Counting the fixings in a bottom plate
The connection between the whole frame and the slab.
In short: Bottom plate fixings are specified by a schedule and installed by eye. Those two things do not always agree.
What the plate does
It transfers everything the wall carries into the slab, including uplift under wind load. The fixing spacing is what makes that transfer work.
Where the number comes from
Your tie down schedule, which is derived from the wind classification for the lot under AS 4055 and set out in the engineering.
What we recorded
Fixings present but at wider centres than the schedule required, and in one location a plate overhanging the slab edge as well.
Why nobody catches it later
Once the plasterer has been through, the plate is behind a wall lining permanently. Nobody counts fixings at handover.
What to ask for
Send us the tie down schedule with the booking. Without it we can report what is installed but not whether it matches your lot.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Pakenham East. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
