If the 2x4's are orientated vertically and are resting on the floor,
they will support most of the weight. Think of a hundred lb weight
hanging on a 2x4 in free air, just your hand holding it from falling
over. It will not require 100 lbs of effort on your part to stop the
2x4 from falling. the force you are exerting is not vertical, the 2x4
takes care of that. You effort is only opposing the overbalance of
all load being on one side.
HeyBub may have been sober all along.
Of course the OP could add 2x4s to the front of the shelves as well
and have a device that would not require any attachment to his walls
at all.
LdB
OK, so suppose your 100 lbs of weight is from a shelf bracket
supporting a shelf 1' wide. Let's take the worst case, that all the
weight is at the front of the shelf. Then that's a moment of 100
ft-lbs.
If the shelf bracket has two fasteners into the 2x4 that are 1' apart,
then the load on the top fastener is 100 lbs of tension. If you are
holding the 2x4 5 ft from the ground and have the bottom end against
your foot, you have to apply a tension force of 20 lbs.
Now if the 2x4 is glued to the face of the masonry wall, and is 8'
long, then a tension force of 25 lbs at 4' from the bottom gives 100
ft-lbs. If the adhesive is along the entire length of the 2x4, then
that's a tension load on the adhesive connection of only 3.125 lbs/ft.
Yours, Wayne
Tapcon Screws are the best. Use the proper drill bit that is just under
the thread size. Sometimes you have to work the screws in and
out.......Then final tight.....
1/4 " are great.............
jloomis
Another option which may be simpler depending on your situation. If
the 2X4s will run floor to ceiling, you can just rest them on the
floor and use brackets and screws at the top to attach them to
whatever wood is available - floor joists or sill plate. (i.e., no
attachment to the block wall at all) I have put up basement shelves
this way and it worked fine. I also have used a powder-charge gun to
attach to the blocks and that worked fine too. -- H
I answered TapCons because you said it was solid concrete. In that case,
TapCons would be the thing. BUT, if you have grouted cinderblock, use
sleeve anchors. These are anchors that hold in soft masonry such as
cinderblock and grouted cinderblock. Just look for the particular fastener
labeled "sleeve anchor" and allow for the thickness of the board, and 2"
penetration into the block, which would be 4" for a good fastener.
Steve
Steve, and others:
It looks like Tapcons are ideal, if I have a solid wall. Yes , it is a
cinder block wall. But, I have looked closely in my basement, and I can see
concrete spillover at the top of the wall. So now, I think it has been
poured solid. This cabin was built over 30 years ago, and I have forgotten
some of the details.
I think that my best bet is to "assume" that this block wall was poured
with concrete for reinforcement, and initially try drilling and using the
Tapcon screws. If I see that it is not solid where I drill, then I could go
with some type of toggle/ molly bolt, or the sleeve anchor, right ?
Thanks to Steve and to all others for the very nice comments and advice !!
I have learned a lot from this group.
James
You'll know when you drill your first one. Many times, a mix of grout was
almost slurry as compared to a real mix of concrete with aggregate. I
repaired a ton of gates in Las Vegas where they used sandy grout instead of
a concrete mix, and the sleeve anchors were the way to go. If the Tapcon is
almost squeaky tight, that's what you want. If it is looser than that, just
put a lot of tapcons, or maybe add a sleeve anchor at the top and middle of
the two by.
Steve
Duh, just another aside. If you use TapCons drill in the exact center, or
on the edges where you will be drilling into cinderblock and not grout. If
you have to drill into grout, use sleeve anchors.
Steve
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