plywood walls in shop....Tapcon fasteners ok?

[john davey]

I need more storage and am going to add some firing strips and plywood to the walls around my bench. Currently just block wall as it is a basement shop. I did some googling and it seems these Tapcon fasteners are getting good reviews. Anyone have any experience here. I am planning to add a plane and saw till plus some other tools hung in their individual hangers. To be clear I am speaking of the blue screws that get screwed directly into a hole drilled in the blocks. Not some form of lead or plastic anchor. Thanks, John..

[Bill Houghton]

I've had generally good experiences with them. They're highly tempered and thus somewhat brittle - so oversize them or use lots of them. And, oddly, I found they're less likely to break if installed with one of those impact drivers with the 1/4" hex insert chuck.

[bridger berdel]

use the tapcon supplied drill bit. most of the time one comes in the package with the screws. having the right size hole is critical. and dip the bit in water to cool it often. you probably knew these things, but just in case.

tapcons are pretty strong, but if you have doubts run a bead of construction adhesive under the furring strips.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Tapcons are excellent- Take it from a guy who lives in a stone house whose previous home was poured concrete. Tapcons are the way to go. For concrete block you don't have to have a hammer drill, but it is a good thing to have, and put a hex driver in it to drive them in, using the hammer setting. If you don't have that, you may need a socket wrench to get them in.

Given my situation, I own a Milwaukee rotary hammer and it makes quick work of the job.

[Jim Matthews]

Do you have access to the sill plate?

I would prefer to set vertical studs, using the sill plate and some of the amazing modern adhesives.
I've used Tapcons and other concrete fasterners before. The amount of dust and noise should not be underestimated.

If you're not using a Hammer drill, the resultant starter hole may fracture, compromising the fit.

Dap 7000 is highly regarded for application to cinder block, which should be free of paint for best bonding.

[John Coloccia]

I've had generally good experiences with them. They're highly tempered and thus somewhat brittle - so oversize them or use lots of them. And, oddly, I found they're less likely to break if installed with one of those impact drivers with the 1/4" hex insert chuck.

+1

I installed the insulation on the one concrete wall in my shop with Tapcons. They work GREAT, but every other one will break unless you use an impact wrench/driver. After that, I had 0 break. It's far more pleasant like that, too.

[Cody Kemble]

Tapcons are your best bet if you don't have a set tool for hollow all anchors.

[lowell holmes]

wrong string

[john davey]

thanks for the info. i do not have a hammer drill but I do own a Makita drill driver set that has the impact driver. It is the small one though and I was thinking it is not powerful enough for this (10.8v kit). I was going to use my corded drill. I guess I will try what I have and if they start breaking like crazy I will need to justify another tool .

[john davey]

Anther question. Given the application and the possible weight this will hold. Would you use 2x4's for the furring strips or the 1x3 furring strips the home center sell? Sorry I know this is not really a neander question but it is to store all my neander tools... Thanks, John...

[Tom M King]

This thread will probably get moved to the Shop forum, but I use these: http://www.greenlee.com/catalog/Fast...crew-Expanders I use them for anything from chimney flashing to masonry walls, and have never had one fail. This kind of expander let's you put the threaded insert flush with the surface without having to drill the hole the exactly right depth.

[steven c newman]

Yep, on the use of tap cons, BUT, watch where you drill into the block wall. Drill into a void, tapcon may either crack the block, or round out of threads. Wood wood onto block walls, run a bead of construction adhesive along the line of holes. Not so much to HOLD the furring strips, but to isolate the wood from the "wet" block walls. Rot.

When buying the boxes ( yep..BOXES) look for both a Phillipa drive style and the ones with both a drill bit the right size and length, and some even have a driver tip. Hit the center web on each block, not the voids. About 8" in from the mortar line. Do NOT screw into the mortar. It will just crumble away. Most of the Phillips headed Tapcon will counter sink on their own, they have ridges under the head for that reason. BTDT.

[Cody Kemble]

This thread will probably get moved to the Shop forum, but I use these: http://www.greenlee.com/catalog/Fast...crew-Expanders I use them for anything from chimney flashing to masonry walls, and have never had one fail. This kind of expander let's you put the threaded insert flush with the surface without having to drill the hole the exactly right depth.

Those are fantastic. That is what I meant by "proper" hollow wall anchors. If I remember the set tools weren't cheap to buy (got mine from a contractor I worked for).

[Jim Matthews]

i do not have a hammer drill but I do own a Makita drill driver set that has the impact driver.

A hammer drill will make short work of the pilot hole.
Not all cinderblocks are created equal, a fine masonry bit on
a regular drill will work for all but the hardest concrete.

I don't recommend an impact driver for Tapcons, shearing the head off at the last
moment creates other problems. Follow the most current directions on the package.

The makers of these things have lots of pertinent observations about handling the fastener.

Run a test on some inconspicuous section of your wall.
If the hole crumbles, and won't hold a Tapcon you might
consider lead anchors or other alternatives to simple threaded screws.

[John Coloccia]

I don't recommend an impact driver for Tapcons, shearing the head off at the last
moment creates other problems. Follow the most current directions on the package.

Switching to an impact driver greatly REDUCED the number of broken Tapcons. I went from shearing the head before it was fully driven every 3 or 4 screws to shearing exactly 0 for the rest of the project.