[log in to unmask] wrote:

> The Thomas Wolfe Memorial, located in downtown Asheville, North Carolina,
> partially burned last Friday. The Queen Anne-style Victorian house was built
> in 1883. For the restoration project we are seeking specialists in the
> analysis of the strength of framing timbers that have been damaged by fire.
> Can you recommend anyone?

I suggest you contact Robert H. White, Ph.D., USDA Forest Service, One Gifford
Pinchot Drive, Madison, WI  53705-2398 (608) 231-9265. (Sorry no email address
at hand.) In most cases, early wood buildings were structurally overdesigned and
post-fire integrity can be determined from the remaining dimensions of
supporting members. For beams, this is proportional to the ratio of the design
load to the uncharred section modulus.

-- Jack Watts
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John M. Watts, Jr., Ph.D., Director
Fire Safety Institute, P.O. Box 674, Middlebury, VT 05753 USA
voice/fax: (802) 462-2663     email: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://middlebury.net/firesafe/
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