A reinforced building wall includes a foundation and an anchor rod anchored to the foundation; a first stud wall disposed above the foundation; the first stud wall having a first bottom plate, a first top plate and first and second vertical studs operably joined to the first bottom plate and the first top plate; a horizontal first bridge member disposed between the first stud and the second stud, the first bridge member having a first vertical opening; a rod post having one end operably connected to the anchor rod and operably connected to the first bridge member to transfer downward forces from the first bridge member and the second bridge member to the rod post; the anchor rod is attached to an anchor; and the anchor is disposed in an upper portion of the foundation.

A concealed connector for connecting a first structural component to a second structural component includes a connection portion and a connection plate. The connection portion attaches to the second structural component. The connection plate attaches to the first structural component. The connection plate is coupled to the connection portion and extends into a slot in the first structural component. The connection plate has a perforated region that is penetrated by at least one fastener to attach the connection plate to the first structural component. The perforated region is deformed by the at least one fastener to permit the at least one fastener to penetrate the perforated region of the connection plate.

A building includes a foundation; a stud wall disposed above the foundation; the stud wall including a bottom plate, first and second studs extending from the bottom plate, and a top plate operably attached to the first and second studs; third and fourth studs operably attached to the respective first and second studs, the third and fourth studs including respective bottom ends; a first cross member disposed on the bottom plate, the bottom ends of the third and fourth studs bearing on the first cross member, the first cross member is made of metal; a second stud wall disposed above the first stud wall; and a tie rod having one end operably connected to the foundation, the tie rod extending through the first cross member and operably attached to the second stud wall.

An improved anchor bolt apparatus that includes a rotating blade at one end and may also include a removable viewing box on the opposite end that are adapted to allow a J-Bolt to be replaced from the outside of a building without the need of cutting drywall or any exterior siding. Furthermore, the removable box may be used to allow an engineer to view and certify the proper tightening of the anchor bolt securing the vertical walls and framework of the building to its foundation.

At a joint between a butt end face of a lower end of the column material made of wood and a butt end receiving face of the column base fitting that supports the butt end face, an outer edge of the butt end face extends more outward than an outer edge of the butt end receiving face, and at a corner between the butt end face and a side face of the column material, a water draining function that causes water running along the side face of the column material to drop downward is provided.

A system for providing an angled construction or bent beam construction. Such system may include a first beam comprising a first elongated beam segment having a first interlocking joint portion at one end, and a second beam comprising a second elongated beam segment having a second interlocking joint at one end, wherein the first interlocking joint portion is configured to rotatably couple to the second interlocking joint to form a rotatable joint such that the angle between the first beam and the second beam is adjustable.

A computer-implemented method for deciding on a bracket connection is provided. The method comprises selecting one of a specific bracket type or a specific configuration of a supported member and a supporting member, identifying, based on the selected bracket type if such is selected, at least one configuration of a supported member and a supporting member associated with the selected bracket type, or, based on the selected specific configuration of a supported member and a supporting member if such is selected, at least one bracket type being associated with the configuration of the supported member and the supporting member, the bracket and the configuration of the supported member and the supporting member together forming a bracket connection, and determining one or more properties of the identified bracket connection.

A hydraulic expandable connector for taking up a slack in a tie rod in a hold-down system includes an inner cylindrical body disposed within an outer cylindrical body; a first actuation spring operably attached to the inner cylindrical body and the outer cylindrical body to urge relative motion between the inner cylindrical body and the outer cylindrical body such that the connector expands axially to take up the slack; a first chamber and a second chamber disposed between an outer wall surface of the inner cylindrical body and an inner wall surface of the outer cylindrical body; a first passageway communicating between the first chamber and the second chamber; and a valve operably disposed in the first passageway in an open position when the connector expands and a closed position when the connector is subjected to an axial load.

A bracket for securely uniting an Upper Post vertically with a larger bottom post, atop said bottom post, comprised of an upper section, a plate, a lower section, and a reducing portion.

A sill plate anchorage assembly for supporting prefabricated building walls includes an elongated member having spaced holes. A concrete formwork defines a space for receiving concrete to form a foundation to support the elongated member. The elongated member may be supported temporarily from the formwork. Anchor shafts extend within each of the spaced holes and extend below the elongated member into the space defined by the concrete formwork. After forming and curing the concrete, nuts or other fasteners are tightened over the upper ends of the anchor shafts to secure the elongated member against the foundation. The upper portions of the spaced holes may include enlarged recesses for receiving the fasteners. Indicia marked upon the elongated member may show the location and type of pass-through regions. A method to secure a horizontal sill plate to an underlying concrete foundation to support vertical building wall panels is also disclosed.