Star Bolt Projects
Star bolt installation. House was damaged by builders next door. Made other structural repairs in the basement also.
Rebuilt stone foundation wall in Mount Airy. Installed star bolts. Installed steel beam and columns in basement. Call MCG for all wall repairs.
Check Out our 30+ A Rated Reviews on Angie’s List.
Check Out Our Facebook Page
History of Starbolts in Philadelphia
It’s not uncommon to see stars attached to buildings in Philadelphia. The stars are a good thing and are used in architecture. They aren’t meant for design but for stabilization. They come in handy for older buildings since they are more prone to damage. Since Philadelphia is one of the older cities in America, there are numerous buildings with stars on them.
The reason they are needed is that in a lot of homes, especially ones that have brick, the floors and roofs have joists that are parallel to the front and rear building facades. They can sometimes run side to side as well. Due to the design, the homes have these beams that connect to other houses’ walls and these walls can bulge outward sometimes. One reason is that the front and back of buildings only connect to the edges of the house. This is very dangerous because it increases the chance of the home collapsing completely.
This is where the star bolts (also called anchor plates) come into play. They go through the brick and connect the facades to the joists. This helps keep everything more stable, reducing the chance of the building collapsing. Most of the time, anchor plates are made of steel but some of them are made of cast iron. If you go walking, you may notice other designs instead of stars.
Anchor plates can have a variety of designs. Sometimes they look like stars but some other designs are squares, diamonds, rectangles, and sometimes circles. They come in different colors as well. Sometimes they’re white but they can be silver, black, and yellow. Most designs tend to be very simple as it makes the whole process much easier.
Anchor plates being popular in Philadelphia is due to the fact that during the 18th and 19th centuries, a lot of homes and buildings were made out of brick. Other places they are popular in are New York, St. Louis, South Carolina, Charleston, Cincinnati, and San Fransico and even places in Europe. They are popular is San Franciso due to all the earthquakes that happen there. During an earthquake, anchor bolts help keep the building and its structure more stable, reducing the chance of it collapsing.
If you live in Philadelphia, you want to make sure the building is safe especially if it’s an older model. Have a professional star bolt installation company do an inspection to see if anything needs to be fixed. Buildings are meant to be stable and meant to last, but buildings can suffer a lot of damage over time and its structure can weaken. Having support while help you feel safer and not worry about a potential collapse.
The cool thing about all of this is that anchor plates aren’t a new thing. They have been around for a very long time. During the bronze age, some anchor plates were made of rock. During the Roman Republic, it was common to have anchor plates made of wood. Designs have changed drastically since then as well as the material that’s being used.