Beware the Truss
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. — This older Type-3 building was probably used as a warehouse. The beams, girders, columns, joists, and joist spacing indicate it was designed to carry a considerable load. The lower level of the building seen in the photographs shows major remodeling to accommodate parking. An entire row of columns have been removed. In order to transfer the load to the other columns, a truss has been cleverly made out of the cut off columns.
The beams, girders, and columns have significant mass and therefore a good degree of fire resistance (a function of mass being fire resistance). The steel component of each of the trusses is a conductor of heat and has relatively little mass. Steel begins to fail when it reaches 1,000o F. The bottom line is the load-carrying components have been altered and represent a potential hazard; the degree of the hazard being dependent upon the fire load above and below the trusses. As Frank Brannigan said, “Beware the truss.” Photos by Ted Corporandy.
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