Anchor plate

An anchor plate 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. Being visible, many anchor plates are made in a style that is decorative.cite book |title=Dictionary of Building Preservation
last=Bucher
first=Ward
year=1996
publisher=Preservation Press
pages=576]

One popular style is the star anchor, an anchor plate in the shape of a star. Other names and styles of anchor plate include earthquake washer, triangular washer, S-iron, and T-head.

Anchor plates are made of cast iron, sometimes wrought iron or steel, and are often used on brick or other masonry-based buildings. They are easy to find in cities with substantial legacies of 18th- and 19th-century brick construction, such as Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Charleston, South Carolina, and in older earthquake prone cities such as San Francisco. The tie-rod-and-plate assembly serves to brace the masonry wall against lateral bowing.

ee also

*Barnstar
*Tie plate
*Fishplate

References