is this typical or unusual…?

Very unusual, defer

Exactly,
I deferred it with a ??
I called a Foundation Contractor that is a friend of mine.

He suggested that he has never seen anything like it where the columns would fill with water (in over 25 years of business) …

I was curious if anyone else has seen this…

Never seen this in my 40 year construction career. :slight_smile:

Very odd…I’ve never see that either. :shock:

Where would the water be coming from?..is it pushing up from the bottom of the post, from under the slab possibly, or coming down from the top from somewhere?

Did someone, somehow, think that it was a drain stack and put a drain into it?

Or they could have read an article about the Steel Building in Pittsburgh and thought it was a good idea…: “The building was the first in history to use liquid-fireproofed columns.” http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=207

Around here, they required the columns to be concrete filled.

Condensation.

I actually see it quite often and actually look for it. If you pick off the rust nodule like a scab you sometimes get the water to come out. I usually find this condition in conjunction with some other indication of water or dampness under the concrete slab or in the basement…usually the base of the lalley column is covered by the concrete floor. My theory is that water is rising in the concrete filled column by capillary action (remember it is just a theory). whether it is condensation or some other source the water is definitely inside the column.

This is more than likely a cause from calcium chloride in the concrete. There is no way to stop this from getting any worse. You should replace this column because the concrete and the steel have been compromised. You can check the website for more solutions www.DeanColumn.com

Thanks for sharing sir.

Thanks Dean.

My thought…
Column is concrete filled Lolly Column…
Drill a hole at top and bottom…
See what the result is…

I can only think of one related example for the moisture related deficiency on the column, Dew point.
Nick has the idea.

I am not saying I am correct but it can happen.

  1. Did you take a humidity readings at selected areas within the basement?
  2. Was the column near a source of cold, a window, a HVAC branch line, near the basement drain, etc, etc, etc?

Many homies see rust/oxidization on rough metal/iron in basements but disregard it as not related to a system or component.
Even rusted nails in attics for the most part go unreported I can imagine. It is assumed that the attic is naturally humid at times.
Fasteners should look as the day they were installed.
If I see oxidization in plenums, on screws on systems and even nails on wooden components, it warrants a review.

I have 2 meters for air/environment quality. Both are operating in certain basement environments.

That will also allow the column to become more temperature stable.
A flow will enter/exit the holes.
Good point!