Bowstring Truss Roof Construction

5 most common commercial bowstring truss manufacturers in california arch rib truss co.

Bowstring truss roof construction.

Bowstring trusses have the appearance of a rounded top chord utilizing many top chord panels of varying pitch. One of the most easily identifiable when able to be visualized. They were very popular in the early 1900s before trusses were built with metal connector plates. They may have the same shape but shape alone does not define the bowstring truss.

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. Multi member chord summerbell roof structures multi member mono chord vo vec roof structures multi member chord commercial roof structures multi member chord national truss company multi member chord easybow trusses by u. Buildings built with bowstring truss roof structures have a number of other factors that can make them susceptible to collapse. All bowstring trusses are not created equal and do not share the same characteristics when found in a building and occupancy.

For example bowstring trusses can be constructed of wood or steel. They are controversial today because of how they react when exposed to fire. 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. However they remain in place in older pre 1960s building stock.

While once a staple in the structural design of buildings with long span roofs the bowstring truss is now a piece of construction history. 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. Several beams make up the arch while the roof outside is made up of metal sheets or other materials. Along with brad young and associates the engineer of record our team performed repairs to eight trusses.