I have a 12 foot span with a pole in my basement I always wanted to remove too.
based on your formula I would need:
12 ft = 144 inches
144/2 = 72 inch high beam.
That is a 6 foot high beam. Instead of a pole we will now have to duck. Thank god I am short.
based on your formula I would need:
12 ft = 144 inches
144/2 = 72 inch high beam.
That is a 6 foot high beam. Instead of a pole we will now have to duck. Thank god I am short.

Sev said:One other thing. If you can get a steel H beam down there it would solve your problem. You take the total span in feet. Convert that to inches and then divide by 2 and that will give you the necessary height of the beam.
As another poster said LVL, microlam and paralam are also ways to go. The over all cost of the project should not be that much. Especially if you have a friend that is a contractor.