diff --git a/columnar/src/column/mod.rs b/columnar/src/column/mod.rs
index 169791705a..d89c2a0f15 100644
--- a/columnar/src/column/mod.rs
+++ b/columnar/src/column/mod.rs
@@ -33,6 +33,13 @@ impl<T: PartialOrd> Column<T> {
             }
         }
     }
+
+    pub fn min_value(&self) -> T {
+        self.values.min_value()
+    }
+    pub fn max_value(&self) -> T {
+        self.values.max_value()
+    }
 }
 
 impl<T: PartialOrd + Copy + Send + Sync + 'static> Column<T> {
diff --git a/columnar/src/column_index/mod.rs b/columnar/src/column_index/mod.rs
index 748361bc17..723335809e 100644
--- a/columnar/src/column_index/mod.rs
+++ b/columnar/src/column_index/mod.rs
@@ -44,8 +44,9 @@ impl<'a> ColumnIndex<'a> {
                 }
             }
             ColumnIndex::Multivalued(multivalued_index) => {
-                let start = multivalued_index.get_val(row_id);
-                let end = multivalued_index.get_val(row_id + 1);
+                let multivalued_index_ref = &**multivalued_index;
+                let start: u32 = multivalued_index_ref.get_val(row_id);
+                let end: u32 = multivalued_index_ref.get_val(row_id + 1);
                 start..end
             }
         }
diff --git a/columnar/src/column_index/optional_index/set_block/tests.rs b/columnar/src/column_index/optional_index/set_block/tests.rs
index 6e21b1b5ba..354d5a5a02 100644
--- a/columnar/src/column_index/optional_index/set_block/tests.rs
+++ b/columnar/src/column_index/optional_index/set_block/tests.rs
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ fn test_sparse_block_set_u16_max() {
 use proptest::prelude::*;
 
 proptest! {
+    #![proptest_config(ProptestConfig::with_cases(1))]
     #[test]
     fn test_prop_test_dense(els in proptest::collection::btree_set(0..=u16::MAX, 0..=u16::MAX as usize)) {
         let vals: Vec<u16> = els.into_iter().collect();
diff --git a/columnar/src/column_values/column.rs b/columnar/src/column_values/column.rs
index e53c5b265e..f0cbeef46a 100644
--- a/columnar/src/column_values/column.rs
+++ b/columnar/src/column_values/column.rs
@@ -78,6 +78,32 @@ pub trait ColumnValues<T: PartialOrd = u64>: Send + Sync {
     }
 }
 
+impl<T: Copy + PartialOrd> ColumnValues<T> for std::sync::Arc<dyn ColumnValues<T>> {
+    fn get_val(&self, idx: u32) -> T {
+        self.as_ref().get_val(idx)
+    }
+
+    fn min_value(&self) -> T {
+        self.as_ref().min_value()
+    }
+
+    fn max_value(&self) -> T {
+        self.as_ref().max_value()
+    }
+
+    fn num_vals(&self) -> u32 {
+        self.as_ref().num_vals()
+    }
+
+    fn iter<'b>(&'b self) -> Box<dyn Iterator<Item = T> + 'b> {
+        self.as_ref().iter()
+    }
+
+    fn get_range(&self, start: u64, output: &mut [T]) {
+        self.as_ref().get_range(start, output)
+    }
+}
+
 impl<'a, C: ColumnValues<T> + ?Sized, T: Copy + PartialOrd> ColumnValues<T> for &'a C {
     fn get_val(&self, idx: u32) -> T {
         (*self).get_val(idx)
diff --git a/columnar/src/columnar/column_type.rs b/columnar/src/columnar/column_type.rs
index a2fe69e5db..a723cb015f 100644
--- a/columnar/src/columnar/column_type.rs
+++ b/columnar/src/columnar/column_type.rs
@@ -64,6 +64,18 @@ impl From<NumericalType> for ColumnType {
 }
 
 impl ColumnType {
+    /// get column type category
+    pub(crate) fn column_type_category(self) -> ColumnTypeCategory {
+        match self {
+            ColumnType::I64 | ColumnType::U64 | ColumnType::F64 => ColumnTypeCategory::Numerical,
+            ColumnType::Bytes => ColumnTypeCategory::Bytes,
+            ColumnType::Str => ColumnTypeCategory::Str,
+            ColumnType::Bool => ColumnTypeCategory::Bool,
+            ColumnType::IpAddr => ColumnTypeCategory::IpAddr,
+            ColumnType::DateTime => ColumnTypeCategory::DateTime,
+        }
+    }
+
     pub fn numerical_type(&self) -> Option<NumericalType> {
         match self {
             ColumnType::I64 => Some(NumericalType::I64),
@@ -149,9 +161,9 @@ impl HasAssociatedColumnType for Ipv6Addr {
 /// at most one column exist per `ColumnTypeCategory`.
 ///
 /// See also [README.md].
-#[derive(Copy, Clone, Ord, PartialOrd, Eq, PartialEq, Debug)]
+#[derive(Copy, Clone, Ord, PartialOrd, Eq, PartialEq, Hash, Debug)]
 #[repr(u8)]
-pub(crate) enum ColumnTypeCategory {
+pub enum ColumnTypeCategory {
     Bool,
     Str,
     Numerical,
diff --git a/columnar/src/columnar/merge.rs b/columnar/src/columnar/merge.rs
index 63e242e1b4..3255dc3097 100644
--- a/columnar/src/columnar/merge.rs
+++ b/columnar/src/columnar/merge.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
+use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::io;
 
+use super::column_type::ColumnTypeCategory;
 use crate::columnar::ColumnarReader;
+use crate::dynamic_column::DynamicColumn;
 
 pub enum MergeDocOrder {
     /// Columnar tables are simply stacked one above the other.
@@ -31,3 +34,143 @@ pub fn merge_columnar(
         }
     }
 }
+
+pub fn collect_columns(
+    columnar_readers: &[&ColumnarReader],
+) -> io::Result<HashMap<String, HashMap<ColumnTypeCategory, Vec<DynamicColumn>>>> {
+    // Each column name may have multiple types of column associated.
+    // For merging we are interested in the same column type category since they can be merged.
+    let mut field_name_to_group: HashMap<String, HashMap<ColumnTypeCategory, Vec<DynamicColumn>>> =
+        HashMap::new();
+
+    for columnar_reader in columnar_readers {
+        let column_name_and_handle = columnar_reader.list_columns()?;
+        for (column_name, handle) in column_name_and_handle {
+            let column_type_to_handles = field_name_to_group
+                .entry(column_name.to_string())
+                .or_default();
+
+            let columns = column_type_to_handles
+                .entry(handle.column_type().column_type_category())
+                .or_default();
+            columns.push(handle.open()?);
+        }
+    }
+
+    normalize_columns(&mut field_name_to_group);
+
+    Ok(field_name_to_group)
+}
+
+/// Cast numerical type columns to the same type
+pub(crate) fn normalize_columns(
+    map: &mut HashMap<String, HashMap<ColumnTypeCategory, Vec<DynamicColumn>>>,
+) {
+    for (_field_name, type_category_to_columns) in map.iter_mut() {
+        for (type_category, columns) in type_category_to_columns {
+            if type_category == &ColumnTypeCategory::Numerical {
+                let casted_columns = cast_to_common_numerical_column(&columns);
+                *columns = casted_columns;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Receives a list of columns of numerical types (u64, i64, f64)
+///
+/// Returns a list of `DynamicColumn` which are all of the same numerical type
+fn cast_to_common_numerical_column(columns: &[DynamicColumn]) -> Vec<DynamicColumn> {
+    assert!(columns
+        .iter()
+        .all(|column| column.column_type().numerical_type().is_some()));
+    let coerce_to_i64: Vec<_> = columns
+        .iter()
+        .map(|column| column.clone().coerce_to_i64())
+        .collect();
+
+    if coerce_to_i64.iter().all(|column| column.is_some()) {
+        return coerce_to_i64
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|column| column.unwrap())
+            .collect();
+    }
+
+    let coerce_to_u64: Vec<_> = columns
+        .iter()
+        .map(|column| column.clone().coerce_to_u64())
+        .collect();
+
+    if coerce_to_u64.iter().all(|column| column.is_some()) {
+        return coerce_to_u64
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|column| column.unwrap())
+            .collect();
+    }
+
+    columns
+        .iter()
+        .map(|column| {
+            column
+                .clone()
+                .coerce_to_f64()
+                .expect("couldn't cast column to f64")
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::ColumnarWriter;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_column_coercion() {
+        // i64 type
+        let columnar1 = {
+            let mut dataframe_writer = ColumnarWriter::default();
+            dataframe_writer.record_numerical(1u32, "numbers", 1i64);
+            let mut buffer: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+            dataframe_writer.serialize(2, &mut buffer).unwrap();
+            ColumnarReader::open(buffer).unwrap()
+        };
+        // u64 type
+        let columnar2 = {
+            let mut dataframe_writer = ColumnarWriter::default();
+            dataframe_writer.record_numerical(1u32, "numbers", u64::MAX - 100);
+            let mut buffer: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+            dataframe_writer.serialize(2, &mut buffer).unwrap();
+            ColumnarReader::open(buffer).unwrap()
+        };
+
+        // f64 type
+        let columnar3 = {
+            let mut dataframe_writer = ColumnarWriter::default();
+            dataframe_writer.record_numerical(1u32, "numbers", 30.5);
+            let mut buffer: Vec<u8> = Vec::new();
+            dataframe_writer.serialize(2, &mut buffer).unwrap();
+            ColumnarReader::open(buffer).unwrap()
+        };
+
+        let column_map = collect_columns(&[&columnar1, &columnar2, &columnar3]).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(column_map.len(), 1);
+        let cat_to_columns = column_map.get("numbers").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(cat_to_columns.len(), 1);
+
+        let numerical = cat_to_columns.get(&ColumnTypeCategory::Numerical).unwrap();
+        assert!(numerical.iter().all(|column| column.is_f64()));
+
+        let column_map = collect_columns(&[&columnar1, &columnar1]).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(column_map.len(), 1);
+        let cat_to_columns = column_map.get("numbers").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(cat_to_columns.len(), 1);
+        let numerical = cat_to_columns.get(&ColumnTypeCategory::Numerical).unwrap();
+        assert!(numerical.iter().all(|column| column.is_i64()));
+
+        let column_map = collect_columns(&[&columnar2, &columnar2]).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(column_map.len(), 1);
+        let cat_to_columns = column_map.get("numbers").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(cat_to_columns.len(), 1);
+        let numerical = cat_to_columns.get(&ColumnTypeCategory::Numerical).unwrap();
+        assert!(numerical.iter().all(|column| column.is_u64()));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/columnar/src/dynamic_column.rs b/columnar/src/dynamic_column.rs
index 8669c093d3..f668d08c8d 100644
--- a/columnar/src/dynamic_column.rs
+++ b/columnar/src/dynamic_column.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 use std::io;
 use std::net::Ipv6Addr;
+use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use common::file_slice::FileSlice;
 use common::{HasLen, OwnedBytes};
 
 use crate::column::{BytesColumn, Column, StrColumn};
+use crate::column_values::{monotonic_map_column, StrictlyMonotonicFn};
 use crate::columnar::ColumnType;
+use crate::{DateTime, NumericalType};
 
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub enum DynamicColumn {
@@ -14,11 +17,133 @@ pub enum DynamicColumn {
     U64(Column<u64>),
     F64(Column<f64>),
     IpAddr(Column<Ipv6Addr>),
-    DateTime(Column<crate::DateTime>),
+    DateTime(Column<DateTime>),
     Bytes(BytesColumn),
     Str(StrColumn),
 }
 
+impl DynamicColumn {
+    pub fn column_type(&self) -> ColumnType {
+        match self {
+            DynamicColumn::Bool(_) => ColumnType::Bool,
+            DynamicColumn::I64(_) => ColumnType::I64,
+            DynamicColumn::U64(_) => ColumnType::U64,
+            DynamicColumn::F64(_) => ColumnType::F64,
+            DynamicColumn::IpAddr(_) => ColumnType::IpAddr,
+            DynamicColumn::DateTime(_) => ColumnType::DateTime,
+            DynamicColumn::Bytes(_) => ColumnType::Bytes,
+            DynamicColumn::Str(_) => ColumnType::Str,
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn is_numerical(&self) -> bool {
+        self.column_type().numerical_type().is_some()
+    }
+
+    pub fn is_f64(&self) -> bool {
+        self.column_type().numerical_type() == Some(NumericalType::F64)
+    }
+    pub fn is_i64(&self) -> bool {
+        self.column_type().numerical_type() == Some(NumericalType::I64)
+    }
+    pub fn is_u64(&self) -> bool {
+        self.column_type().numerical_type() == Some(NumericalType::U64)
+    }
+
+    pub fn coerce_to_f64(self) -> Option<DynamicColumn> {
+        match self {
+            DynamicColumn::I64(column) => Some(DynamicColumn::F64(Column {
+                idx: column.idx,
+                values: Arc::new(monotonic_map_column(column.values, MapI64ToF64)),
+            })),
+            DynamicColumn::U64(column) => Some(DynamicColumn::F64(Column {
+                idx: column.idx,
+                values: Arc::new(monotonic_map_column(column.values, MapU64ToF64)),
+            })),
+            DynamicColumn::F64(_) => Some(self),
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+    pub fn coerce_to_i64(self) -> Option<DynamicColumn> {
+        match self {
+            DynamicColumn::U64(column) => {
+                if column.max_value() > i64::MAX as u64 {
+                    return None;
+                }
+                Some(DynamicColumn::I64(Column {
+                    idx: column.idx,
+                    values: Arc::new(monotonic_map_column(column.values, MapU64ToI64)),
+                }))
+            }
+            DynamicColumn::I64(_) => Some(self),
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+    pub fn coerce_to_u64(self) -> Option<DynamicColumn> {
+        match self {
+            DynamicColumn::I64(column) => {
+                if column.min_value() < 0 {
+                    return None;
+                }
+                Some(DynamicColumn::U64(Column {
+                    idx: column.idx,
+                    values: Arc::new(monotonic_map_column(column.values, MapI64ToU64)),
+                }))
+            }
+            DynamicColumn::U64(_) => Some(self),
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+struct MapI64ToF64;
+impl StrictlyMonotonicFn<i64, f64> for MapI64ToF64 {
+    #[inline(always)]
+    fn mapping(&self, inp: i64) -> f64 {
+        inp as f64
+    }
+    #[inline(always)]
+    fn inverse(&self, out: f64) -> i64 {
+        out as i64
+    }
+}
+
+struct MapU64ToF64;
+impl StrictlyMonotonicFn<u64, f64> for MapU64ToF64 {
+    #[inline(always)]
+    fn mapping(&self, inp: u64) -> f64 {
+        inp as f64
+    }
+    #[inline(always)]
+    fn inverse(&self, out: f64) -> u64 {
+        out as u64
+    }
+}
+
+struct MapU64ToI64;
+impl StrictlyMonotonicFn<u64, i64> for MapU64ToI64 {
+    #[inline(always)]
+    fn mapping(&self, inp: u64) -> i64 {
+        inp as i64
+    }
+    #[inline(always)]
+    fn inverse(&self, out: i64) -> u64 {
+        out as u64
+    }
+}
+
+struct MapI64ToU64;
+impl StrictlyMonotonicFn<i64, u64> for MapI64ToU64 {
+    #[inline(always)]
+    fn mapping(&self, inp: i64) -> u64 {
+        inp as u64
+    }
+    #[inline(always)]
+    fn inverse(&self, out: u64) -> i64 {
+        out as i64
+    }
+}
+
 macro_rules! static_dynamic_conversions {
     ($typ:ty, $enum_name:ident) => {
         impl Into<Option<$typ>> for DynamicColumn {