Tapcons Or Power Actuated

TonyD

Recommendations for fastening 1 1/2" foam basement wall system with furring strips. To finish with MR drywall. I'm currently using 2 3/4" Phillips head Tapcons with hammer drill and corded driver, and am in need of more Aleve!
Does anyone have a preference any why?
Is there a difference in a vertical application?, holding power?
Should I just suck it up and finish?

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Abraham Lincoln

Teetorbilt

I'd keep doing it your way. Ramsets can create cracking and there is no control over them. Hit a couple of hard pieces of aggragate and you have a nail head to contend with, don't hit any at all and it goes right through the strip.

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Tom R

I feel tapcons are the best way.

Power actuated fasteners can cause cracking and will easily work loose in time, - - especially on a vertical application.

Are you pre-drilling holes in the wood that are slightly larger than the screw shanks??

Countersinking for the heads??

Running construction adhesive to allow for less screws??

'Setting' the tapcons only 3/4" or 1" into the wall??

Are you aware M-R drywall has been deemed ineffective/unnecessary??

tgeb

You might try these.

http://www.confast.com/products/split-drive-anchor.aspx

It would be a little faster than the Tapcons

Or what I do with the ramset nails is simply drive em in with a hammer, you don't need the gun on most applications. The nails are very hard and if you can hit strait they go in like butter.

But like stated earlier they can come loose or a big stone can deflect it.

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Tom

www.gebcon.com

Mike Finley

If you are looking for every advantage, I'd ditch the philip heads and get yourself the hex headed versions and put them in with an impact driver.

Double-A

Ugh! Tom'r and Mike have this calf licked. Take their advice.

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"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

DecksEtc

Agreed!

The Phillips head screw should have NEVER been invented!

TonyD

Yes.
Yes.
Yes. Behind foam not furring strips.
Yes. 1 1/4"And even that is getting to be a handfull.
No. Is that correct? How do you figure? (of course I'm getting $.60 more per sheet with MR...OH HOLD ON I dropped a penny..)

__________________
"...You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong..."
Abraham Lincoln

Tom R

The tapcons only need to 'penetrate' 3/4 of an inch, - - sometimes you need to penetrate 1", only because of the screw-length increments, - - any deeper is just wasted energy.

The M-R won't hurt anything, - - but it turns out it WASN'T QUITE the product it was ALL-HYPED-UP to be. I'm pretty busy right now, - - but if someone else doesn't have a link to provide, - - I'll try and find one later for you.


P.S. Mike makes an excellent point about the hex-heads that I failed to mention . . .

thill

Sometimes, you can use a square-drive with the #3 phillips bits, or one of the hybrids that is basically a square drive with phillips blades on the corners.

DEFINITELY use an impact driver, regardless of which bit. Be careful not to over drive them.

Hex heads are the way to go, if possible. An SDS hammer drill definitely goes a lot faster for drilling the concrete.

Best wishes on the project.

-TH

sheeter

TomR is wrong. The recommended minimum embedment for Tapcon screws is 1". Your doing right by sinking them 1-1/4" or more. Mike Finley is right, scrap the phillips head and get the hex head screws. But with hex had screws, you wil need one slightly longer and use a driver gun with more torque. If you use a Dewalt Tek gun, I would recommend the DW257, life will be easier. I use tapcons on a daily basis and this is what I have learned.

troubleseeker

I'd stick with the tapcons. even though they are slower to install, they will give a better job on the furring strips than powder actuated.Some of your agony may be caused by the tool you are using. Are you using a "Hammer drill" as you said or a "Rotary hammer". A small rotary hammer like one of the Bosch Bulldogs or similiar will make quick work of drilling compared to a hammer drill. Also when the bit becomes worn, throw it away before it starts to drift in the hole, because the diameter of the hole is important for the success of the tapcons.

reveivl

"Agreed!

The Phillips head screw should have NEVER been invented!"

You must be from Canada!!!

I can't believe that all the 'manufacrured' stuff you get from the States still comes with philips head screws. The man who invented them must have had three hands: one to hold the work, one to hold the screw on the driver and one to hold the tool.


Long live Robertson! (Square drive for most of you guys). (and hex and torx and almost anything except slot and philips (what else is there))

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From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science)

Blackhawk

No he isnt wrong ive used tapcons for years at 3/4" to 1" deep never had a problem ..your just making more work and headaches going deeper....and yes on the hex heads..

Tom R

I stand corrected, - - I looked it up on their site and they do indeed recommend a minimum of 1" and a maximum of 1 3/4".

At the same time, - - I'd be willing to bet money that they used to say they wanted 3/4".

Either way, - - good call, sheeter . . .

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Teetorbilt

reveivl, the one that you missed is the compound head, some manufacturers us them. They are supposed to take a slot, Phillips or sq. drive. They kinda work with the sq. drive, kinda not with the others.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

Double-A

3/4" with silly cone, 1" without

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006