Can reinforcing be installed while the building stays occupied?

In most cases yes. We plan access, shoring and off-hours work where needed so the floor above and below stays in use during framing, and schedule the loudest cutting and welding for times that suit the building.

What does sistering a beam actually mean?

A new beam is welded or bolted directly alongside an existing one so the two act together, sharing the load. It is the most common way to add capacity to a floor without removing the original structure.

Do new columns need new footings?

Where a reinforcing plan adds a column to carry a point load, yes - the column needs a footing sized for that load, which usually means coordinating with a concrete contractor before our steel goes in.

Product

Structural Steel Floor Reinforcing

Name: Steel Masters NYC
Address: 135 Liberty Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11212, US
Telephone: (888) 577-8335
Price range: $$

New equipment, new storage racking, or a change of use can put a floor past what it was built to carry. Steel Masters installs the beams, posts and framing that bring the capacity back up, working to your engineer's load numbers.

Most of this work happens in occupied buildings, so we plan the sequence, the access and the shoring before we bring steel to the site.

Structural steel floor reinforcing adds capacity to a floor that was never designed to carry the load you now need it to hold. Steel Masters has been fitting sistered beams, added columns and reinforcing framing into NYC buildings since 1972, installing to engineered load calculations rather than guessing at what a floor can take.

Why NYC Owners and Managers Choose Steel Masters

Engineered to your load numbers - we install to a structural engineer's design, sizing every added beam, post and connection to the calculated load.
Sistered beams for added spans - new members welded or bolted alongside existing beams so the two act together under an overloaded span.
New columns and footings - point loads from generators, tanks and heavy racking get their own column carried down to a footing sized for the load.
Framing under heavy equipment - dedicated support steel under chillers, generators, compactors and racking systems, built to the equipment's actual footprint.
Reinforcement around penetrations - framing added around new floor openings so cutting a hole for ductwork or piping doesn't weaken the surrounding structure.
Shored and sequenced - temporary shoring and a staged install plan keep the floor supported and the building operating through the work.
Field survey to fabrication to install - we survey the existing structure, draw the connections, fabricate in Brooklyn and install with our own crew.

Typical Reinforcement

Sistered and added beams under spans that are now carrying more than their original design load, new columns and footings for point loads that need their own path to the ground, framing under generators, chillers, tanks and racking sized to the equipment, and reinforcement around new floor penetrations so a duct, pipe or conduit opening doesn't compromise the deck around it.

How We Work

Field survey to confirm existing member sizes and condition, shop drawings that show every new connection, fabrication in our Brooklyn shop, then installation by our own crew - welded and bolted into sound existing structure and left ready for inspection.

Working Around Occupied Space

Reinforcing work rarely happens in an empty building. We plan material access, protect finished space below the work area, and schedule cutting and welding to suit the building's operating hours, so a mechanical room upgrade or a new piece of equipment doesn't shut the floor down while the steel goes in.

Every job is measured in the field and built to that opening - we fabricate in our own Brooklyn shop and install with our own crew, the same way we have since 1972.

- Steel Masters NYC, Brooklyn shop, 135 Liberty Ave

Related Steel Masters Product Lines

Structural Steel Alterations - the hub page covering all six alteration scopes we handle
Structural Steel Fabrication - the broader structural alteration work floor reinforcing falls under
Floor & Stair Opening Closures - framing that closes an opening rather than adding capacity to a solid floor
Steel Plate Installations - plate work often paired with reinforcing under heavy equipment
Roof Dunnage - the same load-carrying framing approach applied to rooftop equipment

Serving All Five Boroughs, Long Island & Westchester

Steel Masters fabricates in Brooklyn at 135 Liberty Ave and installs with our own crews across Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Long Island and Westchester. Call (888) 577-8335, send us your plans through shop drawings and plans, or contact us online for a quote on structural steel floor reinforcing.

Frequently Asked Questions

An engineer calculates the floor's existing capacity against the load you plan to add - new equipment, racking, a change of occupancy - and tells us where and how much reinforcing is needed. We install to that design.