Tapcon screws or power loads?

[Richard]

Going to be attaching some treated 2x6's onto the basement concrete floor to frame in shower.

Lady (tile & shower installer) said to just use Tapcons to screw them down.

I happen to have those handy, I ALSO have handy 3 1/2" nails used with those power loads.

Any preference on one verses other?

I like the washers on the nails but I could put washers on the screws too.

Perhaps use couple of both?

 

[OKnewguy]

I have worked with both, my preference depends on the age/hardness of the concrete. In my remodel I had to attach the wall bottom plate to a 42 year old slab. I tried the tapcons, but even with the proper hole predrilled they kept shearing. I ended up graping the hilti gun from work and shot most of my plates in a mater of a few minutes. I also used lots of construction adhesive. My rule of thumb is over engineer it, to overcome any possible design flaws.
Good luck.
Dave

 

[gates]

Richard.
The key to tapcons is having the right size bit. There are different bits sizes for different materials,(ie. block,brick,concrete). You use the same size tapcon with different sized bits.The Hilti will work, although a lot of times it just explodes the concrete.
Either way use construction adhesive. The adhesive is amazing, once it sets the tapcons are just decoration.


Ron

 

[DocHeb]

You also need to drill the hole deep enough to let the dust fall to the bottom (below the tip of the screw, or make sure you spin the dust out with the drill bit (or vacuum it out.) If you don't leave some leeway for the dust it will torque out before driving in far enough.

 

[PineRidge]

Tapcons never seemed to do the job for us when it came to holding power. Whenever we needed to put a plate or even a threshold down the Hilti was the best choice for strength.

 

[JoeR]

I used to really like Tapcons until Hurricane Jeanne. I used Tapcons to hold 3/4 plywood over my windows, and the wind along with wet plywood warping sheared the head off 5 Tapcons. I broke antoher two when removing the plywood after the storm. I used an 18V cordless drill to install them, so I doubt I had too much torque when I put them on. I am going to try Plylox (Used for holding plywood into window frame) next hurricane since I have lost faith in the tapcons.

Joe

 

[CurlyDave]

The absolute best way to fasten to existing concrete is to drill a hole & epoxy in a threaded rod. RedHead Adhesives

A second way which is almost as good, and much less expensive, is to drill a larger hole and anchor a bolt, threads up, with anchoring cement, sometimes called expansion cement. Anchoring Cement

As others have noted both Tapcons and powder driven nails fail with some reqularity. In over 30 years, I have never had either epoxy or anchoring cement fail.

 

[bugstruck]

Neither for slabs. If I'm fastening 2x material to concrete slabs the best method is drill it and use a 1/4" drive in anchor. Fast and strong. Work every time and no blow out. There are two primary styles:
1. Mushroom head anchor with a nail that spreads the anchor
2. Bent hardened round nails. Don't recall the technical name but these are the absolute best for that application.
Been awhile but RAWL sticks out as a manufacturer of both.

Adhesives are great but everyone is a bit carried away with them these days. I wouldn't expect a great bond to concrete over time, even with todays improved adhesives. Moisture and dust work against the bond. Other applications though, I'm usually for it. I've popped plenty of plates put down with older construction adhesive to concrete. Seldom impressed. Wood to wood, completely different deal.

The epoxy method is good but not practicle for just anchoring wood plates. I've used that primarily for steel to block anchoring when no normal fasteners couldn't meet the design loads.

 

[dullpain]

Anybody considering Tapcon screws, and not happy with results should consider HITLI SCREWS. Made much like Tapcon, require a precision sized drill / hole. Unlike Tapcon the Hilti screws are indestructable. Can't break em.

 

[Birdhunter1]

Insert a small piece of wire and then drive a nail in the hole. Holds much better than a tapcon and won't break.