How to prevent rust on structural steel column?

[bzinsky]

So I recently installed 20 steel columns. The columns comprise of a 5/8 inch steel plate on bottom, which is now just resting on the footers, and will eventually bolt them down. Same setup at the top. Middle is obviously a steel column. Plates are already welded to the columns.

Under about half of them, I'm getting a little water up from the floor. I'm working on the water problem, but I fear it will never be completely solved just because of the surrounding land. I'm trying to rust proof the steel. Which means I'll need to do something about the bottom plate. The footers are not new, we just used the old footers. Which is probably why theres a little water.

What I can do, is take the weight of each column and put a coating on underneith it. I bought epoxy to coat the steel but I don't think its a good plan to wait for it to dry. That means I'd need to jack up each column 1 at a time, coat with epoxy, let dry for a few days, then replace column. Thats pretty time consuming. I'm wondering if anybody thinks throwing some hydraulic cement under the column, and then just immediately put the column back and take the jacks off, which would mean the hydraulic cement would just spread out under the weight and act as a water barrier. Let the cement dry, then coat the top steel with the epoxy?

Does anybody think hydaulic cement would work well in that application?

Thanks in advance

 

[Lassen Forge]

I'd try to figure a way to lose the water first. That can create issues later on as well as the current problems with rusting steel... maybe some subgrade drainage?

Anyway... If it were me... I'd go the time consuming epoxy route... because it works.

 

[Kaizen]

take care of the water. Those plates rust even in normally dry basements. a good epoxy will lengthen the life of any metal but even with it coated and sitting in water it will start again. can you get more plates say 5 or so and coat them, replace the ones there, and repeat? can't be that expensive. probably a bunch laying around where you got them from.

 

[rdn2blazer]

Por15

 

[Randy in Maine]

I would also use either the POR 15 or the KBS Rust Seal. They are about the same.

 

[rburke65]

Another vote for the POR 15. Then a top coat.

 

[Whitworth]

Lift, coat with epoxy and slide a thin piece of flashing underneath. (Copper, zinc plated steel, whatever) then lower.

G

 

[pop pop]

Steel framed buildings I've built had blasted steel after fab and red oxide primer coated. Set on grout, but never in water. Too late for galvanize dip. If you're worried about water from the foundation, what is happening to anchor bolts?

 

[bzinsky]

Thanks for the advice guys. I talked to a contractor who specializes in structural steel. He told me if it was exposed to water daily and I did absolutely nothing to it, it would take over 100 years for that 1/2 inch steel to rust away enough to loose a significant amount of integrity.Making it more irrelevant is the fact that it's a bottom plate and doesn't provide much to begin with.

I suppose I'll just coat the column itself.

This brings up a rant and a valuable lesson I learned in this building.

You should have seen the columns I took out of there. It's an apartment building which obviously has a lot of people inside. The columns were concrete filled lolly columns, and half of them were just completely missing the steel on the bottom 2-5 inches. These were cemented into the footings. When we jacked them up, most of them we didn't have to cut, we were able to kick them out. Scary stuff, especially considering (2) 15 ton and (2) 20 ton jacks was not enough to take the weight off of a single column. We had to use (2) 50 tons. The previous owner had painted the bottom of the columns clearly to hide the evidence.

Same owner installed recessed wall mounted mailboxes in which he had to cut out 4 studs to install. How did he do it, just cut 4 consecutive studs on the load bearing wall on the first floor, the same load bearing wall which is directly above the columns I had to use 100 ton of jack to raise.

The top plate above that load bearing wall, 2x 2x4's. So essentially those 2 2x4's had to support all the weight, completely unsupported for an 80 inch span. It's like a dumptruck trying to cross a rope bridge. Not sure how it was still up, but it was bowing badly.

Just mind blowing someone could be that careless in a building that has that many people inside.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Cheap and dirty slumlords... lived in a few apartments that the LL kept afloat with luck, bubblegum, and more luck... and no money. The sad part is when you start finding issues like that, you better check everything - especially the stuff that looks good - as these types will spend more time making something bad look good than they would fixxing the problem...

Good luck, let us know how it all turns out...