(English) Parapets, cornices, corbels

Stakeholder	Life safety	Property loss	Functional loss
Solution/ Expertise	Repair time	Costs of strengthen

Typical causes of damages

Parapets, decorative elements such as cornices and corbels or other architectural elements are common among historic, unreinforced masonry structures. Such elements are generally constructed of stone or other heavy, brittle materials, and often fail due to poor anchoring or bracing.

Recommended methods

Parapets can be braced from the rear using steel angle braces anchored into the parapet and connected to the roof framing. Parapets can also be braced using reinforced concrete or shotcrete placed behind the parapet and anchored. Reducing the height of parapets also reduces the seismic forces on the parapet by reducing the weight.

(Source: FEMA, 2004)

Architectural building elements such as cornices, corbels, and spandrels can be anchored from the outside by installing anchors with exterior washer plates, or from the inside using either countersunk plates and/or epoxy anchors.