The allowable strength in tension of A36 steel is 40 times greater than that of Parallel Strand Lumber (PSL) commonly referred to by the brand name "Parallam". Since long span beams are usually sized for deflection, it is important to note that the Modulus of Elasticity (E) of A36 steel is 15 times greater than that of a PSL beam. In short, a steel beam spanning the width of the space is likely to be half the depth of a PSL beam. You should rely on professional assistance instead of conventional internet wisdom when designing a load bearing structure. If this wall supports the roof it is pretty important for safety and of course you don't want it to sag over the years. If you remove the finishes and photograph the framing and make a dimensioned sketch you might be able to get a local lumberyard to size an engineered wood beam for you and provide you with a stamped document. I prefer LVL's to PSL's for built-up beams. If you want to minimize the depth of the beam hire an engineer to size a steel beam. It would probably only need to be 8" deep. Pay close attention to the structure below the end supports of the beam; they might need new pad footings if they don't sit directly over a perimeter footing or other existing support.

My house was built in 1950 and as someone else said, clearly designed by a MAN. For its time it was an upper-class build, with ~2700 SF. But some of the flaws, oh my: 1. You enter the house into what we call the foyer which is an entire 10'x12' room that is completely useless! It's totally separate from the rest of the house. No purpose theirwhatsoever. Why in the world didn't the builder take some of that space and use it to remedy the next design flaw which is... 2. No closets! In almost 3000 sf of house I have, count 'em, 4 closets. One in each bedroom and not walk-ins, just the standard 5x3 closets. And one small single linen closet. That's it. No storage closet. No coat closet. No kitchen storage area. I got nuthin'. 3. Tiny bathrooms. Each is 5x8 and because the house was built before roof trusses were invented (or something, my husband constantly tries to explain this) there are bearing walls all over and no possibility of adding space anywhere. 4. What is this laundry room you speak of? I do laundry in my un-airconditioned garage squeezed against the car, dodging mosquitoes. 5. Kitchen is a long galley at the back of the house, in which it is a pain for 2 people to try to work at the same time. And to boot it serves as the main passageway from the garage or back of the house to the rest of the house. No possibility of adding on a inch of space either due to factor #3 with those mysterious bearing walls. I'll never have an island, or one of those open plan kitchens. So what do I love about my house? Tons of large windows since of course back in 1950 central AC wasn't around or at least wasn't standard. So the place gets natural light and plenty of it. Behind the useless foyer is a nifty little office; it is a tiny room but works perfectly as a dedicated work space so no need to cannibalize a bedroom. Though no single bedroom is large, none is tiny either so the kids' rooms are decently sized if not lavish. The quality and strength of the house is topnotch. Plaster walls, thick roof beams well tied down etc. Been through many hurricanes including Andrew with nary a bit of structural damage. The house is sited on the lot so the backyard is enormous and it's like a park back there. And last but not least the location is ideal. We are 2.5 blocks from where my husband and I both work, in a suburban neighborhood in Miami which many people would kill to be able to afford. Since we bought 20 years ago we got in early and it is a dream come true not to fight commuter traffic every day. The neighborhood is older/established so there are mature trees and lovely landscaping. Being older this certainly isn't a cookie-cutter neighborhood; lots of cottages mixed in with bigger houses. And, our block is the nicest of all-really! It was originally purchased by a group of Eastern airline pilots who had the lots divided up so each house is built on 1.5 lots. The houses are bigger and of course are the yards. We are within 5 minutes of major highways and expressways but are still tucked into a quiet, peaceful Mayberry-like enclave. Overall I love where I live, with a few exceptions. Ann

I am so sorry you are dealing with this mess, Eam44. How frustrating! I am sure I am not understanding everything happening with this crazy beam/wall of death. But what I hear you saying is that you want to tie the new vent into this old vent and it is causing a major headache. Well, that, and the fact that some idiot took out a load bearing wall and ran off. It is like you have this brand new outfit that you are dying to wear. But, you are desperately trying to make the old shoes go with it. Now someone broke the old shoes heels off. You are trying to get them repaired, but even if you could they really don't match with your new style because they have buckles and you really hate buckles. The buckles are the soffits btw. Ok I think I'm getting way off track with my dumb illustration. Haha! What if you pretend as if that old vent does not exist. Fix the beam without worrying about the vent. I wonder how well it would vent the fumes anyways? Seems like a long stretch to finally get to the outside when it has to make several right turns plus transition from round to a long skinny rectangle. Now without thinking about the old vent, what is the most logical way to vent the new hood to the outside in the shortest path? What is upstairs? If upstairs if no good, could you vent it down instead? ( I'm editing to scrap that last idea because I think that means the dreaded downdraft pop up system which you probably don't want. ) I know you don't want soffits, but if a strait shot up or down won't work, could the dining room side instead have a soffit? Maybe make it look planned by doing a built in hutch or something underneath it? I don't know what the green room is below the dining and to the right of the sunroom, but could it go out the shed roof on the other side of the sunroom wall? Sorry if I'm getting this all confused as I usually do. My comprehension is really bad these days. Here is what I'm picturing for the vent if it cannot go strait up or down. Do I even have the range (red box) in the right spot?

Thank you for the input. That is my worry that it will be too much for 9ft ceiling but the ceiling is textured and will have to be repaired from all the work being done on beams so we want to at least do a tongue and groove shiplap or beadboard layer since we will be working on it anyway and were just trying to find a way to tie in beams and post somehow but we are probably over thinking it. The house we just sold in Texsas had 13 ft ceilings and 7.5ft doors throughout house with a huge kitchen with 25 ft ceiling and all the fancy woodwork but are trading that to downsize as new empty nesters and live on the beach but these 9ft ceilings are going to feel claustrophobic for a while so I don't want to make it feel too closed in. Going for light and airy and open so you are probably right :) I just gotta crowdsource so I feel like I am making smart decisions LOL!