Attaching 2x4 To Steel Girder

Philly Dude

I have a horizontal steel I beam that I need to attach a 2x4 to in the webbing area of the beam. I have a Hilti DX400 .27 caliber powder actuated gun. I have Hilti 1 7/8" nails that say on the package : for attaching 2x4 to steel up to 1/2" thick. I tried about 12 nails. Most of them just completely bounce off of the steel and bend in half a full 90 degrees. A few stuck in the steel a few millimeters but were easily pulled out by hand. They also bent in half. I tried useing medium charges and heavy charges. I think that maybe the steel is thicker then 1/2". The webbing is about 8" wide on this I beam. I have no access to the other side of the I beam, so I can't just drill thru and run some bolt thru the wood and the beam.

I need to attach wood to this I beam so I have something for my subflooring to catch onto in this one 2' long spot. I can't put any additional framing in this area because there is a waste line running parallel to the beam about 18" away from it.

joasis

Look for these or similar...if you have a place in your area that repairs flatbed trailers, they will have torx drive screws just made for this stuff.

http://www.screw-products.com/reamer.htm

It has been my experience that power fasteners just don't get it in a lot of applications...and this is one.

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mickeyco

Drill and tap.

Weld

2 x4 to hold up floor?

How about just "resting" the 2 x 4 (or larger) on the beam ledge and using the nails or screws in the sub-flooring to hold it in place. T it at the end to prevent twisting if needed.

Pictures would help.



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Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.

firemike

I have the exact same Hilti gun as you, usually use it for the same purpose, one thing you have to watch, the nails/gun have to be almost perfectly square to the steel or you will get ones that bend and bounce. I have found that if I stand on a ladder where I can get my weight and shoulder into holding the gun it works better that trying to do it holding it with one hand. You might also have a harder-than-usual I-beam, ran into that a couple times.

I also use the self-drilling type of screws Joasis is talking about, but with webs that thick I have found it easier to predrill the hole with a regular drill bit, faster than letting the screw drill the hole.

If it's only a 2 foot spot, you might do as Mickey suggested, buy a tap with matching drill at the hardware of big box, drill and tap for a a couple bolts, put some construction adhesive on it and bolt it to the beam.

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-Mike-

K2

drill it and put a carriage bolt thru it. i've drilled many and it goes fast with a couple of new bits. It was common here to just glue the wood plate to the steel and bend a couple of nails over to hold it and get some weight on it. I've never heard of any problems with just glue but I always liked thru bolts

mickeyco

...

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Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.

K2

And check your hilti to see if the driver is angled or misformed/ worn. I had a bad one once and it couldn't drive anything..

K2

Yeah , Yeah. I know we're supposed to read the whole post. Now that I know someone is watching I will..

BKFranks

Have your steel guy weld some bolts on there. Easy.

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SNC

Just rent a magnetic drill cost a lot less than a welder. They work great.

If you use a hilti the only possability is if you use the purple shots.

K2

How about ripping it to lay on the flange and drilling and lagging from the bottom.

rustyjames

If it's an 8" beam I doubt the web is going to be more than 1/2" thick, more than likely 1/4-3/8". Those self driller's are also available in hex-head which might make it easier if you go that route. When shooting with a gun you have to be dead nut perpendicular with the gun otherwise what's happening to you often occurs. Personally, unless the welding machine and weldor were already at the job, I would stay away from that; especially if the building has a lot of wood in it.

kapena

Firemike is right about you having to aim square to keep the pin from bending.

You might want to try pre-drilling the wood and some of the steel with a bit that is smaller diameter than the pin. You don't have to drill all the way thru the steel either; just enough to keep the pin from bending.

Philly Dude

Thanks for all the quick replies. I have a feeling that the nails are bending because of the gun not being perfectly perpendicular to the steel. It is a real tight spot I'm trying to shot in and this is probably the case. Also I never shot into steel before so I did not know you had to be perfectly square.

I'll definitely post some pics on Friday night.

Thanks again for all the quick replies.

Merry Christmas to all !

Bodger

I just had this exact same condition to work through and the fasteners in the link above worked beautifully. Even though they are "self drilling", I found that an appropriate sized pilot hole helped a lot, and I have a Drill Doctor to keep up with the dulls.
I got there the same way, my Hilti powder actuated just wasn't cutting it.

Michael_Tanner

I never had success with the long pins into steel.

You may try shooting some 20g. metal track into the steel with short pins. This track is 3 5/8" wide, and should hold well. The 2x4 slips into the track nicely, and can be attached from the sides w/ screws.

M.

Michael_Tanner

... Alternately, I believe that Unistrut makes a beam clamp that would work for you.

Chris Johnson

Simpson too makes a TB (Truck Bed) screw that works for this application, pretty much the same as the screws Joasis recommends only with a Robertson drive.

Just an option see which is quicker to get.

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Chris

canuck

I've had people tell me the same basic problem shooting into steel. They had the depth setting turned to 1. If you haven't tried it already use a red shot with the gun set at 3.5. It just might work.
Otherwise I'd just use the above suggested screws.

Philly Dude

Thanks again for all the good responses. A few of you mentioned drilling and tapping holes in the girder. The steel is just too thick and/or hard. I tried a brand new bit and I'd of been there for an hour trying to get thru that sucker.

Solution: I cut a piece of wood to rest on the bottom shelf of the webbing. I cut it with a bevel on the bottom so it would rest perfectly flat. Then I used construction glue to hold it to the beam, as well as some wood blocking to lock it in place.

Here are 3 pics of the problem:

Attached Thumbnails