Bowstring Truss Roof Construction

The property management company for a local pizza restaurant chain contacted us to repair a series of bowstring trusses to the 60 year old building that the restaurant occupied.

Bowstring truss roof construction.

However they remain in place in older pre 1960s building stock. Bowstring trusses were a popular solution for structurally supporting roofs from the 1900s through the 1950s especially in buildings where large open spans were desired manufacturing facilities garages warehouses among others. Buildings that contain any type of truss construction are susceptible to collapse from fire exposure in a very short amount of time. All bowstring trusses are not created equal and do not share the same characteristics when found in a building and occupancy.

Bowstring trusses have the appearance of a rounded top chord utilizing many top chord panels of varying pitch. The major hazard attributable to timber truss construction which includes all timber truss roofs not just the bowstring arch may not be the construction itself but a combination of the following. Several beams make up the arch while the roof outside is made up of metal sheets or other materials. They may have the same shape but shape alone does not define the bowstring truss.

While once a staple in the structural design of buildings with long span roofs the bowstring truss is now a piece of construction history. Along with brad young and associates the engineer of record our team performed repairs to eight trusses. 5 most common commercial bowstring truss manufacturers in california arch rib truss co. They are controversial today because of how they react when exposed to fire.

Buildings built with bowstring truss roof structures have a number of other factors that can make them susceptible to collapse. They were very popular in the early 1900s before trusses were built with metal connector plates. One of the most easily identifiable when able to be visualized. Bowstring roof trusses usually large and arched the bowstring trusses give support to the building s weight such as the aircraft hangars and the warehouses that require a lot of open space inside.