During a demo found something..includes a cut 4 by 4, more inside, confused..

My husband and I own a balloon frame house built in 1934(sometimes I want to rewind time and not buy this house). We have gutted many rooms due to 7 to 10 layers of wall paper on drywall(not kidding) because its easier, and to the studs on a kitchen redo. We have to "undo" in this house, we don't update.

We gutted a closet in a bedroom to frame it and make it right for a bifold door set. The main support wall for the house is shared here, one side for the living room, and the other is this bed room. We pulled off the drywall and found a rounded 4 by4 that was cut and hidden in the wall, but still attached at the ceiling from the ceiling joists. This 4 by4 has holes (theater pin rail for rigging old school) every 10 inches or so like it would have been used for bolts or something. This goes up to something in the attic that 3 contracters have yet to identify. In the attic, the ceiling joists for about 6 feet have these metal plates that are attached to another 4 by4 with holes running horizontally but like they are bracing the ceiling joists from collapsing down.

We are guessing this was not originally a bed room but a parlor at first and this somehow made an arch/part of a arch, but with all the vertical support cut can we get rid of the attic ceiling joist stuff and then plan to reframe with wall correctly(no plates, just 2 by4 nailed floor to old ceiling through old tile)

Thanks for making it this far

 

Welcome to the forums.

I've read your post twice and am having a hard time visualizing what you have there. If you take and post a few pictures it would be a real big help.

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html

 

As PJmax, indicated, a picture would really be beneficial to determine what it is that you are dealing with.

A method that was used in a number of open span type structures was known as a truss rod. This enabled the floor framing to be supported by hanging a support system from the roof. Doesn't quite sound like your situation, but you better be sure that what you want to remove isn't offering support to the structure in some way.