Re: Drilling tapcons into hollow blocks

You can add a piece of #12 electrical wire (leave the insulation
on) and reinstall the Tapcon, it will hold quite well. This
method works just as well using drywall and other screws in CMU
walls. It does a tremendous job holding concrete forms to a slab
with double head 16's also.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
dgriff237@xxxxxxxx



"DerbyDad03" <teamarrows@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0f981d7a-4e09-4709-bfd3-d2076424ee9f@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Feb 3, 5:44 pm, MiamiCuse <nmbexc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Feb 3, 4:23 pm, Chip C <chipc_0...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:



On Feb 3, 3:58 pm, MiamiCuse <nmbexc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Is there any special tricks in using Tapcons on hollow
concrete block
walls?

I want to secure copper pipes, PVC drain pipes etc... onto
my block
walls using those copper straps. I am using 1-1/2" Tapcon
screws and
drilled a hole then when I feed in the screws it reached
bottom and
spins. The straps are still secured in that I can't pull
them out,
but I would prefer I can drive the screws in and be tight
and snug.

The block walls are built with the typical 8" thick hollow
blocks
with a web in the middle. I think if I drill into the solid
part of
the block it's better but most times this is not practical
as the pipe
may be a vertical run from floor to ceiling and I want to
secure it in
say three spots and they are all in the thin part of the
blocks.

Is there a trick? Will a specific size and length work best,
reading
the Tapcon website it says it needs a minimum embedding
depth of 1" to
a maximum of 1-3/4". It looks like the blocks are about 1"
thick.
When I drill them sometimes it punches through and sometimes
it does
not. I am just not doing something right so I stopped before
I
drilled too many holes.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I don't think hitting the hollow part of the block is the
problem. As
the box says, the 1" thickness of the block ought to be enough
to get
the screw snug. If the screw is turning freely, then you've
stripped
the threads that the screw has cut in the concrete, it's
really got
nothing to do with whether the tip has entered the hollow
void.

I'd say your drilled holes are too large. Are you using the
specified
bit for that size of tapcon? (Some packages include a bit; all
of them
tell you what size to use.) I've used tapcons occasionally and
I often
find that the bit wanders or precesses enough that it creates
a bigger
hole than it ought to. So maybe try a slightly smaller bit.

Chip C
Toronto

I know I am using the correct size bit because the bit came with
the
screws.

I also don't think I am "stripping" the threads at all, because
I can
back a screw out and then use it in another spot and it would
work.

It's a hit and miss, and misses more than hits.

Thanks,

re: "I also don't think I am "stripping" the threads at all,
because I
can back a screw out and then use it in another spot and it would
work."

The issue is not with stripping the threads on the screws, but
with
stripping the hole.

Once that happens, there is no way to make the same size Tap-Con
work
in that hole again. Once you've spun one, forget that hole and
move
on.

If you absolutely need to place a screw in that location, fill it
with
epoxy or something and start over.

You have to extra careful when using Tap-Cons in block walls. You
have
to get a feel for the speed of your driver so that you drive them
fast
enough so that they bite and become snug, but not so fast that you
strip the hole.

Here's an FAQ on tap-Cons:

http://www.concretescrews.com/tapcon-questions.aspx


.

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