Quote:
Originally Posted by fenwick16
Most likely the walls and floors can't meet any current fire ratings without demolishing it and completely rebuilding it with concrete and steel.
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I have no idea where that logic comes from--by that reasoning, every single post-and-beam commercial building in the country (of which there are thousands, housing God knows how many people and businesses) is unsafe. I guess Old Montreal, Gastown, and our own Historic Properties must be deathtraps-in-waiting? Except, of course, they're not. A well-renovated Roy with sprinklers and fireproof insulation would be as safe as any other similarly sized structure in the city. In fact, a heavy timber building with a brick facade is probably a lot less susceptible to fire than the wood-framed gypsum-board throw-ups happening all over the country's suburbs. (B.C. has recently approved six-storey wood-framed buildings, so there you go.)
The destructiveness of fires in decades and centuries past had more to do with un-sprinklered buildings, less advanced firefighting techniques, and gas-and-candle lighting than with structural issues. Properly maintained, building codes are not an issue at all with a structure like the Roy; it's just another way to weasel out of preserving the structure.
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