What are gable restraint straps?

Straps provide most of the lateral stability to the gable wall and are nearly always required. They must engage a full block on a gable, and will need to be fitted to the underside of the rafter members.

How is a gable wall restrained?

For garages or masonry construction, the gable should be restrained at rafter level with restraint straps. Restraint should also be provided at ceiling level where the height (h) exceeds: ∎ 16 x thickness of the wall for single leaf walls.

What is the purpose of restraint straps?

Restraint straps, also known as tension straps and bat straps, are used for vertical and horizontal restraint of roof and floor structures to prevent bulging and cracking of walls.

Do I need restraint straps?

Lateral restraint straps are required at floor and rafter or flat roof member levels. If you are building a pitched roof you will also need to use straps at ceiling joist levels.

How many wall straps do I need?

If straps are used, these should be no more than 2m apart for dwellings up to 3 storeys and no more than 1.25m apart for dwellings over 3 storeys. Straps should also be in line on each side of the walls and fixed across at least three rafters. 2.

How to fit restraint straps to a gable wall?

One of the points made was, “The gable wall should be retrofitted with restraint straps, these should be fitted with softwood noggins between the rafters and ceiling joists, and timber wedges between the wall and first rafter/joist. The straps should be 30×5 ms taken over a min. 3 rafters/joists and be at 1.2m centres.”

What is a gable end frame?

Manufactured gable ends are actually frames even though they are often referred to as trusses. The webs are “studs” oriented vertically and usually spaced at 12, 16 or 24 in. O. C. The gable end frame is designed to transfer vertical loads from the roof to the continuous bearing wall below.

Why brace the gable ends of a house?

Wind forces both push (inward acting) and pull (outward acting) on houses, so it is critical to brace the gable ends to resist wind pressures in both directions. The potential critical failure points are the gable end wall connections at the roof framing and sheathing above and the wall below, gable wall framing members, and gable wall sheathing.

Do gable walls need to be braced?

Gable end walls need to be braced. For wood frame roof structures, if framing of the gable is not complete and a professional engineer is NOPT being used to design a bracing solution, a contractor/builder can install continuous 2- x 4-in. lateral bracing at the ceiling from the gable end truss to the opposite end of the attic at 6 ft. o.c.