Wood Bow String Roof

This moisture content can be easily achieved near roof leaks near gutters or around the perimeter of skylights or at the ends of trusses embedded in.

Wood bow string roof.

It s no secret that the bowstring truss roof is a particularly tricky and dangerous construction element that has led to multiple tragedies within the fire service. A number of roof collapses in the chicago area have been associated with the failure of heavy timber bowstring roof trusses that were constructed from the 1920s through the early 1960s in the midwest. Fire officials will preplan the building and be better prepared during an emergency. Wood is susceptible to fungal deterioration decay or rot when consistently or repeatedly exposed to moisture.

Greg jakubowski notes some of these tragedies and discusses the hazards and characteristics inherent in bowstring truss roof construction. Decay will likely occur when the wood reaches a moisture content of 20 or higher. An elevated and rear view of the building pictured above reveals a bowstring truss. Wood rot termites renovations and other circumstances for a longer period of time than.

The only way to know this would be by placing firefighters in a position to view the roof or preplanning.