Failed Beams and Girders Replaced With Engineered LVL or Steel I-Beam.

Epp Foundation Repair removes a failed structural beam or girder. The horizontal member that carries floor joist loads and transfers them to posts or piers below, and replaces it with an engineered LVL (laminated veneer lumber) or a steel I-beam sized for the actual load and the actual span. The work is staged for safety: multi-point temporary jacking takes the joist load off the failing beam, the old beam comes out in sections, the new beam goes in on properly-sized supports (new helical piers if the existing posts are also inadequate), and load is transferred in measured stages with a laser level confirming the floor above returns to plane. Customized Repair Estimate after on-site inspection reflects your scope.

Dave Epp has cut out failed beams in homes from the 1920s to the 2000s across Lincoln, Omaha, Grand Island, and Kansas City. The failure modes are recognizable. Rot shows up first at the beam-to-post bearing point, where chronic crawl-space moisture or basement humidity wets the end-grain of a wood beam and breaks down the fiber over decades. Undersizing shows up when an original 1950s 6x6 carrier beam was sized for 12-foot spans and the basement was later partitioned, the kitchen island added, or a second story put on top. The beam never had the design capacity for the load it's now carrying. Cracking and checking shows up in original-growth lumber that's dried below 8% moisture content and pulled itself apart along the grain. Insect damage shows up most often where Epp also finds chronic moisture, because termites and carpenter ants follow the same water. ## What Epp does, and what Epp doesn't do

Epp Foundation Repair handles the load calculation, the beam removal, the engineered replacement, the support work (new helical piers or post replacements where required), the load transfer, and the final laser-level verification. Sister-beam reinforcement, when the existing beam can be saved, is scoped separately among the framing repair solutions and is often the right call for undersized but otherwise sound beams. Epp does not engineer-stamp drawings for permit purposes. When the local building department requires a stamped structural drawing for a beam replacement. Typical for spans over 14 feet, for steel I-beam replacements, or for any replacement that changes the original load path. Epp coordinates with a licensed professional engineer in the local jurisdiction. The PE drawings and the Epp installation are both included in the written scope when applicable. Epp does not relocate HVAC ductwork, plumbing supply lines, or electrical that runs along the original beam path; those scopes belong to mechanical, plumbing, and electrical contractors and are coordinated, not performed, in-house.

A beam replacement scope begins with three measurements. First, Epp calculates the actual load on the beam. Joist count, span, deck-load, live-load, and any concentrated point loads from above. Second, Epp measures the existing beam dimension, condition, and bearing detail at each end. Third, Epp inspects the existing posts or piers to determine whether they can carry the new beam's reactions or whether they also need replacement. The result of the diagnostic is either a sister-reinforcement scope, a full beam replacement scope, or a beam-plus-support scope. The choice is driven by the load and the wood, not by preference.

1. Inspection, load calculation, and engineer coordination. Dave Epp or a senior estimator inspects the failed beam, calculates the load, specifies the new engineered LVL or steel I-beam, and coordinates with a licensed PE for stamped drawings if the jurisdiction requires them. 2. Multi-point temporary support. Steel jack posts and cribbing relieve joist load across the entire length of the beam being replaced. Floors above are protected from movement during the work. 3. Removal and support upgrade. The failed beam comes out in sections. Existing posts or piers are evaluated. New helical piers, steel jack posts, or post replacements are installed where the original supports cannot carry the new beam's reactions. 4. New beam installation. Engineered LVL or steel I-beam is set, fastened to the bearing points per engineered detail, and inspected before any load comes back onto it. 5. Load transfer and laser-level verification. Temporary jacks come down in measured stages. The floor above is verified to plane with a laser level. Bearing connections and final levels are documented in writing.

Epp Foundation Repair is BBB A+ rated, won the BBB Integrity Award in 2011 and 2016, and has installed engineered LVL and steel I-beam replacements across the Midwest continuously since 1994. Load calculations, drive logs, and bearing details go in writing at completion.