Loose hold down

[Denray]

Is it ok for hold downs to be a bit loose?

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[Denray]

Whoa, whoa, don't everybody rush to reply at once.

Here's a comment I got:

Nope.

When installed they should be tight (but not cranked into the wood) and then turned 1/4 turn past tight.

As the wood shrinks during construction and as the framing settles during construction (from the loads placed on the framing as the structure is constructed) the nuts should be re-tightened during construction, and one last re-tightening just before drywall is installed.

From the bow in that all thread (or rod with treaded ends), it was likely never tightened, and/or may be binding up in mis-aligned holes (the tie-down rods should be straight and not bound up in the holes.

Simpson StrongTie makes a couple of self-adjusting nuts and self-adjusting couplers which are tightened as described above, then a pin is removed and further shrinkage/settlement is automatically taken up in the self-adjusting nut/coupling - as I recall, those self-adjusting nuts/couplings can take up 1/2" before hitting their adjustment limit.

I would write them up.

Having loose hold-down bolts and rods is no different than having loose truss straps and hangers - and I am sure that all of us would write up loose truss straps and hangers.

I also got this one:

Where are the hold downs? This is only threaded rod not a hold down. There should be a hold down connected to the 2 x 6 (which also should be doubled) at the foundation connection and 2 more hold downs between the 1st and 2nd floor. This looks like Uncle Buck's version of a hold down.

[Jim Katen]

Whoa, whoa, don't everybody rush to reply at once.

Sorry, I thought that it was a rhetorical question.

Yes, the threaded rod should be more or less tight. I'd use the word snug.

The self-tightening hardware usually isn't necessary in a 1 or 2 story building.

The thing in your picture isn't a hold down, it's a tie rod. There should also be hold downs, but they're probably in different locations - usually near the corners of the building. They should have nuts that are tightened about 1/4 turn past hand tight.

The tie rods are not the same thing, but they're not Uncle Buck either. I usually see them installed as part of a 2-story brace wall -- separate from the hold down hardware.

[Denray]

Thanks Jim.