If no anchor points exist, which arrangement is described as an allowed method to secure a tieback?

If no anchor points exist, which arrangement is described as an allowed method to secure a tieback?

• A. Secured to skylights
• B. Secured to decorative brickwork
• C. Through two windows and around a building column
• D. Secured to a roof vent pipe

Answer: (C)

The key idea is to keep the load from concentrating on a single, fragile element and to use parts of the building that can safely bear the forces involved. Routing the tieback through two window openings and around a solid building column creates a path that distributes tension across multiple structural interfaces. This approach uses legitimate building elements to share the load and maintain stability, reducing the risk of pulling out or damaging any one point. Skylights are typically glazing units that can crack or fail under pull; decorative brickwork is aesthetic and not guaranteed to carry dynamic loads; and a roof vent pipe is usually slender and not rated for the forces a tieback can impose. Those options risk failure or damage rather than providing a reliable anchor. In real-world practice, engineers prefer properly rated anchor points installed to meet load requirements, but when no dedicated anchors are available, using stable structural features in a way that distributes the load, like the described arrangement, is the safer conceptual approach among the choices.

The key idea is to keep the load from concentrating on a single, fragile element and to use parts of the building that can safely bear the forces involved. Routing the tieback through two window openings and around a solid building column creates a path that distributes tension across multiple structural interfaces. This approach uses legitimate building elements to share the load and maintain stability, reducing the risk of pulling out or damaging any one point.

Skylights are typically glazing units that can crack or fail under pull; decorative brickwork is aesthetic and not guaranteed to carry dynamic loads; and a roof vent pipe is usually slender and not rated for the forces a tieback can impose. Those options risk failure or damage rather than providing a reliable anchor.

In real-world practice, engineers prefer properly rated anchor points installed to meet load requirements, but when no dedicated anchors are available, using stable structural features in a way that distributes the load, like the described arrangement, is the safer conceptual approach among the choices.