Good morning! I was hoping that someone could answer A question regarding support in our basement.

Our architect had recently made some changes to our house. One thing that we noticed from one plan to another is that there was an additional support beam in our basement that was not there before. I asked the architect about the change from a steel beam from a scoop footing. He replied that he was able to change the plan from the scoop footing to the steel beam due to the subtle changes that we made. He implied that we would still be able to do a scope footing if we preferred versus the steel beam. I inquired if a steel beam was a more expensive choice rather than the scoop footing. He had referred me to speak to the contractor.

It can be difficult to get a hold of our contractor being that we are not scheduled to break ground until the summer. I was hoping that someone here would be able to tell me which one is the cheapest option. I understand the bearing for floor joists and spans above so no need to explain that.