Sheathing

Question: 

Our home caught fire last month and burned partly through a tongue and groove ceiling to the trusses. Some are charred. Our contractor did a moisture meter test. An engineer for the insurance company said the trusses were only smoke damaged & the moisture meter test is invalid (it can be set to read anything). I found one article on charred trusses, but it’s pretty vague. We do not feel safe with the insurance engineer’s assessment because some of the trusses are obviously charred. We hired an engineer who agreed with us.

Question: 

I am looking for help on the spacing required to screw down a BHP B-36 20 gage roof deck to wooden trusses spaced at 5 ft. 4 in. O.C. and 24 in. O.C. Do you know of any published codes or specifications on the above?

Question: 

We are planning to add 1/2 in. cement board and 3/8 in. quarry tile to a kitchen floor. We need to know if the floor trusses will handle the additional weight. The floor trusses are 19.2 in. O.C. and the loading numbers are 40-10-0-5. What do these numbers mean?

Question: 

We recently received bids on a school project, which referenced UL P523. This assembly used light-gauge steel trusses. We noted on the drawing that we could accept an alternate design using wood trusses in lieu of light-gauge steel framing, if the alternate design could meet the fire ratings.

Question: 

I am thinking of using wood trusses for the roofing/ceiling structural systems on some houses I shall build. I remember, though, an engineer/volunteer fireman commenting back in 1989 that the connector plates are prone to expand and pop off, early on in a fire, causing catastrophic structural failure. Was this the case, and if so, has this problem been corrected?

Question: 

In a small scale multi-family residential project, I'd like to use a wood truss floor-ceiling assembly to achieve a one hour separation between units. I'd like to directly attach the drywall to the underside of the trusses & use the truss space for ducts & lighting (the floor above will be lightweight concrete on plywood sub-floor). UL assemblies do not seem to address the duct/light penetrations in such an assembly. Can I achieve a one-hour rating in such an assembly and how are penetrations addressed? Can the ducts in the truss space serve both units above and below?

Question: 

Are there any published studies or guidelines on the fire rating of floor trusses built with 2x3 lumber?

Question: 

I have recently heard of a problem with fire-retardant-treated wood (FRTW) trusses that were manufactured and installed in 1965-1980. I was searching for more information, since my job involves the protection of property in our member school districts. I had heard that the trusses make of FRTW during that time period can or will become corrosive to the hardware and the trusses will fail.

Question: 

I need to obtain some information on fire-retardant-treated roof trusses.

Question: 

Can a roof truss penetrate a one-hr. tenant separation wall without having a one-hr. rated ceiling? The building official insists that the 2x4 chords are combustible and nullify the integrity of the one-hr. rated partition that is constructed in an attic above an 8 in. C.M.U. bearing wall. The partition consists of gypsum board attached to 2 x 4 stud framing. The building official insists that a ledger must be attached through the gypsum board to support the trusses each side of the wall. This is almost saying that any rated assembly must have bearing only on other rated assemblies.