It's not clear what you mean by 'steel rods tying the ridge into the floor,' but it's probably time to hire an engineer. There's not nearly enough information in your post to work from, even if you could count on the quality of internet advice... which, you can't.

It sounds like the joists for the floor are the ties, as was typical for a framed roof.

The only purpose I can think of for the steel rods is to provide support for the floor joists.

You need to give us the size, spacing and span of the attic floor joists, where and how they are connected to the exterior walls and/or rafters, and the size, spacing and span of the rafters. A sketch or diagram would be helpful. I suspect you will need to reinforce the joists and possibly the rafters.