Hi Guys, Can anyone help me? I am going to finish my basement bu I have a cement block support holding up my joists, i want to replace it with a 4" steel pole (like newer home have). How do I go about this? can I support either side of the support beams with some sort of jack until i knock down the blocks and place a pole in it's place? do i have to dig out the footer of the pole a few inches to provide a stable base? I have no idea? thanks Vinny

Hi, I have a brick walled basement. The bricks at below ground level have the usual white salt, or lime,that develops when there is moisture, and have been slowly crumbling because of the same moisture(I live near the lake...) and because of some lieakeage. This means every so often I have to pick up some sand-type stuff collected on the floor along those walls. I am nervous to see this and worry because I get the impression that if bricks go, my house will fall down... since I have no idea how thick these type of basement walls are, or how many layers of bricks there are, or what is it that holds these houses up. I have tried to do remedies such as keeping the rain away from the walls by means of plastic or making sure the slope goes away from the house. However the moisture inside, during the summer, is enough to make the bricks keep on crumbling. One wall has even a slight deformation inwards. How worried am I supposed to be? My guess is that having someone dig the outside and waterproof the walls would be a very highly priced job, am I not right? Anybody knows in what order? Or is there another way? I'd be so thankful for any help! Magvitum