TL;DR
An anchor bolt is the threaded steel rod cast into wet concrete, or epoxied into hardened concrete, that clamps a structure's wood sill plate or steel column base to its foundation. The IRC standard for homes is 1/2-inch bolts embedded at least 7 inches, spaced no more than 6 feet apart and within 12 inches of each plate end, with nut and washer on top.
What it means
An anchor bolt is the threaded steel rod cast into wet concrete, or epoxied into hardened concrete, that clamps a structure's wood sill plate or steel column base to its foundation. The IRC standard for homes is 1/2-inch bolts embedded at least 7 inches, spaced no more than 6 feet apart and within 12 inches of each plate end, with nut and washer on top. They are the load path that keeps walls from sliding or lifting off the foundation in wind and earthquakes, and seismic retrofits of older homes consist largely of adding them. Inspectors check embedment and spacing before the slab or framing inspection signs off.
Where it sits in the glossary
Anchor bolt is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
License: CC-BY-4.0 — quote freely with attribution to ProFix Editorial Team / ProFix Directory.