Q. The outside of the Lally columns in my under-the-house garage have rusted out at the bottom. The inside concrete looks OK, but is the outside steel layer important? GUEST, in Hotton’s chat ...

A: Lally columns are made up of a steel tube filled with concrete. The steel is most important, because any concrete inside the steel tube is too small to hold up without the steel. What has ...

Adjustable steel columns, also called jack posts or lally columns, can be installed in basements and crawl spaces to support sagging floors or can be used as a fulcrum beneath heavy appliances ...

On the plus side, a girder supported by adjustable lally columns allows you to almost double the floor’s strength. At the same time, you can use the columns to correct the worst highs and lows ...

Rotten lally columns replaced; Homer House tour; Hardwood floor salvaged. Tommy replaces rotten lally columns in the basement. Norm removes the marble sink and claw-foot tub from the guest bath to ...

A lally column is replaced by a larger ridge beam for an open kitchen and dining area. Great progress is being made on the project house. The primary addition is being framed and the rooms are ...

Contractor Rob Robillard also discusses lally column replacement. For more expert home improvement advice, go to realestate.boston.com.

Marblehead Little Theatre’s $1.65 million restoration and renovation of the 1890 former Central Firehouse on School Street recently was awarded its fourth Massachusetts Cultural Council ...