Any structural engineers?

[butchcassidy]

First off, I hope this is in right area, please move if not.

Pool and patio were just installed this month, now I'm looking into options for the circled pillar. I would love to remove it, but just don't know if it is load bearing. Any ideas by looking at these photos?

 

[tim5055]

I’ m goINV to guess that it’s about a 99% chance it’s load bearing.

Hard to tell the headroom there, but if you have height to spare you could span that with a beam. Almost anything can be done with a fistful of $100 bills....

 

[Jimrahbe]

Butch,

There would be no reason to put it there if it were not structural, as it would look better without it..

Their choice was an expensive beam or a cheap post..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[butchcassidy]

Thanks guys. Those were my thoughts as well. I can't believe they opted for a pillar. Guess I will tackle this one when there bank account fills up again.

 

[SpringPool]

What’s the distance between the posts and how long is it from house the furthest post? If you can get into the attic you may be able to see if it’s full length beam or not.

 

[mguzzy]

I'm going to vote load bearing. all the posts seem equidistant from each other and the walls, so the beams between them are the same. Try removing the trim at the top of the bricks. I bet you'll find the bricks are set around a square post (4x4 ) and you might see the bracket that ties the post into the beam. If that beam is continuous then it depends on how big it is. ie, 4x10, 4x12, etc

 

[SpringPool]

It also depends on which way the joists run. More than likely they point towards the pool which means that edge is load bearing. If for some reason they run the opposite way it won’t be load bearing but could be where they butted to beams together

 

[mguzzy]

Right. There are always more things in play when you cant see how its built. I figured removing the trim would be an easy way to see how the post is tied into the beam as a first step