Ask the Architect

'Who's right, and what do we do?"

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Q. We’re in the middle of a construction problem, and hope you can help. Our contractor put wood columns in our house so it was easier to attach the sheetrock, he says. The plans call for steel columns where there are steel beams, but he says the wood columns are better and easier to work with. Our architect says this is wrong, not what was shown on the plans, which were steel columns, and he says it’s also not legal with wood. The contractor says the building inspector already passed it, so it must be legal, right? Who’s right, and what do we do?

A. Your architect is right, for at least three reasons. (1) The plans prepared by your licensed professional, your architect, are part of a legal contract between you and your contract-or (hence the name). (2) The code requires steel beams to be supported by steel columns. This is based on structural requirements that form “systems” within any kind of building. The term “system” basically means that beams (the horizontal part) and columns (the vertical part) have to be connected with certain strength factors that wood and steel do not achieve under normal circumstances.

I imagine that if someone really bound a ton of materials together, they could eventually reach the strength of a steel-to-steel connection, but forget about it. Next time you cross the George Washington Bridge, look at all the bolted connections and imagine it made out of some wood and some steel. Apparently your contractor can, which is why we hope he doesn’t get to build a bridge. These framing systems are meant to resist wind and seismic (earthquake) episodes. Yes, we do get earthquakes.

And reason (3) is safety and longevity. If your house had a fire, minor or major, the wood burns and the steel beam, which is considered a “primary” structural element, carrying a large amount of the home’s weight, shifts, sags and possibly collapses, maybe even while firefighters are trying to find occupants to get them to safety. Why do we have to put firefighters in danger just because of a bad construction decision?

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