Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
That would be the reason, then. I’ve never seen fireproofing like that, only the spray-applied kind or intumescent paint...
I guess since there’s no steel decking, it just made sense to soffit all the beams instead to get the desired fire rating.
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I think Chicago was on a bit of a gypsum block craze in the 20’s and 30’s. My old apartment building had interior walls made of gypsum blocks and that also wrapped the steel. In Detroit, all of the fireproofing was done with orange structural clay, but I’m sure both were common everywhere.
The floor slabs probably aren’t reinforced concrete either. I’m assuming it’s a composite block slab topped with concrete. Reinforced concrete was around in the 30’s but I doubt it was practical for a building this big. Too new and variable at the time. I’ll bet if the the plaster and grout is scraped away from the ceiling you’ll see that orange block