A structural plate or bracket used to provide support, prevent movement, or transfer loads at connection points, commonly used in steel construction and structural connections for enhanced stability.

A kicker plate is a structural plate or bracket used to provide support, prevent movement, or transfer loads at connection points, commonly used in steel construction and structural connections for enhanced stability. These plates serve as reinforcing elements that “kick” or push against structural members to provide additional support, prevent buckling, or transfer forces between different structural components. Kicker plates are essential hardware in steel framing, heavy construction, and specialty structural applications where additional support or load transfer is required.

The primary purposes include providing additional structural support at connection points, preventing lateral movement or buckling of structural members, transferring loads between different structural elements, reinforcing connections under high loads, creating bearing surfaces for structural components, meeting structural design requirements, and ensuring stability in complex structural assemblies.

Types and configurations encompass bearing plates, stiffener plates, gusset plates, and specialty kicker plates for different structural applications.

Fun Fact: The term “kicker” comes from the plate’s function of “kicking” or pushing against structural members to provide support! Some kicker plates in large buildings can be several inches thick and weigh hundreds of pounds. The largest kicker plates are found in bridge construction, where they can be several feet in size. Interestingly, modern computer analysis allows engineers to optimize kicker plate shapes and sizes, sometimes creating complex geometries that provide maximum strength with minimum material!

• Bearing Plate
• Double Top Plate
• Gusset Plate