Bolting a safe down

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  • themcfarland

    tactical hangover
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    Dec 6, 2008
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    Destrehan
    I have done hundreds in auto assembly plants and used epoxy 100% of the time. Did not want the robots to move at all while building vehicles.

    I am confused, What is proper procedure . drill hole, mix epoxy and set anchor while epoxy dries? or let epoxy dry with anchor in, just not tighten it super tight till its set up?
     

    sandman7925

    Wealthy women wanted
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    May 16, 2010
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    False River
    I am confused, What is proper procedure . drill hole, mix epoxy and set anchor while epoxy dries? or let epoxy dry with anchor in, just not tighten it super tight till its set up?

    I think there has been confusion in epoxy with threaded anchors vs epoxy with wedge bolts vs wedge bolts with no epoxy.

    I’ve never done it but the way I see it if you were to use epoxy with wedge bolts and let it harden first then the wedge part can never wedge after torqueing if you know what I mean.


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    leadslinger972

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    Nov 1, 2017
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    St Tammany
    Drill, inject epoxy. insert anchor,let dry then tighten down.Not like the wedge anchor that requires it to be tightened to work.

    House slabs are typically not even thick enough to get enough embedment for a chemical anchor. Wedge anchors should only be embedded 2-3" (max) for a home slab that is typically 4" thick where you will be placing the safe. Chemical anchors work best with at least 4" of embedment.

    The fact that JPB55 suggested putting epoxy on a wedge anchor is laughable, and shows his ignorance.
     

    sandman7925

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    False River
    Over the last 15 years I have installed hundreds (probably close to 1K) of vaults into all types of flooring and sub-floor material and am considered an expert in my field. You need only use wedge anchors (with ceramic over concrete) like these

    https://www.itwredhead.com/products/expansion-anchors/trubolt-plus

    without the use of any adhesives. Use the largest size that will comfortably pass through the mounting holes. You want a little wiggle room. Set up your bolts with the nuts and washers. Leave a few threads above the nut (not critical). I don't mark holes then move the vault and drill. I drill (with the hammer drill) from the inside of the vault. If you can do it this way you'll be more accurate. At the spot where you want to mount the vault use the butt of a screw driver or other tool (I use the butt of the drill bit) and tap around the area. You're listening for solid sounds. If it sounds hollow you're probably in an area where the flooring guy used mortar to build up a low spot or you're just on top of a mortar bed with a hollow spot. You can still mount here but the tile might break. Position your vault and make sure the door opens fully and nothing interferes with it's swing. Position the hammer drill bit into the center of the first hole and use short, pulsating trigger pulls to chip away at the tile's glaze. If you go full bore you'll pock up the glaze and possibly crack the tile. Drill a little deeper than the bolt from it's bottom to the bottom of the nut (again, not critical). Sweep away the dust (I don't use a vacuum because of the mess it creates when cleaning the filter). Tap your first bolt in about half way. It should be a snug fit but not resisting. If it resists you may have used too small of a bit. If it's too loose the wedge won't grab and the bolt will work up through the hole when you torque on it. Check your vault's position once again then drill the hole in the diagonal corner and repeat the process for the bolt insertion above. You're only inserting the bolts halfway or so to allow a little wiggle room should you move the vault while drilling. Drill your remaining two (or more) holes then insert your bolts as above. Pound all the bolts down then torque them. I normally use 1/2" bolts and use a 1/2" drive ratchet with the 3/4" socket to get a good grip and a feel for the amount of torque. If you're strong enough I guess you could shear off the bolt from too much torque. Just get the wedge to grab and pull. You'll know. Some guys use an impact wrench but I can't get a feel for the torque that way. Sorry to ramble on but I do this all the time and...you asked. I hope it helps you.

    p.s. The above is for ceramic over concrete. If you're drilling into ceramic over hardibacker board and wood subflooring you'll need to drill through the ceramic and backer board with the masonry bit then use a properly sized wood bit (for a lag screw) from there. The lag screw only needs to be long enough to penetrate the plywood by a couple of threads. Any more than that and your wasting material and time and you're making the mounting position more obvious as viewed from below.

    Bumping this with a question. Holes in the bottom of the safe are 1/2”.
    Correct me if I’m wrong. I need 1/2” wedge bolts, and a 1/2” masonry bit right? No need to drill a smaller pilot hole?


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    Request Dust Off

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    Feb 11, 2007
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    Westbank N.O.
    Bumping this with a question. Holes in the bottom of the safe are 1/2*.
    Correct me if I’m wrong. I need 1/2* wedge bolts, and a 1/2* masonry bit right? No need to drill a smaller pilot hole?


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    Pilot holes can go either way in my experience. Try it on the first one if you have a little leeway. Sometimes a rock near the surface just keeps moving the drill over.
    I would go a little smaller on the bolt to give some wiggle room. Start with the desired hole through the safe hole for location purposes, the switch to a smaller pilot hole to depth, then back to final holes size. When breaking concrete having a place for the concrete to "go" lets it break of easier. Concrete is strong in compression, but not in tension. I think the pilot hole helps in that aspect. I do think the pilot hole can lead to a final hole with less "runout".

    I thought the anchors wedged in when hammered into a bottomed out hole.
    In general with any kind of anchor getting the dust and debris out of the holes seems to be a wise step. Vacuum or air and a straw. Watch your eyes and breathing it if blowing it out. Vacuum is nicer.

    I recently had some strong-tie brand split tie drive pins that were for a temporary application. Know-it-all that had used them thousands of times before didn't know they made permanent and removable versions. Of course we had the permanent ones. I bent a 36" crow bar trying to remove one. Some took a lot of force (scary at times) and shot out like a bullet when finally letting go. Others came out relative easily. Very impressive except for the inconsistency. The inconsistency was most likely the holes themselves.

    Epoxy makes sense in an application where vibrations can loosen an anchor interface or exact locating is needed.
     
    Last edited:

    shrxfn

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    Oct 25, 2015
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    SWLA
    If you can use a SDS type hammer drill for making the hole in concrete. I had bought a HF special to pull up tile for a kitchen remodel and when it came time to put some anchors in the concrete for the cabinets that thing went through the concrete like a hot knife through soft butter. I have never had a better experience putting holes in concrete than with that demo hammer. I have done it multiple times with a hammer-drill and it was always a bitch and a half.
     

    sandman7925

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    May 16, 2010
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    False River
    Got it done. It was a major pain. Ended making a second trip to the hardware store to get a different brand bit because it took quite an effort to drill the holes. The man cave is coming along.
    83efddb0e72b23d0386a1981ff8e9b00.jpg



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