Splicing 5" pipe support column?

Going back-and-forth with a structural engineer on what to do about load-bearing column replacement. His recommendation, to "replace" two 35' small-diameter support columns, running from the basement of a 1925 commercial building to support the flat roof.

The bottom of the columns are compromised with corrosion. There is no practical way to simply replace the whole length.

For those engineers here who have a more practical bent, can I "replace" only the section that is damaged through cutting and welding, or will this compromise the original design load capacity to the extent it shouldn't be done? The columns are not large and assuming we transfer the load prior to the repair it makes sense this should work, but I hesitate to present this to the engineer without knowing if my solution is cray-cray crazy.

The other solution is an Ezy-tube wrap, which is fine, but costs me a foot of column diameter. Has anyone ever worked with these old-school columns?

You're thinking money.... A licensed Structural PE is going to give a solution that is most correct...

[QUOTE=Kelly Bramble;11732]You're thinking money.... A licensed Structural PE is going to give a solution that is most correct...[/QUOTE]

I think you're correct, but the professional engineer involved in the project offered the options of "replacing" or "concreting" for want of a better term. I suspect a third option, "repair" is possible, but I'd like to get my ducks in a row before I make the motion.

Also, I'm curious. Can this type of support be "repaired"? It's just a metal tube, and a weld will add a shear weakness, but downward force should be protected.