anchoring hand rail to cement

[tommy2069]

I know this probably has nothing to do with welding . I do lots of jobs for wendys resturants . well this job I have to make hand rails for the drive threw. I made the hand rails but I'm not a carpenter and know nothing about connecting iron to cement. I went to 3 diferent stores and got 3 diferent answers on whats the best anchor to use.if any of you have done this before what have you used to anchor the rails down .I have a hammer drill with a 1/2 bit for the main hole I also have a smaller 1/4 inch bit for the pilot hole. if yall can could you post a pic of what anchors are best.the piece of cement I'm anchoring to is about 8" deep and about 5" wide. I made some pads on the bottom of the handrails that are 4"x4". I drilles two holes per pad.the rails are 36"high. I just don't wanna use any old anchor and have someone lean on them and they fall over.i can provide pics of the hand rails if needed.

[kize]

I know this probably has nothing to do with welding . I do lots of jobs for wendys resturants . well this job I have to make hand rails for the drive threw. I made the hand rails but I'm not a carpenter and know nothing about connecting iron to cement. I went to 3 diferent stores and got 3 diferent answers on whats the best anchor to use.if any of you have done this before what have you used to anchor the rails down .I have a hammer drill with a 1/2 bit for the main hole I also have a smaller 1/4 inch bit for the pilot hole. if yall can could you post a pic of what anchors are best.the piece of cement I'm anchoring to is about 8" deep and about 5" wide. I made some pads on the bottom of the handrails that are 4"x4". I drilles two holes per pad.the rails are 36"high. I just don't wanna use any old anchor and have someone lean on them and they fall over.i can provide pics of the hand rails if needed.

I use the wedge anchors for stuff I want to stay put. Public pay phone pedestals etc. the link is just an example. You can find them just about anywhere

http://www.confast.com/products/thunderstud-anchor.aspx

[fabricator]

Well, best to core drill hole and use por rock. But since you are going with pads, drill 1/2" holes and use 1/2" wedge anchors.I would not go under 1/2". No pilot hole needed however a good hammerdrill is a must. Sleeve anchors are o.k. but better for softer materials like brick and mortar. Could use anchoring epoxy but will cost more and takes an hour to set up.

[H80N]

King Metals is a good source for anchors etc..

http://www.kingmetals.com/Catalog/Catalog.aspx?CatalogId=c39&CatalogDetailId=23&NSM=Y

Matter of fact ... they carry a wide range of neat stuff for railings and ornamental iron...

http://www.kingmetals.com/Catalog/Catalog.aspx?CatalogId=c39

Their catalog is always good for ideas....

[Country Metals]

I have anchored down hundreds of railings. I use either 1/4' anchor bolts 4 per foot for leveling, or I use a 2" core drill and hydraulic cement. Epoxy works best but can take time and costs more.

As far as a commercial setting, I would weld a 3" x 3" plate on bottom with 4 - 3/8" holes for anchor bolts. It is the easiest

[H80N]

I have anchored down hundreds of railings. I use either 1/4' anchor bolts 4 per foot for leveling, or I use a 2" core drill and hydraulic cement. Epoxy works best but can take time and costs more.

As far as a commercial setting, I would weld a 3" x 3" plate on bottom with 4 - 3/8" holes for anchor bolts. It is the easiest

WATERPLUG Expanding HYDRAULIC CEMENT is readily available at most home improvement stores

http://www.thoroproducts.com/pdf_info/waterplug_sellSheet.pdf

"Waterplug is a hydraulic cement material that is mixed with clean, potable water to produce an extremely rapid setting plug. It is inserted into prepared areas to stop leaks under pressure. It is ideal for sealing around pipes and conduits, and for setting anchor bolts and railings. It is non-corrosive and produces extremely high strengths"

http://gomixcoat.com/cn/waterplug.html

FOR EPOXY I like 3M 2216

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Adhesives/Tapes/Products/~/3M-Scotch-Weld-Epoxy-Adhesive-2216?N=6081606+3293241721&rt=rud

[ryanjones2150]

anchoring hand rail to cement

Do yourself a favor and get a good rotary hammer. You'll thank me for it.

[Can You Weld This For Me?]

Redhead C6 epoxy and all thread.

[walker]

Wedge anchors are a bit outdated. I use Tapcon anchors for all my bolt in installations. 3/8 or 1/2 should be just fine. Should be available at most big hardware stores.

http://www.tapcon.com/products

[tommy2069]

I used the tapcon anchors to anchor down my small shed to the cement . they worked great but I did have a few break off right before they got tight if I was to use them on this job and one was to snap off in the hole I would be screwed I think.i think I will go with the wedge ones with some epoxy in the holes for extra strength.thanks for the help. if this set goes up good then i'll do the other 4 or 5 stores . I don't really know how many resturants the guys owns but he did say he would want the rails installed at his other places too. just didn't want to break off a chunk of his curb while mounting these things.off to lowes or home depot to do some shopping for the anchors.thanks for the info.

[fabricator]

Do not mix epoxy with wedge anchors.

[H80N]

Do not mix epoxy with wedge anchors.

Why not...???

I have seen them work very well with 3M 2216.... some of which were installed 20+ years ago and still tight...

of course they could only be removed by breaking out the slab around them..

[Portable Welder]

I have installed well over 500 railings over the last 28 years.

The best way is to core drill the holes with a core drill and hydraulic cement, but since you already have it made with plates you have to use a concrete anchors, the problem that I foresee is your wall is only 5" wide, you have a 4" plate with a anchor on each side which may only be 1" in off the edge of the wall, drilling may crack the wall, if the drilling doesn't then the wedge anchor might, epoxy would be your safest bet or the big tapcon style anchor might be a second choice.

The reason I like the epoxy is it wont be pushing out on the wall causing it to break like a wedge anchor would.

In this case you would be better off using a light hammer drill verses a hard pounding drill to minimize the chance of breaking the concrete.

I usually dont like to drill any closer than about 2-1/2" off the edge of the concrete.

[Cgotto6]

Ss allthread with Simpson structural epoxy or equilivant. Once and done.

[ryanjones2150]

anchoring hand rail to cement

Good call PW.