What the builders left behind.....

[Jimk]

Offcuts of...

[Mike McLeod]

Hi all,

We found these things lying around after the builders left and were wondering what they're for and what they are. Does anyone recognize them? They're just under 6" long and made from some fairly tinny metal.

Thanks.

[NY]

Does the rear face have holes in it top and bottom? They look like some sort of support (eg for a shelf) which is screwed to the wall and then has a tab (for supporting something) that can be moved up and down to one of several pre-defined positions.

[GB]

Shelf supports?

[Chris Hogg]

+1 A bit like these but yours are with two holes rather than a slot

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

They look like adjustable shelf brackets.

[Mike McLeod]

They'd never be strong enough! Far too easily bent with the fingers alone. Here's the same item from some other angles:

[Andrew]

They are going rusty, so never intended for external use.

Did you have any alcoves fitted with adjustable shelves ?. These are the sort of things that might be fixed to the sides of the alcove, then plastered so the toothy side is flush with the surface. The little ears support the shelves abut can by moved up and down.

[Mike McLeod]

Yes, in the photos, but if you could pick one up and handle it, you'd immediately see how thin and flimsy it is. One thing I can say for certain is that they are NOT anything to do with shelving!

[Mike McLeod]

The photos make it look much bigger and more substantial than it really is. I just weighed one: 19 grams! It's not going to hold up much, is it?

[John Rumm]

And at 6" that is not much of a shelf bracket!

They look like they are (poorly) galvanised?

How thick are they front to back?

It looks like the clip inside the channel can be slid into a number of positions - is that correct?

Do you think they are something the builders brought and used, or were they pulled out of the existing building from somewhere?

I was thinking about some kind of brick tie or insulation retaining clip...

[Andrew]

When is the Antiques Roadshow in town next ?.

[NY]

The spring clip on the rear face is designed to slot over something, and there's only one hole for screwing the device to a wall.

I wonder if they were designed to be used in compression: two of them opposite each other, exactly the same distance apart as some panel/shelf between them - pushing inwards but not taking much weight downwards.

Could they have supported a (vertical) plasterboard wall panel or the edges of a (horizontal) plasterboard ceiling panel that is also nailed to rafters closer to the centre of the panel.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Might they be something nailed to block or wood work to support plaster or even renderable mesh?

[Mike McLeod]

Quite!

Nope. No galvanisation.

I've had a proper measure up:

Overall length: 143mm Width: 15mm Depth: 7mm Thickness of steel used: 0.020"

Correct. You can press it down, slide it up and down and release it and there's a tang on one side that lodges in one of the square holes. Only on one side, though, curiously.

No idea to be honest.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I wonder if its for keying blockwork to a timber frame?

I've seen houses built with ply and timber frame structure that is covered with a membrane, then tags are nailed through to the ply and the thing is skinned with brick

[Tricky Dicky]

They are wall starters used to key brickwork projecting at 90deg to an existing wall avoiding the need to chop out bricks to key in the wall. The bits that look like shelf supports that have bent should be at right angles and fit in between brick courses.

Here is an example;

Richard

[Chris B]

Might it have been something to do with packaging of delivered products, like something to tension those nylon straps. Discarded when the product has been unwrapped?

[Chris B]

Or some of theses

[Chris Green]

How does that follow? :-)

You can buy *loads* of stuff intended for outdoor use that doesn't even bother to provide galvanised nails or screws, let alone stainless ones. Our 'outdoor' barbecue is going rusty (except the bit I repainted), all the screws and nails in our sheds are rusting away (I didn't buy the sheds, I am replacing screws with stainless ones). Etc., etc., etc.

I've even had to replace the non stainless screw in the garage door opener keypad. All beautifully sealed and weatherproof but the cover is held on with a non-stainless screw - madness.