In short: Bracing resists lateral load. A brace cut through to make room for a duct or a cable has stopped doing that, and the wall looks identical afterwards.
Why it happens
A services trade needs a path. The brace is in the way. Cutting it takes seconds and solves their problem, and the person who specified the brace is not on site to object. Nobody involved is being reckless - the sequence simply does not include anyone whose job is to protect the structural design.
What it costs
Once the wall is lined, that brace cannot be assessed or restored without opening it up. The house continues to look and behave normally until it is asked to do the thing the brace was there for.
The related items
We also record tie down bolts missing at the bracing and ducting resting rather than suspended on Marsden Park jobs. All three are the same class of problem: a trade solving their own step without anyone checking the whole.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Marsden Park. Licensed building practitioners.
