Kingstowne renovations (hardwood floor, apartment, townhouse)

[aerogeek]

Howdy folks,

We're under contract on a Kingstowne TH and hope to knock out some updates before we move in (we have overlap with our apartment). Does anyone know what the deal is with the columns in so many of the townhomes of Kingstowne (including ours)? That is, are they structural, or simply decorative; and if structural, is it just a basic steel beam covered by some wood/composite facade to look Ionic or Doric or whatever, or is the whole thing solid and serving a structural purpose? We've got two columns defining the "dining area," and I'd love to just encase the one next to the wall in sheetrock to blend with the wall and replace/re-cover the other one with something less...Greco-Roman. Or I suppose I could just sheetrock around it, too, but was hoping to update the look with a smaller footprint.

Secondly, I'll take any recommendations on hardwood floor installation and deck repair/installation!

Thanks

[slduvall]

My townhouse in Kingstowne didn't have any columns, but I've been is some that do, and some were just decorative. Very popular in the mid 90's! But any good contractor will tell you what your options are.

The current house I live in Kingstowne had some work done, they attempted to remove a wall and discovered plumbing behind one part..now I have a column in the middle of my freaking family room.