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How can wood have better fire resistance than steel? I mean wood burns. /s
by baud147258 9y ago
How can wood have better fire resistance than steel? I mean wood burns. /s
- jacquesm 9y agoCorrection: the outside of wood burns. But a wooden beam is going to slowly degrade over time during a fire, a steel beam will be fine right up to the point where it reaches a critical temperature and then it will collapse instantly. Wood degrades more gracefully giving occupants of a structure a few crucial minutes more to leave if the building is on fire.
- baud147258 9y agoIf the wood is load-bearing, once it has reached a sufficient degradation level, it'll collapse just as well as any steel beam. And since steel is usually embedded in concrete, it'll be protected for some time, increasing the time before it reaches a critical temperature and collapse. Still I thank you for your answer, it explained what I did not understand in your comment.
- djrogers 9y agoI think your assumption that steel is usually embedded in concrete is incorrect. It can be, but it's also often not. Have you never seen steel beam construction with exposed beams? It's not at all uncommon...
- mywittyname 9y agoIt's pretty much the standard in steel construction for beams to be exposed. Fire safety is the reason elevator shafts and stair wells of steel buildings are constructed from cinder blocks.
- baud147258 9y agoWhere I live, most (nearly all) are reinforced concrete. I don't think I've seen a an office building or flat with exposed beams. Of course, the usual construction methods can be different from place to place.