They're both made of metal. An adjustable metal column is hollow and has a large adjusting screw positioned either at the top or the bottom. Often you won't see that screw because it's positioned downward and encased in the poured concrete.
The term lally column, strictly speaking, was a proprietary name for the concrete filled steel column invented by John Lally. A lally column has no adjusting screw.
However, lally columns or lolly columns are terms that are widely used in my area (Hudson Valley, NY) and in various construction dictionaries for any steel column.
For further information about this topic see my article
Inspecting Adjustable Steel Columns.
All text and photos © Arlene Puentes
Do not copy
Bibliography
More from the "What's the Diff" Series:
What's the Difference Between:
Cement And Concrete?
Mortar And Concrete?
Masonry And Concrete?
Cinder Blocks and Concrete Blocks?
A Pier and a Post and a Column?
A Check and a Crack in a Wood Framing Member?
Yankee Gutters and Built In Gutters?
A Ridge Beam and a Ridge Board?
A Joist and an I-joist?
Stucco and EIFS and Fiber Cement Siding?
Building Science Research and Information
How to Inspect Adjustable Steel Columns
Brick Lined Walls in Wood Framed Homes
co-written with Daniel Friedman.
Are You Being Asked to Agree to an Ineffective Mold Remediation Job?
Home Inspection Tool and Equipment Review
Rite in the Rain
All-Weather Writing Paper
Book Reviews
Just Add H2Oh by Dan Holohan
The Home Inspection Book by Marcia Darvin Spada
Home Inspection Educational Video Review
Mapping A House by Jack Reilly
