Beam Ends

We should not have been surprised, after finding, years ago, that one end had very little support, that the other had none. Revisiting the end of the beam hidden in the wall, I discovered some points I had missed originally. As on the kitchen end, the supports were metal brackets, one fairly solidly lag-bolted to an original post, but the other attached to stub of a stud which rested on an unheadered door casing: just a 3/4 inch piece of board. I placed a post under this, but above was a cradle of hardwood (which burned very well in the woodstove) which had tipped so much it carried no weight at all. On top of all of that, two ceilings intervened between the beam and the joists, so the whole bag of tricks was quite worthless. Now we're jacking the beam up with a piston jack directly under it. I'll then take the weight with another post/jack combo in front of the sink, with another below it in the cellar for temporary support. Then I'll ease a 6 by 6 into the position occupied by the present jackpost (after cutting away some obstructions). Easy peasy!