advice on beam!

[niino]

Hi! I'm going to start renovating the living room.

There is a beam that was installed in the 50s-60s when they opened up the room. I think this beam looks very slender. It supports an entire upper floor.

The beam has a span of about 6m and measures 150x150mm.

The room is a total of 7.20m x 6m
with the beam placed in the middle.

What should be done? Replace with steel/glulam? Install a post?

 

[sblixten]

If a pole fits, it's the best solution, cheap and simple.

 

[niino]

Will a 150x150mm post be sufficient?

 

[Anna_H]

Isn't it better to replace "the whole package" and put new posts at each edge with a fresh laminated beam on top? If you like that look, of course, but you can paint it white so it looks like before. An extra post in the middle effectively blocks it off. But maybe you don't mind that?