want to remove a post - load bearing?

elmateo said:

I have 2 4X4 posts that I'd like to remove. One is in the living room, another in a hallway. I've looked at the way they're constructed, and as far as I can tell, the posts were installed after the sheetrock that's on the ceilings. i.e. the post sits directly on the foundation, and there's a layer of sheetrock between the post and the ceiling joists. It looks like the posts were toenailed into the sheetrock/ceiling joists above with large framing nails.

my question is this - Since the posts were obviously installed after sheetrocking, does that mean that they can't possibly be load-bearing? Also, even after I remove them, is there any chance of some slight shifting taking place, as the house may have settled some weight onto them anyway?

thanks,

matt k.

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elmateo said:

I'm pretty sure they weren't put in as an afterthought. They're included in the blueprints. I think they were supposed to be "decorative," as they come complete with ugly plywood arches, a theme that's repeated a couple of places in the house. the only thing above the post is a crawlspace for the AC ducts.

The roof isn't trussed - it's just long rafters w/ one end supported by each exterior wall. The post in question is part of the higher exterior wall. The opening the post breaks up is about 9' wide, connecting the kitchen and a sun room (the house is L shaped) The post sits right in the middle of this opening.

How compressible is sheetrock? If this post was bearing significant weight, do you think the sheetrock between it and the frame would show signs of crushing?

thanks,

mk

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