Looking for an educated guess as to whether or not it would be worth going the next step and pestering an engineer. In the basement, a 6×6 beam is supported by 6×6 posts every 6′. Would love to remove or at least increase the unsupported span, but I’m not sure if this spacing is overkill or the bare minimum. There is one floor and a half story above the basement.
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Depends.....
On how much weight the beam is carrying.....
On what material and what grade the beam is cut from.........
So, the short answer is: Yes, if you want to move or remove posts, call an engineer.
Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.
I can't answer your W, but if I don't say it, somebody else will, so here goes . . .
Not enough info. What's above the beam (e.g., walls)? What's the span? Etc., etc., etc.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
First take: No need to remove the post, just mark it deleted so no one can see it.
Second take: The basic concept is doable, but the 6x6 beam would almost certainly have to be replaced with something heftier (and probably taking more vertical space), and new footings should probably be poured for the remaining posts.