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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

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Old Mar 28, 2003 | 09:45 AM
  #1  
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

Hey,

In my basement I have a concrete blocks and I need to hang some shelves.

Now I tried using tapcon screws going through the bracket through a predrilled hole but I'm finding they dont hold its more just crushing the lip of the hole and making a lot of dust.

Could someone tell me the proper way to screw a fastener into a concrete block?

Thanks in advance,
CK
 
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Old Mar 28, 2003 | 11:01 AM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

I've used tapcons many times but I always use them to fasten a board to the wall. If you've got metal brackets, fasten them to the board. Also the hole size is critical. Use the bit supplied with the screws. And don't use the mortar jounts.
Hope this helps.
Greg
 
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Old Mar 28, 2003 | 12:42 PM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

I would use a toggle bolt. Should hold without a problem. You would need a lot larger hole but IMO it would be quite a bit more secure.
 
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Old Mar 28, 2003 | 03:29 PM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

Use lead anchors. Drill the hole and pound them into the hole. Then screw into them. They sell them in most hardware stores.
 
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Old Mar 28, 2003 | 04:51 PM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

Don't drill into the mortar joints, drill into the block itself.
 
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Old Mar 28, 2003 | 08:48 PM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

I took a little bit of everyones advise and I have the 2x4's on the wall now. I then noticed that we are missing the actual fasteners for this shelf and only have hte "support brackets" (we sent a monkey to the hardware store to get parts) and so we are going to locate the rest and have the shelves up tomorrow night.


Thanks guys!
CK
 
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Old Mar 29, 2003 | 08:30 AM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

I've used the little plastic anchor's that you insert into the block's with great success in my garage. You only need to drill a 3/16 hole prior to putting in the insert, and using a number 10x3/4 screw. I've got shelve's holding up to 4 cases of oil with no problem's.
 
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Old Mar 29, 2003 | 10:24 AM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

In my garage made with concrete blocks i run 2x4's vertically using remington shots and hang shelves off of those. seems to work pretty well for me.
 
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Old Apr 4, 2003 | 12:39 AM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

I used a "remington Power Hammer" that uses .22 blanks to fire special nails into the cinder block walls. I used metal brackets. Worked fine.

-jwk-
 
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Old Apr 14, 2003 | 10:14 AM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

Originally posted by krehmkej
I used a "remington Power Hammer" that uses .22 blanks to fire special nails into the cinder block walls. I used metal brackets. Worked fine.

-jwk-
I agree, this is what I used for shelving and other mounting issues, worked great.

Jim
 
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Old Apr 16, 2003 | 01:01 AM
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From: Laveen
Shelving On Cement Block Walls

when all else fails Ii've mixed clean sand with Duro epoxy and glued the uncooperative anchors in, that'll keep them from pulling out its a good hole filler too.
 
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Old Apr 17, 2003 | 04:11 PM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

Aren't any of you boys in construction? Here is how it works out.
Plastic anchors-rated for tweny pounds of pull-out resistance per fastener.
Hollow walls will hold toggle bolts to about 50-70 lbs pullout.
Lead anchors are a great way to go in solid grouted walls only. When used in hollow walls the back of the anchor will expand too far and drastically reduce the capacity of the fastener.
In hollow or solid walls, depending on the capacity of the shelves, you can use threaded rod held in by Simpson strong tie epoxy- good luck trying to find a shelf that will hold the weight required to pull this baby out.
Last but not least. Red-heads hold between 10 and 200 pounds. Drill a hole, tap it in and tighten it up
Do not use any powder actuated fastener to hold up shelving. These fasteners are a friction fit and also cause impact problems within the block itself. Especially when shot into hollow masonry walls they will simply blow the block apart. the friction fit will loosen over time until it pulls out-usually when your head is underneath it.
 
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Old Apr 17, 2003 | 09:13 PM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

Thanks cwb!!!

No, I am not in construction -hehe I soon will be, kind of, when I replace my basement next month...

Great info! Where can we find some of these things?

Simpson strong tie epoxy? Would the old standby JB Weld work?

Red-heads?
 
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Old Apr 19, 2003 | 12:36 AM
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Shelving On Cement Block Walls

Home Depot for all. Simpson is a company that makes hold-downs(hold the posts in your walls to your foundation)The epoxy they make is for attaching the bolts that hold the hold downs in concrete or block. The epoxy has a pull out rating of MANY thousands of pounds. Red heads are a product that has an expandable metal shroud over a bolt. You drill the hole,pound it in and then tighten the bolt which expands the shroud against the wall. Good luck wiht the basement.
 
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Old Apr 19, 2003 | 02:00 AM
  #15  
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From: Laveen
Shelving On Cement Block Walls

I've used "off the shelf" epoxy, JB Weld is real good. one secret is clean and dry, oil from your skin on the surface of the metal can cause bad bonding, any dry solvent from denatured alcohol up is good here. And you can use the epoxy just as is, the only reason we mixed it with clean sand was to make it look more like concrete and to fill in big holes.
An example of how stong it was, we used to use it to reanchor redheads when they would't grip because the hole was to large or galled out when anchoring equipment to the floor at a plant here in town. And when we moved or removed the equipment later it was easier to grind the anchors off smooth than try to remove them
 
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