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concrete anchors

carterbeauford

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Oct 2, 2011
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building a small shop, hybrid post frame and stud construction. what would be the best anchor to fasten a 2x4 sill plate to the slab? I bought heavy duty 1/2" wedge anchors and they aren't working out. hardware store has 1/2" tapered lag screws, sleeve anchors and a new kind of anchor where you tap the top and it drives a rod down through the anchor to wedge the base. they look like they'd rust though. I am leaning towards the lag screws out of ease of use.
 
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jeff000

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May 6, 2012
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Tap con screws would work. But why not just concrete nails? Those wedge anchors need a real hard concrete to work.

Those concrete nails with a little PL800 between the wood and concrete will hold like no ones business. I had to remove a small wall I had secured like that, and it was taking up concrete.
 

readhead

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Dec 8, 2012
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Durango, Co.
Simpson Titan screws, concrete lags, work pretty well. Do you have a hammer drill or roto- hammer? Expansion anchors are not a good idea at the edge of the concrete. You are running the chance of blowing out the concrete when you tighten them. Another option is to drill and epoxy threaded anchor rods and use washers and nuts.
Tapcons are to small. Minimum anchor bolt size is usually 1/2".
 

lynnbilodeau

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Oklahoma
I would do this:

"Another option is to drill and epoxy threaded anchor rods and use washers and nuts."
 

zporta

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Feb 9, 2012
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normally i would just use a ramset gun to shoot nails down through the bottom plate into the concrete. they make nails specific to treated lumber. If you insist on anchoring it down i would recommend red head anchors, make sure to have the correct size bit. if not they will not tighten correctly
 

Beemer533

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Syracuse, NY
I use the red heads all the time, even in softer concrete without a problem.. You have to use the correct size bit. In softer concrete you do have to be careful to drill straight and make sure you don't wallow out the hole..
 
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ishiboo

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Oct 27, 2010
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Oshkosh, WI
Since the posts are the ones providing shear/uplift prevention, a powder-actuated nailer would be the way to go IMO.

Wedge or drop-in anchors should work fine, not sure how you'd have problems. I don't like tap-cons as they all seem to be philips, strip out easily and get stuck and bend in many concrete types before being driven home.
 

ishiboo

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BTW... being just a bottom plate between posts, you could always just use PL between the two. It'd make a perfect seal, too. PL it and then put your studs in tight to press the bottom plate down.
 

jeff000

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May 6, 2012
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BTW... being just a bottom plate between posts, you could always just use PL between the two. It'd make a perfect seal, too. PL it and then put your studs in tight to press the bottom plate down.

I always thought you used a couple concrete nails in the plate just to hold till the PL dried?
 

Chuck

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Aug 30, 2005
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Location
Smithfield, VA
Epoxy generally works wonders as long as the hole is cleaned and the epoxy is done right. Also lightly to work with the holes you've already drilled. :thumbup:
 
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C

carterbeauford

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Oct 2, 2011
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Location
NW PA
Why are not the wedge anchors working out? What kind of problems are you having?

I dropped them through the sill plate, built the walls on the ground using Timberlok screws, raised them and dropped the anchors into the holes in the slab and half of them spun without tightening and I can't pull them out. tried dropped them through the top of the sill plate once the walls were raised and the metal sleeve won't go down into the slab allowing them to tighten.

Red Heads

that's what I am using.

Simpson HD screw anchors!! One hell of a concrete anchor. Easy to install and easy to remove if needed.

these look like they'd work best for my application.
 
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