# Lally column > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lally_column > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lally_column.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lally_column > Source revision: 1296535405 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Structural steel column filled with concrete This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lally column" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A **Lally column** is a round or square thin-walled [structural steel](/source/Structural_steel) [column](/source/Column) filled with concrete,[1] and oriented vertically to provide support to [beams](/source/Beam_(structure)) or timbers stretching over long [spans](/source/Span_(architecture)). Historically, Lally columns were made of steel up to 6.4 millimeters (1⁄4 in) in thickness; today, that has been reduced in instances to 1.5 millimeters (0.06 in).[2] As engineered structural load-bearing components, Lally columns must be installed to their specific design specs. ## Fabrication A Lally column at the northwest end of truss of the Red Bank Creek Bridge at Rawson Road, Red Bluff, [Tehama, California](/source/Tehama%2C_California), United States A Lally column is formed of tubular steel. It is then filled with [concrete](/source/Concrete), which carries a share of the compression load, and helps prevent local buckling of the shell.[3] In addition to its low cost, an advantage of a generic Lally column over a custom structural steel column (or conventional [I-beam](/source/I-beam)) is that it may be purchased in its tubular state and cut to length on a construction site with standard jobsite power tools such as an [angle grinder](/source/Angle_grinder) or [reciprocating saw](/source/Reciprocating_saw) fitted with appropriate metal cutting blades. Lally columns are generally not as strong or durable as conventional structural steel columns.[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] The term "Lally column" is sometimes confused with a [screw jack](/source/Jack_post), a temporary rather than permanent steel support. ## Invention The Lally column is named after a U.S. inventor, John Lally, who owned a construction company that started production of these columns in the late 19th century. He resided in [Waltham, Massachusetts](/source/Waltham%2C_Massachusetts), United States, and [Boston](/source/Boston) during the period 1898–1907. He was issued four U.S. [patents](/source/Patent) on composite columns: Nos. 614729, 869869, 901453, and 905888. Patent No. 869869 was assigned to the U.S. Column Company of [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts). ## Design development Early Lally columns were made with structural steel, "standard" pipes, with wall thicknesses slightly less than 6.4 millimeters (1⁄4 in). Modern Lally columns are typically made with 16-[gauge](/source/Sheet_metal_gauge) (approximately 1.5 millimeters or 0.06 inches) shells.[2] Modern Lallies are therefore much lower in strength than the older ones (typically less than half the strength), and are also much more subject to damage by corrosion in moist environments. Modern Lally columns are primarily intended as somewhat stronger and more durable substitutes for wood posts in light-frame wood construction, although they are sometimes also used with steel beams. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Definition of LALLY COLUMN"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lally%20column). *www.merriam-webster.com*. Retrieved 17 September 2024. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-fh_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-fh_2-1) Butt, Aaron (1992-03-01). ["Boxed Lally"](https://www.finehomebuilding.com/1992/03/01/boxed-lally). *Fine Homebuilding*. Retrieved 2025-02-16. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Lally handbook of Lally column construction, steel columns concrete filled, 10th ed., Lally Column Companies, Erie and Albany Streets, Cambridge, Mass"](https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/gusn/268968). *Historic New England*. Retrieved 2025-02-16. ## External links - [Examples of Uses](http://allthumbsdiy.com/reviews/reviews-lolly-lally-columns-or-jack-post-or-floor-jacks/) - [History of inventor John Lally](http://www.lally-column.com/history) This architecture-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Architecture-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AArchitecture-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Architecture-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lally column](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lally_column) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lally_column?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.