An Unsafe Church.
About a month ago, Inspector of Buildings Griffin discovered that the wall on the southern side of the Warren Avenue Baptist Church, Boston, Mass., was bulging. He climbed to the roof, and was astonished to find that the scissors truss that supported the pitch of the roof was not bolted together, but was fastened only with railroad spikes.
The wall was out of plumb fully nine inches. A peremptory order was issued to vacate the church. Then a more careful examination was made, with startling results.
The truss was laid bare, and then it was discovered that the sole support for the roof of the great building consisted of three iron rods one and one half inches in diameter.
The cross rods were of no use, because the wood had shrunk away and the bolts could be rattled. The upper and lower chords of the truss were made of eight two‐inch planks, and where the cross rods had been put through and clinched the auger had cut off one plank and part of another, weakening the truss by one‐eighth.
The lower chord of the truss was cut completely through in two places. It is said that it will cost nearly $200,000 to repair the church, which is one of the largest in the city.
It would not be a bad idea for the trustees of other churches to have the trusses carefully examined.