"Nails" For Concrete, And Using Of Questions

[Robert11]

Hello:

I want to nail some wooden 2x4's to the interior concrete foundation in my garage to hang some hooks from, for holding shovels, etc.

I have seen some special "concrete nails" which I'm told can be driven into the concrete, and will hold well.

What I'm wondering is:

a. Will these rather large nails damage the concrete, or more importantly tend to "crack" it ?

b. Do they really tend to hold well ? (I guess most of the load would be in shear, rather than tension tending to pull them out)

c. How deep into the concrete do I want to go ?

d. Any brands of better than others ?

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks, Bob

[meirman]

In alt.home.repair on Mon, 31 Jan 2005 13:01:41 -0500 "Robert11" posted:

I was thinking about a related question last night. I was nailing a strip to my basement wall, made out of cinder blocks. And I was using "cut nails", which iiuc is the right thing to use.

And they worked fine last night as always. But they are pretty smooth and so triangular, so pointed and getting wider away from the point, that I can't understand what holds them in. ??

(I think concrete is a lot harder than cinder block, so I'm not recommending cut nails for your basement.)

Meirman

-- If emailing, please let me know whether or not you are posting the same letter. Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

[Colbyt]

Bob, consider using tapcon screws with them you only need to penetrate the concrete by 1".

[HotRod]

Old trick here or at least to me,if I plan on leaving it in place I use regular galv. nails and copper grounding wire.

Drill a 5/32 hold in the concrete and wood then insert a piece of copper wire with a little "L" hook on end so that as you drive the nail in the copper doesn't get forced in. The copper will expand into the concrete walls to hold the nail or screw. WARNING good luck getting it out if you ever intend to, you will shear the nail before you ever pull it.

[Nick Hull]

Concrete block or poured reinforced concrete?

I'd SWAG about as deep as the 2x4

My experience is that powder fired nails are much better than hammer driven, both in holding power and lack of cracking.

[bill a]

I wouldn't attempt to use the concrete nails that you drive with a common hammer. Unless the concrete is very new, the probability of getting a solid connect with a given fastener is low. If you don't wan't to get into the hammerdrill thing (like with Tapcons, etc), you might think about the powder tools (Ramset, Remington). The fastening is very quick, pretty reliable, the fractures are shallow. Generally, Liq Nails, etc. used in conjunction on furring. The only annoyance might be the depth of the pin (nail) head. Due to the nature of concrete walls, some harder spots might cause shallower penetration here and there. Bill

[Goedjn]

I'd use glue to hold the board in against the wall, and only depend on the nails to hold it up. Isn't the normal technique to make a hole, stuff-the hole with something that will expand to fill the space, and then drive the nail/screw into the stuffing?

[Mark and Kim Smith]

My preference is for deadheads.

[Matt]

Is that Jerry Garcia? Damn, he lost a lot of weight.... he's thin as a board!

[Mike]

Use TapCons and make sure it's treated wood you are attaching to the concrete. Untreated has a way of decomposing prematurely when in contact with concrete. If you don't want to spend .25 per tap just hammer drill a 1/4 hold and use 2 16P nails and slam them in together. How deep? How deep is the concrete?

[Heathcliff]

The nail guns (e.g. Remington) are fun if you are into loud noise and things that require safety goggles. They also work well and don't crack the concrete too much. I put up 2X4 standards for shelves in my basement that way. You can also drill holes and use tapcons or whatever, but personally, I find drilling holes in concrete with a homeowner type drill very tedious. Another option is to avoid fastening the 2X4s to the wall altogether -- you may be able to attach them to a wooden sill plate or joist at the top (using an angle iron or strap) and just let them rest against the wall. When loaded with shelves they will want to pull away at the top, and push in at the bottom.

[Nick Hull]

I have some commercial standards with a hook on the top to dig into the sill plate. Love them, hold lots of weight and are adjustable.