How much of shim needed for Drywall

Removing an interior load bearing wall with 2ft span. Was going to use (3) 2x12x20 Versa Lam beams, however, they are not available for 4 months if ordered today. Looking at steel beam as alternative. What W series or S series beam would be comparable? S series would work better because the flange width requires less attached wood for ceiling joists. Was looking at W8-21.

Hi, I'm having a heck of a time matching the orange peel texture in my house. The problem is that it's quite subdued compared to other orange peel textures I've seen, and it starts to look "off" when painted. I've come pretty darn close, but somewhat accidentally and it's hard to stay consistent. I'm hoping someone can give me a few pointers. Here is a close-up of my wall in sunlight (original): [img]https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/790x1053/orange_peel_fbc3c0cf8ca28496ffe878bd64c56adf8be5fe19.jpg[/img] First: I have one of [url=https://www.wagnerspraytech.com/products/surface-prep-tools/power-tex-texture-sprayer/]these[/url] that I have used for some textures in that past somewhat successfully. Unfortunately, it's too "splattery" for my walls. I find myself having to sand down the sharp ridges it produces to get the look and feel, but after sanding the bumps just don't look right, it's very clear it's not the same method the original painters used. When using the PowerTEX, the texture looks like this (before sanding): [img]https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/566x510/tex_216984648e12434903e6389e14a5f4735c0a62de.png[/img] ....after a bit of sanding it looks okay on its own, but it doesn't come close to matching the wall. The most success I've had is with a 3/8-inch nap roller and very watery mud. I soak the roller with the mud and roll it onto the wall, I then clean the brush and roll over it slightly moist a second time. The slight damp brush seems to "squash down" the sharp ridges of the drywall and give that squashed effect. The best I've done (and it's really hard to be consistent across large-ish areas) is this: [img]https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/790x1053/best_match_45def8ca32c5b860e11069075c3c3c550e9fb7b6.jpg[/img] ...it looks pretty darn close! But I only managed to do it a couple of times on spare drywall; once I start trying to do it again on the actual wall, it becomes inconsistent. At this point I feel like I'm engaged in battle with these walls and it's a matter of principle to get it right. I have a lot of repair and reworking to do and I really want to match the original texture as much as possible. I'd really rather not mud all the walls in the same room just to match a few spots. I hope someone can give advice. Buying new hardware is a definite option; getting it right and learning is the goal here. If anyone has matched / created any texture that looks like the original (top) picture, I'd love to hear how you did it.