# Guys, Ties, and Braces



## ZachElwood (Nov 8, 2010)

Looking for a little help with terminology. I'm slightly confused because I think there's a lot of difference as to how these terms are used overseas. I'm looking for how they're mainly used in the U.S.

Does my understanding of these terms seem correct to you? And if not, what would you change?

Guy wires - guying refers to when you are working on free-standing scaffolds. Guy wires attach the scaffold either to the ground or to a structure.

Ties - Ties (usually tie wires) connect a scaffold to an adjacent structure in order to increase the stability of the scaffold. 

Braces - braces are rigid supports that are used to support a scaffold by connecting it to a nearby structure. Ties and braces are often used together.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Yeah, those definitions seem accurate to me.


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## Zer0Tolerance (Aug 7, 2010)

Depends on what you are talking about...

When I hear of "ties" and "braces" I immediately think of excavation work.

Tiebacks, cross bracing, or rakers. Tiebacks are steel cables or tenons that are inserted into holes drilled through the sheeting and into the rock or subsoil. The wire used in the tiebacks could be called a "guy wire". Guy wires are also used to support telephone poles.

A guy wire is a tensioned cable to add stability to a structure by bracing it.

These terms are used loosely in construction and could each have multiple meanings for several things


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## Bweikel (Feb 20, 2011)

Ties in framing can be tie downs in walls and rafters and braces could mean truss bracing wall bracing etc every trade is gonna have there own Meaning for those words


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## ZachElwood (Nov 8, 2010)

Sorry - I should have stated upfront that I was talking about Scaffold terminology. I think I have a good handle on it now and I'm aware that the terminology can definitely change a lot depending on the region.


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