Fixing a beam with chemical anchors

Does it matter what this job looks like? If you make a couple of holes that deviate and just abandon those, does that matter?

If you do it your way, are you going to need to make the holes in the beam a fair bit oversize to allow for errors in your marking up when you offered the beam up against the studs? (well, I would, but maybe you are better at these things than I am!) If the holes are going to be oversize anyway, would that accommodate any deviation when you drill into the blocks?

Would there be any problem in putting the resin in the fridge overnight before you use it? It might give you a bit more time before it goes off.

Can you glue the beam to the wall (or fix it lightly with ordinary plugs, or both) and increase its load bearing capacity by supporting it with some vertical batons likewise fixed but going to ground?

Cheers

To try and stop the drill wandering I'd first drill through a thick block of wood with thin ply backing and so "ears" on either side through which I'd nail the block temporarily to the wall and drill through that, with an extra long drill. Or second thoughts medium thickness ply backing To line up holes both in the wall and beam I'd knock up a plywood template with just three holes (or more but only three are necessary) but marked left and right at the ends and use that and a straight edge or line to line up and mark up the holes on both wall and beam.

michael adams

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Cracking idea Jeff! I'll certainly use that one. Bob

It has to look pretty!

The beam in question is the top of this

OK I was wrong it is only 3.25m long. The timber looks to be 150 x 50 section so it might cover a test hole.

I might try smaller test holes to locate the webs and then go horizontal from then on and hope the bricklayer was sober!

Bob

Sadly not. this is the end result to hang off the wall and support the weight of the tiles

Bob

I understand what you are getting at but these wall blocks don't take kindly to nails. It is like trying to nail a flower pot - very brittle.

Bob

Start with a tile drill ?

Fairy nuff.

michael adams

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Second go. If you drill all the holes in the beam first. Put a drill through the first hole in the beam, use that as a guide to mount the guide block on the beam, Screw the guide block onto the beam. Offer it up to the wall, steady it in some way and drill the first hole. Remove the beam. Unscrew the block and screw it over the next hole, positioning it as before with a drill bit. Maybe the hole at the other end. Put a spare drill in the first hole to go through the first hole in the beam and locate that end, offer up and level the other end of the beam and drill the second hole through the block. Unscrew the block and proceed as before.

Not the easiest thing to achieve with a 4m beam unless you have sufficient help admittedly.

michael adams

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These blocks are in no way load bearing, you wouldn't want to do more than hang your hat on them. They are just there to keep the draught out, no more. Don't even think about it.

But you will have 8 nuts and washers showing? How about recessing those into the beam, then nail a thin piece of timber over the front of the beam?

I expect I'll take a forstner bit with me and recess the nuts neatly. The kit comes with ready finished stained wood, making it difficult to match so I will possibly leave the nuts showing.

Just to close this one off. When I got to the job site, the walls to first floor level were made of rendered stone and only used the terracotta hollow blocks on the upper walls. apart from the effort of drilling into stone itself, there were no problems.

Bob