Washers, grips and brackets in Catherine Field NSW

A tie down chain is only as good as the pieces holding it together, and those pieces cost almost nothing. A washer spreads a bolt's load across the timber face instead of concentrating it under the bolt head. A triple grip ties a truss to the top plate so uplift is resisted at every truss rather than by skew nails. A bracket is only as strong as the fixings actually driven into it. The Leppington frame records two and a half kilometres from here contain all three: washers missing, triple grips recorded, bracket fixings recorded. None of them would be visible a fortnight later.

A washer spreads the bolt load across the timber face.

Triple grips tie each truss to the top plate against uplift.

A bracket performs only to the number of fixings actually driven.

All three were recorded on one Leppington frame inspection.

A bottom plate overhanging its slab edge by 25 millimetres was recorded on the same job, twice.

More about Catherine Field

Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Catherine Field. Licensed building practitioners.

Guides for Catherine Field owners and buyers

28 August 2026 · 7 min read

The washer that cost nothing and did everything

A few cents of steel between a bolt and the timber.

29 August 2026 · 7 min read

Twenty five millimetres over the edge

A measured figure, not an impression.

30 August 2026 · 6 min read

Triple grips, and the load they carry

Every truss, tied individually.

Washers, grips and brackets in Catherine Field NSW: common questions

Could I count these myself?

With the tie down schedule in hand and a torch, some of it. Reading a grip's fixing pattern against what the manufacturer requires is the part that takes practice.

Do builders argue about hardware?

Rarely, at frame stage, because the parts cost cents and the correction takes minutes. They argue about it after lining, which is the whole point of the timing.

Which standard covers it?

AS 1684, together with the bracing and tie down schedule that comes with your engineering and the manufacturer's fixing requirements for each connector.