Field & trade terms
Pull test
Also called: anchor pull test, proof load test, tension test
A pull test is a field verification that an installed anchor, fastener or embed actually holds the load it is supposed to. A calibrated device applies a specified tension to the anchor, and the anchor either holds the proof load without pulling out or displacing beyond the allowed amount, or it fails and gets rejected. It is most common on post-installed anchors in concrete and masonry — the drilled-and-set anchors whose capacity depends on installation the inspector cannot see once the anchor is in the hole.
Why it matters
A post-installed anchor's strength lives entirely in how it was set — the hole cleaned, the depth right, the adhesive mixed and cured, the torque correct. None of that is visible in the finished anchor, so a pull test is often the only way to prove the anchor will carry its load rather than assume it.
It is the difference between a documented capacity and a hope. A sample of anchors proof-loaded and recorded gives a defensible basis that the installation as a whole is sound, which matters most for anchors carrying life-safety or overhead loads.
How it shows up on site
A defined sample of anchors tested to the specified proof load with a calibrated device, results recorded against the acceptance criteria, and any failure written up — often widening the sample to check whether the problem is one anchor or the batch.
Standards it's verified against
Checklists that put pull test to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- Holiday testAn electrical test that finds pinholes, thin spots and gaps — holidays — in a protective coating or membrane that the eye would miss.
- Acceptance criteriaThe stated, measurable conditions installed work has to meet before it can pass — the yardstick an inspection judges against.
- Hold pointA stop in the inspection and test plan where work cannot continue until a required party inspects and signs off the release.
- Witness pointA step where a party is invited to observe the work, but the crew may proceed if that party doesn't attend within the agreed notice.
- MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing)The mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades — the systems run through a building's structure that get inspected at rough-in and again at final.
- FirestoppingSealing openings where pipe, conduit or cable pass through a fire-rated wall or floor so the assembly's rating is restored.
Knowing the term is step one. Proving it is the job.
RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.