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Wedge Anchors

Joined
Nov 3, 2017
Messages
24
Location
Northern VA
I'm getting everything lined up for my steel construction garage. It will be a steel truss design and I need to anchor the columns in place with wedge anchors. The columns will be located atop my piers and I'm planning on using Wedge Anchors (1/2" x 7") to anchor the columns.

As I'm looking for wedge anchors, however, I'm faced with a a lot of choices at this link: http://bit.ly/2mMp8MQ

Any opinion on what kind of wedge anchor I should be getting? The garage will be detached and might get cold but it will be dry. Does is matter which one I choose?
 
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Joined
Jun 30, 2011
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1,080
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AZ
Where do you get those from? Also, what difference does Zinc or Galvanized or Stainless make to the decision?

First, is this building being purchased and is it engineered? Or is it a DIY build?

I'd find out what the minimal specifications would be for these wedge anchors for your application and if they are acceptable for the construction.

Go to the Hilti site, they have all the specifications you'll need and should have a dealer site locator. I think they're pretty much company direct. I have seen their smaller hammer drills at Home Depot's and other stores. Some anchors are also available form other retailers.
 
OP
S
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Northern VA
It's both engineered and DIY (World Wide Steel). They've told me that wedge anchors are the way many go and a 1/2" x 7" wedge anchor is good. None of their diagrams specifies the kind of wedge anchor needed.
 

audioworks04

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Olathe KS
Simpson anchors will be more readily available and if equal quality. Don’t get me wrong Hilti is a quality product and I use their products quite often, but they are very pricy to the consumer and not as easy to acquire. In my area their only sales floor is in the middle of downtown with a tiny parking lot that is nearly impossible to get a full star truck into.


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Walter_TA

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Mar 11, 2017
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My garage was 30 x 40 and used 5/8, check what the mounting plates will be drilled. I used galvanized for the columns, did not want them to rust. Make sure you put the holes in the correct places. I used a chalk line and measured twice, and still had one wrong. I got a HF sds drill to drill the holes, that worked well. You can find wedge Anchor on Ebay cheap sometimes.
 

Walter_TA

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Zinc lowest rust resistance
Galvanized better than zinc
Stainless will last till you are done with them

Check with Simpson steel builds, they gave a good price
 
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OP
S
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Northern VA
My garage was 30 x 40 and used 5/8, check what the mounting plates will be drilled. I used galvanized for the columns, did not want them to rust. Make sure you put the holes in the correct places. I used a chalk line and measured twice, and still had one wrong. I got a HF sds drill to drill the holes, that worked well. You can find wedge Anchor on Ebay cheap sometimes.

Thanks for the information. I checked and they recommend 1/2" for the mounting plates.
 
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What's the difference between cracked and uncracked concrete? I think I know the answer but it seems I would want an anchor for uncracked concrete since the foundation is brand new.

Lots of information on the web regarding these two conditions, or future conditions.

I'm guessing if you construct your base material, footings, piers, concrete slab, etc. to the required engineered specifications, you will get by with using those anchors for un-cracked installations.
 

matt_i

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SE Michigan
Zinc = typically electroplated with zinc, a shiny thin coating. Better than paint :)

Galvanized = typically hot dipped galvanized (sometimes -HDG) which is a thickness probably 10-25x that of the above. In most locations this will last a very long time. The zinc is incrementally consumed protecting the base metal, so thicker = better, also of course more expensive to apply.

SS = likely 304SS which is sometimes called 18-8. I'd use that for constant rain or outer coastal areas where there's likely to be salt spray. Despite the material being wiry tough stuff to cut and machine it doesn't have a super high tensile strength like you'd think,.
 
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Muckin_Slusher

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Abitibi
Threaded rod (you can get good grades of threaded rod) and epoxy is the way I'd go. Guaranteed to not have water collect in the hole and rust the bolt, or freeze and crack the slab.
 
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Threaded rod (you can get good grades of threaded rod) and epoxy is the way I'd go. Guaranteed to not have water collect in the hole and rust the bolt, or freeze and crack the slab.

Do you all have a preference of wedge over epoxy? It seems like epoxy always works whereas you have to be careful of edges and cracking for wedges. Question about the threaded rod though, where do you find your high quality threaded rods? I know if you watch the simpson strong tie promotions, they discourage the use of threaded rods -- but that's in reference to having bad shear strength... still it seems pretty relevant.
 

metlmunchr

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Most any fastener house will stock B7 high strength threaded rod. The actual spec is ASTM A193 B7. Typically made from heat treated 4140 steel. Same strength level as high strength bolts for structural steel which are typically graded differently than the more familiar Grade 2, 5, and 8 bolts used for most applications. High strength structural bolting material is normally used with load indicating washers which give a visual indication of adequate tightening. Not cheap, and likely overkill for the application.

For indoor use, the zinc coated wedge anchors are fine. If you look at the price of the galvanized anchors, roughly 3X the price of zinc, that's an indication of how rarely they're used rather than an indication of the cost of manufacture. Unless you're in a coastal area or some other situation with agressive corrosion, the SS anchors are a waste of money. FWIW, probably 95% of structural steel anchor bolts placed in the forms prior to pouring concrete are unplated steel, and they hold up fine in interior use.

I've used thousands of the plated ITW Red Head wedge type anchors for hanging steel pipe from overhead concrete structures. Never had a failure, and have been back years later for servicing equipment and have never seen any indication of rusting. The supply house I used stocked both Red Head and Powers/Rawl brands but my personal preference was Red Head.

Maintaining the hole size is important, and that won't happen with dull drills. Use good masonry drills which look like a twist drill. Avoid those hardware store plated things that have a body with something similar to screw threads. They don't hold up at all. Use a little rubber bulb with plastic tube for blowing the dust out of the hole. It is made for that purpose. Blowing with compressed air is pretty much guaranteed to eventually fill your eyes with dust at some point even with safety glasses and/or a face shield.

Added: In 15 years of spending an average of 4 days a week on construction sites, I saw a lot of Hilti drills and demo hammers used because they're the most durable ones on the market. But I never saw anyone using Hilti anchors on any regular basis for the simple reason that they're too expensive as compared to other quality brands.

The Hilti model is similar to Snap On. A product starts out with a high price, and then the guy riding around in the van adds another 40%. It works on cost plus jobs where the contractor makes more money by spending more, but it just doesn't fly on fixed price contract work.
 
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tonyciambrone

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Uncalled for...

The record was already set straight, you dont need to just insult someone...

I don't need to make coffee in the morning but I do anyways...

The guy was clearly insulting a previous poster, implying he was stupid or uninformed for separating zinc finish from galvanized. If he can't take a little criticism back... I don't know what to tell you
 
OP
S
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Location
Northern VA
Maintaining the hole size is important, and that won't happen with dull drills. Use good masonry drills which look like a twist drill. Avoid those hardware store plated things that have a body with something similar to screw threads. They don't hold up at all. Use a little rubber bulb with plastic tube for blowing the dust out of the hole. It is made for that purpose. Blowing with compressed air is pretty much guaranteed to eventually fill your eyes with dust at some point even with safety glasses and/or a face shield.

Added: In 15 years of spending an average of 4 days a week on construction sites, I saw a lot of Hilti drills and demo hammers used because they're the most durable ones on the market. But I never saw anyone using Hilti anchors on any regular basis for the simple reason that they're too expensive as compared to other quality brands.

The Hilti model is similar to Snap On. A product starts out with a high price, and then the guy riding around in the van adds another 40%. It works on cost plus jobs where the contractor makes more money by spending more, but it just doesn't fly on fixed price contract work.

Wow. Thanks for all the great information.

It sounds like a Red Head Zinc Wedge Anchor is the way to go. What's your recommendation on depth? I've been thinking that 7" is probably a good choice to get down into the pier as I heard that the anchor will come back up about an inch when tightening.

Also, do you have a recommendation fora drill and bit brand? I'm probably not going to do this again any time soon but I also don't want to skimp on a cheap drill and masonry bit. Hilti sounds good but it also seems like it might be expensive. Willing to pay because I'm doing this myself instead of contracting it out.
 
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Home depot rents hammer drills.
Use or a buy a good bit, don't want to oversize the hole.
Use the dust bulb to remove the dust and debris from the hole.
Use a rod or tape mark the bit for a depth guide
Drill straight
 

audioworks04

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Oct 6, 2015
Messages
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Olathe KS
I would recommend blowing or vacuuming out the hole, they recommend a minimum of 100psi to adequately clean the hole, you will never get this with the puffer method.


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leog

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Jun 21, 2015
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Grafton,ohio
Worked in nuclear power maintenance for years. Used hundreds of Hilti and drillco all seismically qualified. No issues. The gentleman that said don't skip on the bit is absolutely correct. You require a straight , sized correct hole. Also blow and vacuum out the hole. You can find some Hilti's on E-bay at times also.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your build
 

Walter_TA

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Mar 11, 2017
Messages
191
I got a harbor freight sds drill for cheap. It worked well. Look on Ebay for Wedge Anchors, I found some there cheap.
 

ratdoggy

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Mar 27, 2009
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Akron-Canton area OH
I don't need to make coffee in the morning but I do anyways...

The guy was clearly insulting a previous poster, implying he was stupid or uninformed for separating zinc finish from galvanized. If he can't take a little criticism back... I don't know what to tell you

He didn't say plated and I thought it was a decent question. I didn't mean to insult him....
You on the other hand:p
 

larry4406

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i would recommend blowing or vacuuming out the hole, they recommend a minimum of 100psi to adequately clean the hole, you will never get this with the puffer method.


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+++10,0000!

If you can, put a small hose on your blow gun and get it too the bottom to blow out all the dust.
 

larry4406

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Northern Virginia
Only metal building construction I have any experience is a red iron 100,000 sf commercial structure. There the approved plans showed embedded anchor rods at time of pier pour. Steel contractor came out with templates and put the anchor rods in dead nuts via laser working side by side with the concrete contractor.

Real surprised your approved plans don’t show what do to at this connection. Someone in plan review was asleep.
 
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