Lintel tie-downs on a Sunbury frame
Why the beams over your windows need their own fixings, and what we found missing.
In short: Every lintel and beam over an opening has a tie-down requirement that grows with its span. On Sunbury frames we have found them missing.
What a lintel tie-down does
Wind pushes up on a roof as well as across it. The tie-down at each end of a lintel stops that uplift lifting the beam and the roof above it.
What we recorded
On one Sunbury frame, a long lintel over a wide opening and a shorter beam elsewhere both lacked the tie-down fixings their spans required.
Related frame items
The same job also had a girder truss on a single stud and a beam connection that did not match the engineering detail.
When it can be fixed
Straps and rods are simple to add while the frame is open. After wrap, cladding and plaster, it means removing finished work.
What you can do
Give us the engineering and book the frame inspection before the wall wrap goes on.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Sunbury. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
