Effect of Insurance Rates and Building Codes on Wood Use

Compares the effects of heat on wood and steel structural members and discusses progress being made in gaining more favorable position for wood in relation to insurance rates and building codes. At l,000?F. steel will expand so that a 100-foot section will be lengthened as much as 9-l/2 inches. This explains why steel trusses exposed to heat from fire have been known to wreck masonry exterior walls, even though the temperature inside the building did not become high enough to ignite the combustible contents. Seasoned structural timbers burn and char slowly — only 1 inch in depth in 33 minutes for Douglas-fir. In Connecticut the rate for school buildings using unprotected steel for roof supports is 15 and for heavy timber 22 per $100 insurance.

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