A hoop strap over the plate is not a hoop strap
It looks finished, and it restrains nothing.
In short: Hoop straps recorded over the plate three separate times on one Gledswood Hills frame.
How a hoop strap works
It wraps the member it restrains and is fixed either side, so uplift on that member pulls against the strap rather than against nails alone.
What over the plate means
The strap has been laid across the top of the plate instead of around the member, and nailed to timber it cannot hold. The fixing is present; the restraint is not.
Why it recurs
It is faster, it looks the same from three metres away, and unless someone is reading the detail against the schedule it passes without comment. We recorded it three times on one frame.
What it costs to fix now
A strap and a handful of nails, while the frame is open.
What it costs later
Verifying tie down after lining means opening plaster, which is the reason a frame inspection exists at all.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Gledswood Hills. Licensed building practitioners, NSW Fair Trading licence 366177C.
