Most people call us for one of four reasons: they want to open a wall, a floor is sagging, a basement column has rusted through, or their contractor told them a beam is needed and they do not know what happens next.
Here is the honest version, without the sales language.
The engineer comes before the steel
A registered structural engineer has to look at what the wall or beam carries and specify the size of the replacement, the columns and the footings. That drawing is what the building department wants at permit and what we install to. It typically costs a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars depending on complexity, and it is not optional.
If you do not have an engineer, tell us the address and what you want to do and we will point you toward the right kind of engineer for the job.
What actually drives the price
It is almost never the steel itself. It is access, shoring, the number of new columns and footings, whether the beam has to be flush with the ceiling, and whether you are living in the house while it happens. A beam that walks in through a bulkhead and a beam that has to be cut into three pieces and welded together in your basement are the same beam and very different jobs.
The sequence, start to finish
- Engineer designs the beam, columns and footings and stamps the drawing
- Permit is pulled with your municipality
- We shore the structure on both sides before anything is removed
- The wall or old beam comes out and the new steel goes in
- Columns and footings take the load and the shoring comes out
- The building inspector signs off before the opening is closed in
- Your carpenter patches back, and the ceiling closes
How long you will be living with it
A straightforward basement beam or single wall opening is generally a few days of structural work, plus the permit and inspection calendar around it. We will tell you the realistic dates, including the days nothing visible happens because we are waiting on an inspection.
Working with your contractor
We are happy to be a subcontractor to your general contractor or remodeler and handle only the structural scope. That is often the cleanest arrangement: they own the finishes and the schedule, we own the steel.