23
No, it's not ok. For one thing, by the time the city inspector looks at the fully framed building, it will be a little too late to fix it. Secondly, the builder's attitude seems very questionable. Either his framing crew or the concrete sub messed up. At the very least their job is not done in a workmanlike manner. They shouldn't wait and hope things 'slip' ...
20
Concrete is a mix of large aggregate, small aggregate, and cement (a 4:2:1 ratio is a good approximation - though designed mixes will be more calculated than that).
The size of the large aggregate isn't particularly important, unless you are working in very tight spaces or around reinforcement, in which case you want suitably small aggregate.
In this case ...
19
Ideally this should be screwed/anchored into a joist for maximum support. However, if you really want to use a drywall anchor, you should use a toggle bolt or a ceiling anchor. Instead of just screwing into the wall, these expand to several times their size which gives you a good hold, especially when the force is pulling directly down. 10lbs might be ...
13
This is a tall unit and if it were fully loaded, it could really hurt someone (especially a child) should it fall. Products like the 3M command strips are designed for hooks where the force on them is acting downwards. Your cabinet on the other hand, should it tip, would be pulling away from the wall and I really don't think those strips would hold. If it ...
13
This is something that you have minimal control over. Most electrical runs going horizontally are about 2 feet off the floor or very close to the ceiling. There are lots of reasons for this but one of the obvious ones is it limits the areas of concerns when drilling.
Also for horizontal runs there should be a little slack where an anchor would just push ...
12
OK this is easy. The answer is NO.
The construction has issues:
There are no bolts for the sill plates.
2.The sill plates should be spaced on the slab so that wall plus exterior finish meets slab. It looks like this house is getting brick or thick stone given the 3 inches or so from the edge.
I am not sure about your situation. You are having a ...
9
No, I would not recommend nailing through carpet. Whether or not you prefer to, cutting the carpet and pad and removing them (under the wall) is the only right way to do this job.
Baseboards on top of carpet will look like baseboards on top of carpet. If that's not how the rest of the baseboards are done, they will indeed look "off;" especially in the ...
9
With regard to using wood posts in concrete:
Note that any water that drains down the side of the wood post will drain through to the subsoil. The post should be in a collar, not a cup...
(Feel free to integrate into the answer of @sch )
9
I agree with the answer about using a stud finder with a voltage sensor. Also, bear in mind that while the horizontal wire runs are typically close to the floor or the ceiling, there are also cables running up studs, and they aren't necessarily stapled directly to the stud itself, either. Consider the NM cable standoffs (or "stack staples") in the pictures ...
9
Aside from not using hammer mode, as suggested in the comments, I will report that I have had HIGHLY variable results with Tapcon's in old poured concrete - I don't recall what they claim to work in, but I begin to suspect that concrete block or green (not yet fully cured) poured concrete is more their cup of tea, or perhaps "concrete made only with "soft" ...
8
All the Tapcons, Conserts, or other brand of concrete screws I have driven over the years, I have never, while following the directions driven a concrete screw no deeper into any concrete that has been well aged over an 1 1/4" in.
The specs that I seen for the most part say the screw is rated to go in between 3/4" to 1" max for the rated hold. To go in ...
7
Use 1/4" diameter Tapcons (the 3/16" screws are worthless). Drill the hole with a 3/16" masonry drill bit with a hammer drill, one inch farther than the fastener is long, pulling the bit out of the hole several times as you go to clear the spoils, being careful not to ream the sides as you do.
Drive the screw with an impact gun, and stop half a second after ...
7
These don't come out easily, sometimes they can be pushed back into the wall and dissappear, this is often the case if the person installing it was thinking ahead and drilled the hole deeper than needed as an end-of-life plan.
Else you need to drive the shaft back in a bit to release the wedge and then pull on the sleeve part, locking pliers are useful ...
5
Key racks tend to be fairly light, so you shouldn't have any problems using only drywall anchors.
5
Do you have attic access above the spot on the ceiling? I would try to toenail a cross piece perpendicular to the ceiling joists where you want to hang your plant. If there isn't room to swing a hammer between the joists and rafters that close to the edge of the roof, you could just screw into the end of the cross piece through the joists with 3" wood screws....
5
If this is a wall to wall carpet then the back edge of the cabinet most likely sitting on the tacking strip that is placed around the edge of the room under the carpet. Making the cabinet lean forward slightly.
You could try placing one or 2 shims under the front edges of the cabinet to level cabinet or even raise the front a bit so it tends to lean back ...
5
Reducing the amount of Portland Cement in the concrete will reduce its strength. That is, adding rocks to an already-blended mixture of concrete will reduce its strength over the same mix without the rocks. If this weren't true, they would just add rock to the original mix, since rocks are way cheaper than Portland Cement.
The other issue, as John ...
5
Unfortunately you can't be 100% certain but you can dramatically reduce your risk.
Checking local rules and practices for installing cables should be your first line of defense. For example in the UK we have "safe zones" where wires are normally run http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Safe_zones_for_electric_cables . However it is not a guarantee, ...
5
It’s based on the 1) angle of repose, and 2) weight of soil, and 3) length of deadman.
7-8kn equals about 1500 - 1,800 lbs.
If the angle of repose is about 45 degrees and your soil weighs about 80 lbs. per cubic foot, then you’ll need about 2,000 lbs. (safety factor) resisting.
Therefore, you need to bury your deadman about 3’ deep if the deadman is 3’ ...
4
You could also try to get a board to go between the joists if you can't hit them directly. The holding strength of drywall isn't much in this direction. Really if you look at drywall it's about 2 pieces of paper with a little bit of "stuff" in between. If you have the vertical space you could push a piece of wood through a hole near one of the anchors or ...
4
Suitablilty of fasteners for supporting bracketry in concrete depends mostly on the weight.
light duty 0-10lbs: Screws with concrete threads, no anchors needed
(EG Tapcon and Spax)
medium duty: 10-50lbs: anchors of plastic or lead,
heavy duty: 50+ : sleeve and wedge anchors
There are overlaps between light and medium duty , based on screw size and ...
4
I do a lot of work in remodel aplications. As for the strength of 1/2" and 5/8 sheetrock it is quite strong. I have been in multiple situations where I had 2 options walk or crawl on belly directly on the sheet rock or cut and remove the sheetrock from underneath to access the area I needed to get to. I weigh 165 lbs and can verify that both 1/2" and 5/8" ...
4
Assuming that you have masonry walls, you need masonry drill bits and masonry anchors, which are somewhat different than the molly anchors you find for use with hanging on plaster.
Any masonry anchor style should do - as long as you size it appropriately for the item to be hung.
4
Reline your jamb with another material that you can screw into. The pressure you will subject the door frame to is really needing something screwed into it. To just use pressure has the strong possibility of deforming or worse, cracking your jamb, depends on where the shims are placed behind the jamb, but you cant see them, unless you take it apart, not a ...
4
You'll need a masonry bit and hammer drill to get a hole in brick.
However it may be easier to screw the hooks to a piece of wood and mount the wood to the wall. With a nice routed edge on the wood that can look really nice.
To mount the wood you can use normal masonry anchors.
4
It depends on the type of anchor and the length of the screw, but I think you may have another problem.
Most drywall anchors rely on the screw to expand the anchor and secure it into the drywall. In these cases, if the screw is not into the anchor to an adequate depth, the anchor will not have sufficient purchase in the sheetrock.
With this said, however, ...
4
Use larger anchors/screws. IMO this is the best option.
There are dozens of different types of anchors, so it is possible to find one that will be larger but fit the smaller screw. Myself, I'd drill the rack and use the proper screw for the anchors you have.
Another possibility, since brick is pretty deep, is to use a longer Tap-Con style screw, like 3" ...
4
It is not good practice to bury wood in concrete as you depict. Best to use
metal anchored in the concrete and attach the wood to the metal. Your result
will be inevitable rot and failure, probably not before the kids outgrow it
but maybe. Something like this (http://milspecanchors.com/shop/accessories/6x6-post-anchor-heavy-duty-cast-aluminum-structural-...
4
The bottom line is that the framing in the corners of your house really isn't meant for a dynamic (e.g. bouncing and jerking) lateral load like what you're talking about. It isn't even meant for a static lateral load. It's meant to hold stuff up, vertically. Once it starts leaning, the game's up.
If you're really dedicated to doing this, I would look into ...
4
Sounds like trouble to me. Superglue won't do you any good, as it's only as strong as what it's gluing to (and I suspect here it would be far less strong).
Some alternatives:
Cut away a square of drywall and replace it with the same thickness plywood, glued to whatever is behind (e.g. that metal). Then apply a thin coat of plaster, paint, and then screw ...
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