#$%^ #$%&*&$^ concrete anchors

[barrysuperhawk]

I'm so mad I can barely speak, but I have a real problem here with some concrete anchors that refuse to Anchor. The quick and dirty is that I am trying to mount a safe to a concrete floor. And apparently the anchors that came with the safe are forcking metric m10, and metric **** doesn't match.

So my original attempt at drilling the holes with my trusty 3/8 bit did not work because the holes are too small. So I went out and purchased 3/8 sleeve anchors, and they didn't fit either. So I dug around and found a cheap Chinese set that is marked in metric, slotted up the #10 bit and re drilled the holes.

Now the anchors drop right in, but only get sorta tight, and I have been able to pull 2 out by hand.

So now WTF do I do? I think I am going to have problems if I upsize these, because the holes in the bottom of the safe are only 12mm, not quite 1/2" and the safe is north of 1200lbs (550kg), and I don't have Eddie Hall standing around handy to help me lift it.

 

[recountryman]

why did the 3/8 ones not fit either? If drilled with 3/8 bit and used 3/8 anchors should work. Could try some epoxy anchors.

 

[brownbagg]

just use the plastic drywall anchors, they work great

 

[LXCam]

What style anchor are you using. A stud or a insert. If it’s a stud I’d suggest getting some 3/8” inserts, then drill to the half inch hole size, set it and forget it.

 

[speed bump]

Red head out Hilti epoxy anchors. Not cheap but they work

 

[mike1956]

Yea, epoxy.

 

[jack stand]

"Rock Tight" hydraulic cement. It expands as it dry's and I've anchored 1" eye bolts into big rocks, (gripping the threads of the eye bolt only) for anchoring a floating dock to. I used the eye bolt (after the rock tight set up) to pick up these rocks with the loader. Good stuff and usually in any local hardware store, definitely in the big box stores.

 

[NUTTSGT]

3/8" hole, 3/8" tapcons should work.

 

[rmanrman]

Use 3/8 inch threaded rod into epoxy filled hole. Get the good stuff Hilty or concrete specific epoxy. If you have an air compressor blow out all dust if not a few pipe cleaners (tobacco pipe cleaners) and a strong shop vac works for the dust. I’ve left the epoxy set for 24 hours before torqued down the nuts.

 

[Torque&Recoil]

What rmanrman said.

 

[ItsNemo]

Yup, when all else fails...epoxy it. Threaded rod plus the stuff they sell at home depot that has the little spiraling tube works really well if we're just talking bolting something down (NOT a lift where it needs to support a load).

 

[barrysuperhawk]

"Rock Tight" hydraulic cement. It expands as it dry's and I've anchored 1" eye bolts into big rocks, (gripping the threads of the eye bolt only) for anchoring a floating dock to. I used the eye bolt (after the rock tight set up) to pick up these rocks with the loader. Good stuff and usually in any local hardware store, definitely in the big box stores.

This stuff? Hartline 10001 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VBRB00/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_iPQ2Db0AJK8QW

Neither my local he store or lowes had any idea what I was talking about. Lowes had a quickrete product but they weren't sure if it was the same stuff.

I have no idea why 3/8 + 3/8 didn't work, but they would go in less than an inch and stop, but I had all of the dust out and sounded each one to full depth.

I ended up buying a tube of the epoxy at lowes, and am going to give that a go today. Wish me luck.

 

[boatshoes]

Really like the Dewalt Screwbolt + that I used on my lift
http://anchors.dewalt.com/anchors/products/mechanical-anchors/screw-anchors/screw-boltplus.php

 

[Retroman]

Get some 3/8"x 4" concrete bolts screw them in and be done with it. All the epoxy I have seen and continue to use require a special two part gun with mixing nozzle. One two part epoxy such as Simpson - XP will cost as much as the bolts not to mention the dispensing gun.

 

[KenC]

The Sika stuff from Lowes works fine. Be sure you have enough of the mixing tips if you don't plan to do all them at once.

 

[nafterclifen]

Really like the Dewalt Screwbolt + that I used on my lift
http://anchors.dewalt.com/anchors/products/mechanical-anchors/screw-anchors/screw-boltplus.php

The screws that I used to mount a manual (No Mar) tire machine to a concrete floor looked like that and worked great!

 

[barrysuperhawk]

The screws that I used to mount a manual (No Mar) tire machine to a concrete floor looked like that and worked great!

I think my problem is going to be because of my stupid cheap masonry bits I now have oversized holes.

 

[jseymour]

Yeah, "larger" holes + masonry bits + hammer drill + hard concrete = problems. Ask me how I know And I wasn't even using "cheap" masonry bits.

Luckily I had a project for which I could justify purchasing an honest-to-God rotary hammer, so those days should be behind me.

 

[matt_i]

Sika Anchorfix 2. Available at HD and possibly the Lowe.

Key thing is to blow out the hole with a metal tube that reaches to the bottom with compressed air. Use a shop vac to avoid making a dust storm. Blow out several times until you are confident that no more dust is coming out.

Cut pieces of threaded rod to match the hole depth. I'd just use the el cheapo Grade 2 threaded rod from the box store in this case since nothing life-threatening is dependent on the uplift.

Now you can gun the epoxy. Twist in anchors vigorously to make sure everything is coated. Make sure the nut is not epoxied to the rod. You can apply final torque in 24 hours at 70F ambient. Allow longer cure time for lower temp application before you torque it fully.

 

[barrysuperhawk]

This is exactly what I'm going to do in fact I already have the Sitka and the threaded rod. The problem I have now is that apparently I have found where my concrete ends in that two of my holes have gone all the way through. This is ridiculous its 4 frickin holes.

Now I have to figure out a way to plug up the bottom of the hole so the Sitka doesn't just all run out for the two boogered-up holes. Can anybody tell me how thick this stuff is, IOW how tightly do I have to seal the bottom of the stupid holes that went through?

 

[matt_i]

Its very viscous. Pasty basically. You can use a wad of masking tape, paper, landscape mulch, whatever to keep the stuff in place. May want to spend some time with an "L" shaped rod (paperclip?) to determine how deep to place your blocker.

 

[barrysuperhawk]

Ok, so it seemed like I was poking into sand when I was sounding the holes, so I had an inspiration. I stuck a funnel in the holes that went through and poured in sand. It took about a cup for one and a bit more for the other. Now when I sound the holes, I hit sand and they are both sorta packed. A wad of electrical tape down each hole as insurance, and I am ready to squirt epoxy. I am not even particularly worried about putting too much in, because I am not going to move this thing, so if it squeezes out some, big deal.

 

[ard]

You've got a 1200lb safe that you need to anchor so someone cant carry it out?

 

[barrysuperhawk]

Well now that you put it that way, LOL. But actually what I'm anchoring it for is so they don't tip it over. It's pretty crazy what a couple of guys with regular pry bars can do to a safe if they can get it laying down on the ground. Just look up some of the Liberty Safe videos on YouTube.

So, by way of update I squirted the Sitka in the holes and placed my anchors wallering them around real good and it seems like it worked. All four bolts seem to be very sturdy and anchored about as well as I could hope for