building off of what renovator said, if you have load bearing walls on the first floor, you need to align structure below them in the basement. This can be beams or walls. Frame walls will be your cheapest option in most cases. However if you do not want a wall there, then price is not always the driving factor. However if you are a single story plus a basement, you shouldn't have too many first floor interior bearing walls. If you use steel or LVL beams, they must be sized to carry the first floor load as well as the loads placed on the first floor (2nd floor and possibly roof loads). As you can guess, this can make wood beams, even built up, quite deep. Steel might be your best bet here if you have longer spans between columns in your basement to keep head room heights at ideal levels. I tend to disagree with the claim in wood costing more then steel. Steel will cost more then wood in most cases. The post can be hidden inside walls (why would you do this? save the money and make the wall bearing! unless of course you have a very high point load) or they can be boxed out and made decorative. I joists should actually be cheaper then a floor truss, but typically cost a little more then solid 2x8-12 framing. However IMO, I joists are far superior. They can be had in very long spans so they can lay a continuous 30'+ joist across your load bearing beams/walls and allow for straighter and faster construction. Also, depending on the depth of them and the spacing, they can easily clear span 20'+. Plus they are a "greener" product. Trusses will cost more, but the benefit you have there is the web openings to allow easy smaller duct runs and electrical access.

What is below? Any way to add a couple posts to carry the weight downwards? Because it seems like way too big of a risk to take otherwise... Ultimately, risking the structural integrety of your home to save a few days [or weeks] on the schedule isn't a good idea.

Thanks for the input. My house is a ranch, so there's nothing to support above it, but the roof. We're taking out a load bearing wall that separates the living room from dining room, and the contractor will replace this with a flush beam. One end of the beam will be supported by an outside wall and the other end will terminate on a small wall that sits over a post in the basement. I get the feeling that my contractor has done this a lot and feels pretty comfortable with that arrangement. Meanwhile, I've noticed that my living room runs the full width of the house (24') with no support other than a homemade truss arrangement for the roof, that I understand was common in the early 1960's. This arrangement has stood the test of time, so I guess it's okay, but I still get a bit nervous when there's a large amount of snow on the roof. I had asked the contractor about installing a beam over the living room as well, but he was a bit more hesitant about that, and merely said he would look at it when he starts the kitchen work. So I guess the answer is that an engineer would be needed to decide if/how additional support could be provided in the living room. That's probably why my contractor is hesitant to give me a firm answer.

My apologies, I refer to rafters as trusses. The trusses are all engineered, I meant the rafter construction and walls were all site fabricated. Thanks, that name sounds familiar. We already have an inspector hired specifically because I did not like the plumbing etc showing daylight. We hired them about .. actually I think 2 weeks ago. There is nothing that looks out of the sorts enough to stop them at this point. The issues I have are things that need better support on one end, but that is a pretty easy fix at any point. The major areas are already supported, actually more than most homes I have seen / had experience with. My concern was, had anyone else seen the sort of framing like this. That answer would be a "no" lol. The pictures I showed are the areas I went through last night. One had already been resolved with a new beam being placed and support being placed above that to the end of the beam they needed support for. The second one was being done today the same way. What they did was bring in what appears to be a 4x6 manufactured beam, similar to the large beams they used for longer spans, and they placed it across multiple walls and supports. Then they brought up a 2-ply stud to support the end of the rafter beam, 2 wrapping it and 1 underneath, all nailed together. Pretty solid work. I told them I wanted the same thing done with the 3rd and they agreed it needed it, so those 'strange' supports, according to them, were temporary and not permanent. The last piece I wanted reinforced was the center beam. I am having them bring up a 3-ply load-bearing support all the way down to the slab to replace that one support. That should be in later today. BTW, if I sound defensive of them, I am not. I am totally with all of you. I love the input and I totally appreciate the help and guidance. Frankly, as I stated to them, the likelihood of me ever getting on that roof or the likelihood of a real "load" on that roof may be small, but the point is, I want to sleep well in the home and I cannot do so if it is not as safe as possible and so no matter what an engineer says, I want extra reinforcements on certain things, THEN.. we will let the inspectors tell them where else they need to add stuff. The bottom line is, they are willing and glad to add any changes I want. That makes it easier. They are not balking at anything I am asking for and welcome (or at least say they do.. heh), the inspector, so we will see what the inspector says. To their credit, they even found a couple things I missed, nothing structural, but it is good to see they are looking at all of it. I'll keep you all updated. Oh, one other note. I let them know.. "you fix concrete with concrete.. you fix wood with wood.. you do NOT "seal" things with anything other than what was meant to be there in the first place. You CAN come back and add an extra sealant.. but you do not make up aspects with a different material". I had a builder in the past that tried to tell me the crack going all the way up my brick fireplace (outside) was going to be "caulked".. I was like, "you fix a masonry issue with CAULK? Tell ya what, go get the engineer to sign off on that in writing and we will see what the manufacturer of the brick and fireplace says"... they came back and redid the entire fireplace.. lol. I have zero problem holding people's feet to the fire. This was step 1 of getting the issues resolved. Prior to sheetrock, the entire house will be safe and secure. R