If you had bought an 'W' shape beam (I beam) with the same weight
per foot (and same price per pound) you could have had a 10" beam
that was TWICE as strong. Before the last runup in steel I could
buy new A36 grade 10"x15 pound per foot for $.35 per pound =$100
for 20' And the 'W' shape is much less likely to buckle sideways
than a wood steel laminate bean.

TLKALLAM8 wrote:

In the basement of my house I did't want any posts .I bought some .5 inch x 9
inch x 20 feet long flat bar steel .I then bolted it between two 2 x10
joists.Its strong and straight and I can nail to it.Best of all it only cost
around $100.