what to do with concrete blocks

[harold brock]

Looks like I am going to be moving in the near future and will have to set up shop again. I am going from a nice double car garage shop 21x27 to a basement. The basement is concrete block, what do you guys and gals use to fasten all the stuff you have in a shop that naturally goes on the walls, such at cabinets , jigs, lumber racks.

[Robert foster]

harold

i have poured concrete walls and I just drill holes and put screws in to hold stuff.

bob

[Terry Achey]

TapCon anchors work well for most light to medium applications, assuming you use the correct size and correct amount. Heavier items could be supported with appropriate sized toggle bolts. I would want to support a lumber rack both to the wall and the floor, and perhaps attached to the floor joist above, too.

Terry

[Jason Roehl]

TapCons do not work well in concrete block. They're fine in poured concrete, but for block you'll want mollies, toggle bolts, lead anchors or expansion sleeves. BTDT.

Jason

[Tom Esh]

Special-purpose coated screws from the borg, aka blue screws. I think Tapcon was the original brand, but there are others. Plenty of holding power as long as you drill deep enough they don't bottom out. Hammer-drill or rotary hammer.

[Bob Rufener]

You've received some good advice but, I don't believe anyone mentioned that a hammer drill is indespensible for drilling into cement block or poured concrete. You will not believe the difference between a hammer drill and a non-hammer drill. A good set of masonry bits is also helpful.

[Joe Mioux]

First check and see if the block's cavities are filled with concrete. I bet they are.

That will allow you to choose the best fasteners

joe

[John Eaton]

On block, for heavy stuff like lumber, studding out the wall works best (make sure it's tied into the joices above and anchored to the floor). On one wall in my basement I used John Sterling standards - they make this "hook" that holds the top of the standard and bites into the bottom plate - you can then use tapcons to keep the standards from moving horizontally (load them up first so you can see the settled position). Here's an image:

http://www.modusmodern.com/woodworking/Walnut1.jpg

The top of the standard has one of these Fastmount Hooks (you can't see it in the image above due to the ceiling):

http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE-986316dt.jpg

I bought a bunch of that stuff as it was being discontinued at HD and then on sale at Amazon. Looks like Ace Hardware now has the exclusive.

-- John

[Jim Becker]

I seriously suggest you hang French cleats on that wall using tapcons or anchors and put up everything that way. It gives you the ultimate in flexibility as your shop needs change and is a lot easier to accomplish since you're not dealing with fasteners at the same time as you're hanging the actual cabinetry, etc.

[Maurice Ungaro]

John Eaton mentioned studs, and I cant emphasize that enough.
First, seal the walls and floors with an epoxy type moisture barrier. After that, the most flexible system for you to use would be to stud (16" OC) as much of the wall surface as you could ever possibly need. Then, insulate between the studs and hang pegboard on said studs.

This offers you limitless opportunities to hang tools, shelf standards, etc. Good luck with the move, I may have to do that again myself sometime in the next 12 months, & I'm NOT looking forward to it. That would make it the 2nd shop I've had to move in 3 years, and the equipment grew, of course.

[Wright Woodall]

I have to recommend AGAINST blue screws in hollow block from a lot of experience. They may hold for a while but tend to work loose sometimes. They do work better in solid filled block. I use "Toggler Snaptoggle" heavy anchors or something similar in sheetrock and hollow block. You can use them on each individual item or to fasten french cleats to the wall as suggested. Most boxes have a chart on the side showing the weight rating for block, 1/2" sheetrock, 5/8" sheetrock, etc. (Of course solid wood blocking for screws or nails is better behind sheetrock, but sometimes those things get left out.:eek:)

I'll also second the recommendation for a good hammer drill. The Bosch Bulldog will not let you down.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Oh, I forgot to mention a fastening system for the studs! I would look at the Remington RamJet gun. Uses .22 blank cartridges to fire a masonry nail with a star shaped anchor into the wall. Shoots through a 2 x 4, and into the block. Doesn't come loose.

[Lee Schierer]

I've used Tapcons screws to hold things to concrete block with no problems. Make sure you use the right size drill for the srcew with a hammer drill for making the hole. Then use the hammer drive to set the screw. The hex headed tapcons work best. Note, there are some old cinder blocks out there that are much harder than the newer concrete blocks. The cinder block can be a pain to drill even with a hammer drill.

[Tom Esh]

You've received some good advice but, I don't believe anyone mentioned that a hammer drill is indespensible for drilling into cement block or poured concrete. You will not believe the difference between a hammer drill and a non-hammer drill. A good set of masonry bits is also helpful.

Indeed. The need for HD is emphatic. Problem with using a conventional drill is it's s_l_o_w. It not only wears you out, but the bit spends so long wobbling around in the hole it's almost impossible not to end up with an oversized hole.