The Ontario Building Code | End Bearing Plates
9.17.3.2. End Bearing Plates
(1) Except as permitted in Sentence (2), steel columns shall be fitted with not less than 100 mm by 100 mm by 6.35 mm thick steel plates at each end, and where the column supports a wooden beam, the top plate shall extend across the full width of the beam.
(2) The top plate required in Sentence (1) need not be provided where a column supports a steel beam and provision is made for the attachment of the column to the beam.
In Plain Language
Steel columns need end bearing plates meeting the requirements set out in this article, spreading the column's concentrated load onto the surface below or above it.
This is a plain-language summary of the 2012/2017 Ontario Building Code text above, for general understanding only and not a substitute for the Code. Always confirm current requirements against the 2024 edition (O.Reg. 163/24) or a qualified professional before construction.