Multiply the load per square foot by the total area of the roof.
How to support 20 foot roof.
Almost any wood will do the same geometry of beam or truss is the important thing.
A truss joist wood i beam is not enough.
Feet more in presence of snow.
Once again a 2 by 4 inch piece of lumber is placed between the trusses and parallel to the ceiling joists.
The other is just used to support the trusses.
This number represents the total load that your roof must carry.
This is where a high pitched roof is necessary.
You need an engineered glu lam 5 1 4 wide and 24 tall.
Minimum roof loading is 20 lb sq.
By roof beam i assume you mean the beam will be carrying the load of the roof free span for 20.
Large 8 x 8 posts are necessary for the use of supporting a porch roof.
If an example roof is 10 feet by 20 feet the total area is 200 square feet.
For larger porches such as wrap around porches you will want to make sure that the support is more than you need.
Three 2x10 s or 12 s is not enough.
Multiplied by 40 pounds per square foot equals 8 000 pounds.
A great deal depends on the pitch of the roof.
From photos i have it looks like single 4x6 not lvl that angles with the roof.
For a 20 foot span wood beam needs to be minimum 18 inches deep.
A higher pitched roof would be better for extra living space than a lower pitched roof.
I live in the midwest so it need to support snow load too.
If smaller beam will sag ugly.