Screws made for masonry, also known as Tapcon screws, is designed to be driven directly into masonry materials like concrete, brick, and block. These screws will cut their own threads into the masonry material as the screw is driven into a pre-drilled hole. Tapcon screws are more effective than nails or wood screws in masonry materials because nails may bend and wood screws will not grip the masonry materials effective.
To ensure the Tapcon screws work effectively in the masonry materials, you should use the proper size chart for the screws. Tapcon screws comes in a variety of different sizes. The size of the Tapcon screw will determine the strength of the screw.
How to Install Tapcon Screws in Concrete and Brick
Larger Tapcon screws will provide more pull resistance then smaller Tapcon screws, though smaller Tapcon screws will be sufficient for light tasks. The length of the Tapcon screw will determine how much of the screw will become embedded into the masonry material. The longer the Tapcon screw, the more shear strength the screw will provide, which is necessary for fixture that are subject to sideways forces.
Additionally, the PSI rating of the concrete in which the screw is being installed will also impact the strength that the Tapcon screw will exhibit; the higher the PSI of the concrete, the more higher the strength rating that the Tapcon screw will exhibit. In order to install the Tapcon screws into the masonry materials, you must use a hammer drill to drill the hole in the masonry. A hammer drill is necessary for penetrating the masonry materials, whereas a standard drill may not be effective at penetrating these materials.
You should use a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the Tapcon screw’s diameter to drill the hole. By using a slightly smaller drill bit, the threads of the Tapcon screw will grip the sides of the drilled hole. The hole should be drilled deeper than the length of the Tapcon screw that will be embedded into the masonry material.
By drilling a deeper hole, space can be provided for the concrete dust to collect at the bottom of the hole. After the hole has been drilled, it is critical to properly clean the hole. If you dont properly clean the hole, the Tapcon screw will fail.
The concrete dust that is created during drilling will act as a lubricant between the threads of the Tapcon screw and the walls of the drilled hole. The lubrication will prevent the Tapcon screw from being able to grip the masonry material. To properly clean the drilled hole, the use of canned air or a vacuum is recommended.
If the concrete dust is not vacuumed from the drilled hole, the Tapcon screw will not grip the masonry material and will fail. The type of masonry material from which you install the Tapcon screws will impact the performance of the screws. For instance, normal weight concrete with a standard PSI rating will allow the screws to reach their full performance potential.
Tapcon screws may also be used in brick; however, you should take care to avoid drilling into the soft mortar joints that hold the bricks together. In hollow block, you should install the Tapcon screw only into the face shell of the hollow block; installing a Tapcon screw into the hollow interior of the block will not provide any gripping force to the block. Finally, lightweight or aerated concrete is not an ideal material for installing Tapcon screws, as the screw’s threads will not grip the lightweight concrete.
Tapcon screws are available in a variety of different head styles. You should choose the head style of the screw according to the needs of the fixture into which the screw will be installed. For outdoor projects, hex washer heads are common for Tapcon screws.
Tapcon screws with flat heads will help the screw to sit flush with the masonry material into which it is installed. Pan head screws are used for attaching to thin metal material. Additionally, you should maintain an edge distance of at least 1-3/4 inches between the edge of the Tapcon screw and the edge of the concrete material.
Finally, the spacing between the centers of installed Tapcon screws should be at least 3 inches from the center of another installed Tapcon screw. In comparison to other masonry screw products, such as wedge anchors or sleeve anchors, there are a variety of advantages to using Tapcon screws. For instance, you will install Tapcon screws faster than wedge anchors because there is no need to drill expansion clips when installing Tapcon screws; likewise, the screws are easier to remove from the masonry material.
However, wedge anchors and sleeve anchors has the advantage in that they can provide more shear strength than Tapcon screws; therefore, you should use wedge anchors instead of Tapcon screws for structural installations that require strong holding power. To avoid common mistake in installing the screws, it is important to avoid over-torquing the Tapcon screws; over-torquing can cause the threads of the screw to strip, and may also crack the concrete. Finally, it is important to use blue-coated Tapcon screws for installations that will become wet environments to avoid corrosion of the screw; white-coated Tapcon screws are recommended for dry indoor installations.
