Anchor plate

A stylized anchor plate in the cloister of the Church of St. Trophime, Arles (France)

An anchor plate, floor plate[1] or wall washer is a large plate or washer connected to a tie rod or bolt. Anchor plates are used on exterior walls of masonry buildings, for structural reinforcement against lateral bowing. Anchor plates are made of cast iron, sometimes wrought iron or steel, and are often made in a decorative style.[2]

They are commonly found in many older cities, towns and villages in Europe and in more recent cities with substantial 18th- and 19th-century brick construction, such as New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Charleston, South Carolina; and in older earthquake-prone cities such as San Francisco, as well as across all of Europe.

One popular style is the star anchor, an anchor plate cast or wrought in the shape of a five-pointed star. Other names and styles of anchor plate include earthquake washer, triangular washer, S-iron, and T-head.[2] In the United Kingdom, pattress plate is the term for circular restraints,[3] tie bar being an alternative term for rectangular restraints.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oxford Dictionary 2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Bucher, Ward (1996). Dictionary of Building Preservation. Preservation Press. p. 576.
  3. ^ Pattress plate example Archived 2009-07-26 at the Wayback Machine stainless-uk.co.uk