you best pick up your local building code

1/4" of Intumescent paint should suffice.  Don't forget to caulk the penetrations.  While we're at it, just caulk everything.

Don't do any of what I just said.

Except maybe the caulk.

Why don't we just build entire buildings of caulk?

^ I've worked with carpenters that could probably make that happen for you. Saw one guy fill probably a 1/2-3/4 inch gap in his crown molding with caulk, carefully attempting to make that much caulk conform to the overall profile of the molding. "It's going to get painted anyway," he said.

I'm sure I kept his card around here somewhere ...

good show intern...accept substandard workmanship.

Oh, it was never accepted, nor acceptable ... but the guy was like Michelangelo up there with the caulk gun and his finger smoothing it all out, making it perfect. If you want a guy to build a building out of caulk ... he's your man.

It was also before I was on this side of the architect-contractor relationship, so I wasn't the one accepting nor rejecting the work. I was just the guy who could do it right and got told by the boss to fix it. The 2 or 3 other corners I was able to finish in the time it took him to finish his masterpiece looked great -- nice, tight joints mitered to acceptable levels of workmanship.

so the dude just pulled his caulk out and made everything better...

put a pitch pan over it.

in fact, turn the whole roof into a pitch pan bath tub type thing.

chigurh, yeah he did. He really liked pulling out his caulk. I wouldn't say it always made things better. Perhaps for a moment, but then the inevitable self-loathing and regret would sink in because he knew his caulk jobs never stood the test of time. Then he'd have to look for another moment to pull out his caulk to show off and feel good and the cycle would repeat itself.

Bulgar, don't forget to put a fence around the roof.

hire an architect, the roof decks probably illegal anyway....

The double meaning in that comment is hilarious. He really liked pulling out his "caulk". Perhaps for a moment, but then the inevitable self-loathing and regret would sink in because he knew his "caulk" jobs never stood the test of time. Then he'd have to look for another moment to pull out his "caulk" to show off and feel good and the cycle would repeat itself.

I am a licensed architect. My code consultant on this job said that the steel does not need to be protected, but I am not buying it . I also found a code section that said that the steel does need to be protected... Anyway, I never take anything at face value... Hence my question on this forum to try to tease out any doubt... As far as the legality is concerned- it was a pain in the ass to get it approved; we had to meet with the commissioner and get a restrictive declaration that would limit the occupancy and so on... 

You have a code consultant?

He's a code consultant/expediter

I've seen tons of exposed structural steel in NYC and non were fire-proofed. I don't think its required to be fireproofed in the 1968 code but might be in the latest 2014. Also check out Hillti for a fire-spread detail. Hope this helps

90% of all code consultants/expediters do not know jack shit,they just spend lots of time at the DOB......75% of examiners don't know jack shit, and its a crap shoot with the commisioners......given that its NYC without 100% of the information on what codes you filed under, standard or pro cert, if any pre or recons were filed, yada.........no one can help. since you are the architect I am sure you will figure it out. Common Sense always trumps the law, its just NYC DOB is so beauricratic common sense is hard to convince them on.....