Proposed Code Changes

Dear Anchor User:

Can you imagine a time in the future when you are told that conventional wedge and drop-in anchors cannot be used because of new code restrictions? And that these new codes basically outlaw most conventional anchors, based on theoretical failure in overhead applications? Would you believe that these new codes will at least double the cost to purchase and install anchors without providing any needed improvement to the job?

"Ridiculous," you'd say. "I've used these anchors for decades, and they have always performed perfectly well."

Well, this unthinkable scenario may be very close to becoming a reality, due to a new Provisional Standard just published by the American Concrete Institute (ACI).

Simpson Strong-Tie Anchor Systems, as part of a group representing the majority of American anchor manufacturers, would agree that wedge anchors and drop-ins have been the workhorses of concrete anchoring in U.S. construction, and have been successfully used in a broad variety of construction applications, for at least the last 30 years.

However, over the past few years, ACI has developed a new test procedure to qualify the performance of "post-installed anchors", such as wedges and drop-ins. These new test procedures are almost completely based on newly developed, and controversial, European anchor codes. In these European codes the anchors are qualified, or disqualified, based primarily upon how the anchors perform when, after the anchor is installed, a crack is created in the concrete which passes through the center of the anchor location, and changes the size and shape of the hole. These unusual and rigorous qualification tests have been pursued by ACI, even though there is no reported history of this type of cracking ever occurring in U.S. construction. Factory Mutual, for example, reports that they cannot find a single incident of structural failure due to anchors failing in cracked concrete.

The development of these tests has continued at ACI, even though the European codes on which they are based have recently been put "on hold" by the European Commission. This action by the EC was based on concerns raised by an independent study that indicated that the codes were restrictive in nature, and were eliminating the use of anchors that have been successfully used in the past. The European Commission is demanding that these codes be revised to eliminate these concerns.

ACI has continued to pursue the development of these codes, even though 2 of the 3 major post-installed anchor manufacturers, who were allowed to be members of this 27 member ACI committee, expressed continuous dissatisfaction with the content of this test procedure. Their efforts included appeals at the highest level of the ACI organization, in an effort to stop these unreasonable codes.

What is the current status?

• ACI has published the test procedure (ACI 355.2) as a Provisional Standard on February 1, 2001.
• The "Public Comment" period for this document is Feb. 1 through May 1, 2001. This is the first, and only, opportunity that anyone outside of the ACI 355 Committee will have to review and comment back to ACI on the contents of this document.
• Upon the completion of this 90-day comment period, and response to comments reviewed, this document will become a Full Standard for ACI.
• In the form of a Provisional or Full Standard, this test procedure, as a component of the ACI 318 document, is intended to be included in the IBC 2003 Codes.
• ICBO is currently considering adoption of this ACI 355.2 test procedure into their test criteria for mechanical and adhesive anchors, as part of their seismic requirements.

What is the impact of all of this?

• The U.S. based anchor manufacturers, identified as sponsors of www.alertaci355-2.com, and you as a user will be adversely affected.
• Proprietary anchoring systems, offered by European based anchor manufacturers, will dominate our U.S. market. Their anchors have been specifically designed to meet the unusually burdensome requirements of the European, and in the near future, U.S. codes if they are changed.
• Anchor users will be forced to pay at least twice as much to purchase and install these special anchors, with no benefit over the anchors they use today.

What can we do to change this situation?

• Write ACI and ICBO now to express your concern over the devastating impact of these new codes.
• For more details, addresses and sample letters to send to ACI and ICBO, visit the website at www.alertaci355-2.com.
• If you share our concerns, pass this information on to other associates in our industry. - If you agree with us, write your U.S. Congress members and solicit their support in this important effort.

Sincerely,

Simpson Strong-Tie Anchor Systems .