If you do find anything let me know@Dustin Beam Thanks for the input!

It avoids a lot of messy dropped beams and ugly details that really hurt running ducting later on.The photos below show the notched costs being placed over the double ply beam.

No other reinforcements added below, but there are three long multilam beams in the upstairs (resting on existing first floor walls, with the new posts).

I would reach out and find a laser willing to volintere their time, it looks to me like your "Friend" has probably broken some laws here.  

So it'll be basically the same...But with robot janitors.HotelBot 5000.Drones with laser beams?

I'm wondering if its even worth it for the land and possibly build up on beams or bring in dirt to raise the land.

I have a pretty good idea for textures and colors (he absolutely does not), so in the renovations we've done the only time we used an architect was to determine the size of a beam we needed because we took out a load bearing wall and needed to carry the load of the entire back of the house with the beam.

As you can see it was a rotting finished three season room when we started, and we knew that the beam was bad when we bought it, but after starting that repair we found out that the posts holding the beam were also bad.

We are laser focused on distressed properties because we can CREATE equity in the rehab.

On another note, as FYI, the coffered ceiling is likely a capitalized consequence of creating the open floor plan and adding central HVAC... concealing a dropped beam(s) perhaps, to create the openness, and at least in the Kitchen area, it is concealing ductwork.