In our previous post we discussed hanging anchors for drywall, at least the most common and their varieties. This time we will be taking a quick look at hanging anchors for cement. Of course this is not meant to be your users guide as each installation has its unique challenges. This is to inform only.
When it comes to hanging anything in cement there is no substitute for a good quality drill bit.
Note the difference of the tip designed to grind out the material and then auger it out. It is important to follow the guidelines on the fastener box regarding bit size. The bit size is never the same diameter as the screw. For example the 3/16 inch screw uses a 5/32 bit typically.
1. Cement screws or as many call them tap-cons.
These are pretty simple and straight forward, drill the hole, screw the screw in. These have specially designed threads to hold in concrete and are great for fastening seal plates to floors, and other purposes.
2. Ram set fasteners
These take special equipment but if you are going to set a bunch of nails this is much quicker than drilling and screwing in screws. This device uses a 22 cartridge and can be hammered or if you have the pistol style you simply pull the trigger. It takes one shell to one nail obviously. The advantage is speed but not always a firm hold depending on what type of cement and if you hit a mortar joint it surely will wiggle free. The nails have a rubber ring around them and are specially designed to be used with the shooters. The cartridges come color coded based on length of nail, material going into etc. and should be thought out before switching colors. If you are a gun person you will understand the term hotter load and that is the difference basically between the colors, the amount of powder.
3.Cement plugs
There are many styles that would fall into this category but they all basically work the same. You first drill your hole and then insert the plug. Many of the ones you get with t.v. wall mounts and that type of thing are plastic and they work just fine, but my plug of choice is a metal cylinder with a burlap covering. Of course you can find these plugs in plastic, metal, burlap and many other options.
most of these plugs are designed to insert your screw of choice as long as it fits the hole appropriately. Some plugs have their own screw and cylinder combo and after putting through item fastening and into hole either hammer or screw tight. These and all compression style fittings should be weighed out as to the best option for the job and once selected will secure your item for years to come. The above pictures are only a glimpse of the available options.
There are a few more options however most of the day to day usage will be covered by one of the above options. I help this gets your project going and as always if you have questions or comments leave I would love to hear from you.
