Ok probably a dumb question….
I setting about 15 wedge anchors in my concrete foundation wall for a deck ledger board. I have the holes drilled out to 1/2″ using a carbide concrete/masonry bit for the 1/2″ wedge anchor. When I tried to set one it really did not want to go in. I did not hammer all that hard and was able to wiggle it out. It was only set in about 3/8″.
Should I have to really bang these in place?
Thanks
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Replies
Did you use compressed air to clean out the hole?
Yes, it sometimes takes a bit of force to set the wedge anchors. I prefer using the style that has a hardened drive pin to expand the bottom of the bolt body.
Often the expansion sleeve that is on the outside of the bolt body on the wedge style gets hung up when inserting the anchor and if you pound it in then the ring deforms and will never correctly anchor itself.
Here is my preference:
http://www.confast.com/products/concrete-strike-anchor.aspx
They seem to have less problems being inserted to the correct depth and then holding without easy withdrawal.
I used a brush and a vacuum to clean things out. I'll look for the ones you have in your post.
Rather than worry about cleanliness, I go a little deeper. Then use a 2 1/2 lb hammer. Haven't had a failure, but you do need to be careful not to bung up the threads. Removal is not an option.
A hard smack or two and I'm ready to bolt whatever down. As concrete's the only wall/floor surface here, I've used a lot.
Dovetail's anchors are nice, but I bought a lifetime supply of RedHead wedges on ebay, cheap.PAHS works. Bury it.
Big boxes have them IIRC, order from Fastenal, they are also readily available here from the LY's.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
You're gonna have to beat on them fairly hard.
Hey guys, thanks for the advice. I was able to get 6 of them in and install one section of the ledger. With a 2# hammer and some solid blows they went in. I finger tightened them and them put about 3 full turns. I'll recheck them and use a torque wrench in the morning.
The next section of ledger is in a more challenging area to access so I might look into the other type of wedge anchors.