In article , "Kyle Boatright" wrote:

"Felix" wrote in message news:42177b12$1_1@aeinews....
I have a wood 8" x 10" beam in my basement that runs the long of my house
about 23' supported by 1 jack post midway through the length of the beam
which is right in the middle of my basement.
I'm wanting to encompass the wood beam with a metal "U" beam to add
strength
and then add 2 jack posts at the end of the beam.

My question is ... what thickness must the metal be of in order to have
the necessary strength to support my home?

In this situaion, I'd bolt plate steel to each side of your current beam.

I concur. The horizontal part of a "U-beam" (steel channel, actually) adds
very little to the beam's resistance to vertical loads. Almost all of the
benefit comes from the side pieces.

To the original poster: do a Google search on "flitched beam".

I have no idea what thickness your application will require.

1/4" is probably plenty.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?