Anchor Testing & Pull Out Testing Services

Most anchors need a proof load test, which applies a specified load, usually a set percentage of the safe working load, and confirms the anchor holds it without movement. This is the routine safety check that keeps a fixing certified for use. Where a design needs engineering validation rather than a routine check, an ultimate load test takes the anchor to failure or near failure to establish what it can genuinely withstand.

How the load is applied matters as much as how large it is. A static load test builds the force slowly and under control, which suits most certification work, while a dynamic load test simulates the shocks and fluctuating loads an anchor sees in real service.

We will advise which test your fixings actually need, because paying for an ultimate test when a proof load answers the question is money wasted.

A pull test measures more than whether the anchor stays put. As the load is applied, we are checking pull-out resistance, the bond strength between the anchor and its substrate, whether the embedment depth is doing its job, and the condition of the substrate itself, watching for cracking, spalling and voids that weaken the grip. Installation quality shows up too, from incorrect torque to poor hole cleaning to adhesive that never fully cured.

To pass, the anchor must hold its required proof load without excessive movement, rotation, substrate cracking, pull out or slippage, with any movement measured in millimetres and held within the manufacturer’s or standard’s limits.

When an anchor fails, the cause is usually one of a familiar handful. It might be incorrect installation, a weak or deteriorated substrate, the wrong anchor type for the material, uncured adhesive or corrosion, and we tell you which, because the fix is different in each case.

Pull testing is required whenever a fall arrest system is installed, under EN795 and BS7883, which is why our height safety systems installations always include it. It applies equally to lifting points and padeyes needing LOLER compliance, facade access systems including rope access and building maintenance units, structural fixings in construction, and safety-critical anchors in marine, offshore and industrial environments.

Testing is not a one-off either. Most systems need periodic retesting every 6 to 12 months, depending on the environment and the standard they adhere to, and any anchor that has been impacted or modified must be retested before it goes back into service. We schedule re-tests alongside your other inspections, so nothing lapses.

Scaffold ties carry the stability of the entire structure, and TG20 and the scaffold design will specify the loads each tie must prove. We test scaffold tie fixings on site as the scaffold goes up, confirming that each anchor achieves its required load in the actual substrate it is fixed to, rather than the substrate assumed in the design.

Results are recorded, tie by tie, against their positions, so both the scaffold contractor and the principal contractor have evidence that the ties were proven. Where a tie fails, we report it immediately so it can be re-fixed and re-tested before the scaffold is loaded.

We test with hydraulic pull testers and mechanical load testers, with measurements taken via calibrated load cells and gauges, so every figure is accurate and traceable. A reaction frame or bridge spreads the reaction away from the anchor under test, which means the result reflects the fixing alone and the surrounding structure is never loaded. Couplers, adaptors and test studs are matched to the anchor type, from resin and mechanical anchors to eyebolts and cast-in fixings.

Every test produces a certification recording the anchor, its location, the load applied, the movement measured and the result. Where the fixing belongs to lifting equipment, the record sits alongside your LOLER inspection history, and where a sample needs taking to destruction instead, that work runs on our rigs as part of our tensile and destructive testing service.