Your engineer has done the calculations. The beam is required. Live with it.

I say this as an artist - in a battle between creativity and physics, physics wins. If you're doing a 20 ft clear span with a 10" beam, I'd reckon your engineer has done some seriously intense calculations to get it that small.

I can't believe a 10" beam would span 20' supporting trusses. Not even steel I'd bet.

"Creative engineering''= building collapses. I'm with Joe. I don't see a 10' beam doing that job. No way, no how. Is dude registered with your municipality as an actual engineer? Or is this back of the envelope scribbling by a Craigslist friend of a friend?

We needed to put a beam in our ranch in the basement it was a 20’ span the only way was a steel beam and it was almost 10” deep as it turned out we had no way of actually getting into the space do we liver with 2 posts .what kind of trusses do you if engineered you need some very special engineering to remove walls . You already know what it will look like just like your other beam

Thank you all for the feedback. Yes, this engineer is certified and very experienced in commercial and residential, so I trust him. I will def. share my results once I have reviewed everything with my architect and them again.

Xre: Have your engineer do the math on altering the trusses to bury the beam inside them. Then you can fit the 18" LVL you're going to need.

Which way are the trusses spanning...parallel to the wall or perpendicular. If parallel, then a beam of this size may only be holding up ceiling joists while the trusses support the roof using the outside walls. If so, each ceiling joist can be cut back and hang off the beam with hangers. However, the beam would need to be increased in size but can still be flush with the ceiling. This kind of question without a framing plan is difficult to answer.

What does your ceiling look like on the far side of that wall? Is it vaulted similarly to the side that is shown?

The reason I ask is because it looks like the existing beam (running perpendicular to that wall) can span a good deal of length. If that is the case, is it possible that the beam doesn't bear on that wall?

You don't have trusses in the space we can see, you have joists. Those bear on to that beam. So it's the beam that is bearing on that wall, but I'm not convinced it actually is. If it's not, then that wouldn't even be a load bearing wall.

If it turns out that it is, beams are regularly flushed in to depth of the joists. So, you'd be able to minimize that 10" depth considerably if not entirely (depending on how deep the existing roof joists are).