Deck

The decking system consists of a steel floor deck with a sitecast concrete slab.  This is the most common slab system used over a structural steel frame.  The purpose of the steel deck along with the slab is for running electrical and communication wiring.  A raised floor wasn’t used in this design because it wasn’t common at the time of construction to use one.  The building was also built when few computers were used in the building.  It wasn’t an issue that the engineers took into consideration.

The steel deck cells run perpendicular to the beams to carry the loads.  The steel deck also serves the purpose of fire protection.  A three-hour fire rating can be achieved using this system. 

The steel deck spans approximately 8’9” between beams.  For this span, a 2” decking is appropriate in coordination with a 5” slab.  A thicker slab could be used in conjunction with a thicker deck if the loads required it.