"Seinfeld"

[JedClampett]

I'm a devoted watcher of "Seinfeld" reruns as I'm sure some of you are. I'm not very familiar with construction techniques for vintage buildings in NYC. Everytime they show the exterior of Jerry's building you can see plates with bolts sticking out of the brick wall. From the position of the windows, it would seem these are at the floor level. What are they for? Do they anchor a ledger that the floor is supported on? If so they seem kind of widely spaced.

 

[IRstuff]

Haven't actually seen those on Seinfeld, but in San Francisco, there were many brick buildings that were earthquake hardened using something similar to stabilize the brick facades

TTFN

 

[PEinc]

They are tie rods with nuts and bearing plates to laterally restrain the brick walls. They are at the floor level so that they can cross the building, under the floor, to the opposite wall.

 

[JAE]

In many older buildings - the construction was comprised of load-bearing brick walls with wood framed floors that were simply embedded into the brick via pockets with mortar. Over the years, the building walls would shift, expand, etc. and the connection between the floors and the walls would be compromised.

So lateral rods would be extended through the building and plated on the outside to secure the wall to the floor.

 

[Taro]

Apparently, the apartment building pictured on the television show is actually located in California. So the bolts are probably from a seismic retrofit as described by others above.

 

[IFRs]

Here in PA, old buildings and barns have bars through them to stabilize the tall walls from buckling outwards. They are stabilized from buckling inwards by floor joists.

 

[jheidt2543]

My vote goes to PEinc and JAE. There are many old buildings with that detail here in the midwest US. Some of those exterior plates are very decorative - stars, rosettes etc.

 

[dicksewerrat]

That's what they are. Just think of them a prestressed rods. The turning of the nut gives the stressing. They are also used in lots of old all wood bldgs.