Blimey, these Rawlplug concrete screws...

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

... are effing good, aren't they? Totally transformed the tedious mounting of industrial shelving brackets onto a concrete wall.

[The Other Mike]

What the hell are rawlplug concrete screws?

frame fixings?

anchor bolts?

Maybe these?

[Andy Burns]

I'd seen them recommended for fixing satellite dishes, so I used some of the 'Lightning bolts' available from toolstation, certainly gave a nice firm fix.

[dom]

Screwfix having been doing them for a few years. Originally marketing a german product Multi-Monti, but now several manufacturers:

[Bert Coules]

I'm thinking of relocating a satellite dish so I'm interested in concrete fixings. The problem I had the first time round (using straight-through bolts and nuts) was drilling into the concrete (the wall of a sectional garage): the inner face broke away as the drill came through. Perhaps with these bolts I could get away with blind holes if the thickness of the wall permits.

Bert

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember The Other Mike saying something like:

that was no problem. The first one went in so easily I thought it couldn't be a good fixing and would pull out, but no amount of pulling and tugging on it would shift it. For 7.5mm the drill hole is 6mm, information which was lacking in the stockist's shop.

[Steve Firth]

I've used Monti screws for this in the past.

in various sizes and types.

[The Medway Handyman]

> That's the ones. My local stockist only had the Torx-head versions, but

Toolstation sell them, free delivery £10+

range than SF but you can buy in packs of 10 rather than tie up loadsamoney buying 100's.

The pack label calls them 'Thunderbolts' & they have the advantage that both the pack & the bolt head are marked with the size - which is the drill size. So an M10 bolt uses an M10 drill bit - simples.

I use the 6 x 50mm (£2.46 for 10) for those large hanging basket brackets people buy, fix with plugs, then call me in when it falls off :-)

2 of those & it will support my considerable bulk hanging from it.

I use the M10 x 100 (£4.83 for 10)for deck ledger plates, awnings & fence posts attached to walls.

Incredibly strong fixing.

[The Medway Handyman]

Hi Bert

Pop into Toolstation Folkestone for some;

work brilliantly in blind holes.

Was your card the 6 of Clubs?

:-)

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for the recommendation.

the name.

Bert

[Steve Firth]

That'll teach me to try using mobile phone URLs in posts to Usenet.

[Bert Coules]

Steve, that worked a treat. Looks just the thing.

Bert

[Steve Firth]

Just remember that your holes must be drilled precisely and that in concrete a lot depends on the quality of the concrete and the aggregate used in it. I once used those screws to screw down a floor to a concrete sub floor at 9 inch centres. There were some flints in the concrete and those caused terrible problems with drilling accurate holes. An SDS drill is the best option if you have one. The holes seem to be more accurate than ones drilled with a normal hammer action drill.

[Bert Coules]

I have but I'm not that experienced in its use. It always feels less accurate to me than my conventional drills, but I suppose it's possibly just a matter of practise. Thanks.

Bert

[Scott M]

I find SDS far more accurate than hammer. You need to be firm with it as they're heavy and powerful, a combination that can easily send it flying off target. Push the bit fully in against the surface you're drilling and hold the drill firmly. Start at slowest speed. You don't need to throw all your weight against it as the pneumatics do the hammering (rather than the ratchet & your body weight of a hammer drill) but try and keep the point engaged or it'll dance.

[Bert Coules]

Ah. I've been starting the drill (slowly) and only then bringing the bit into contact with the work, as with a conventional drill. Thanks.

Bert

[Bert Coules]

I've just reread that, and it's nonsense. With any power drill I always lightly hold the bit against the work before starting the motor. I really have no idea what I was thinking of when I posted that. Apologies.

Bert

[fred]

I start the sds drill in normal non hammer mode and switch to hammer action once I have a start on the hole

Paul Mc Cann

[robgraham]

Dave - I read this thread as indicating that these bolts are only suitable for concrete. Is that the case or do they function just as well in brick or stone ?

Rob

[Bert Coules]

My extremely-cheapo SDS drill (bought for a specific non-precision job and not much used since) goes automatically into hammer mode if you apply a particular amount of pressure against the work. It doesn't (unless I've looked straight past it) have a hammer on/off switch. Is that unusual?

Bert