Where does a New Brunswick lally column sit?

A lally column in New Brunswick sits on a concrete footing at the bottom and bears against a beam (typically a steel I-beam or engineered wood beam) at the top, transferring the structural load of the house down through the basement floor slab into the soil below.

The footing beneath the column is the critical piece. It's a poured concrete pad — separate from the basement floor slab — sized to distribute the point load across enough soil area to prevent settlement. In NB, these footings must be designed to account for local soil conditions. In Saint John's heavy clay soils, footings need to be larger to compensate for the clay's tendency to compress and shift. In Moncton's sandier soils, settlement cracking around the footing base is something to watch for over time.

The column itself — traditionally a steel pipe filled with concrete, though older NB homes sometimes have solid steel or even wood posts — sits plumb between that footing and the beam above. The beam it supports typically runs the length of the basement, carrying the floor joists on either side. In most NB homes built between the 1960s and 1990s, you'll find multiple lally columns spaced 6 to 10 feet apart along this centre beam.

NB-specific context matters here. Many older NB homes have lally columns sitting on footings that were poured without modern engineering standards. Frost heave is a real concern — with frost depths reaching 1.2m in southern NB and 1.5m in the north, any footing that doesn't extend below the frost line can shift seasonally, causing the column to rack or the beam above to deflect. If you notice a column that's visibly leaning, a beam that's sagging, or doors on the main floor that have started sticking, those are signs worth having a structural engineer assess.

If you're planning a basement renovation, lally column locations directly affect your layout. You cannot simply remove or relocate a lally column without engineered drawings and a structural permit — these are load-bearing elements. Some homeowners opt to replace standard round columns with decorative steel or wood-wrapped columns to improve the finished look, which is fine as long as the structural integrity is maintained and the work is done properly.

Any modification to a lally column — replacement, relocation, or changes to the beam it supports — requires a professional assessment and permit in New Brunswick. This is not a DIY project. If you're getting quotes for a basement finish and a contractor suggests moving or removing a column without mentioning permits or engineering, that's a red flag.

Need help finding a basement contractor in New Brunswick? New Brunswick Basements can match you with a local renovator for a free estimate.