Drop-In Anchors

[BSVBD]

Powers (Rawl), Simpson, Hilti and Red-Head all have drop-in anchors.

I used to specify these frequently, but, i discontinued specifying them about ten years ago, when one of the site foremen of the main general contractor i have been working with complained that the drop-ins tend to spin within the base material. Since that was ten years ago i've decided to re-investigate for other opinions. I will do the same with the other site foreman of the same contractor.

Has anyone else experienced this? The allowable tensions for drop-ins are better than most anchors for hollow core, BUT, i've stayed away because of ONE complaint. In general, ONE failure is typically enough!

Any comments on this?

Thank you!

 

[DaveAtkins]

I have used them once, for attaching cold formed steel track to existing concrete. I did not get any complaints.

DaveAtkins

 

[JedClampett]

We don't allow them at all. They might be all right for residential or do it yourself, but for something engineered, there's better options.

 

[CBEngi]

Typically we only use them for temporary construction. I find that when exposed to the weather, there is a better chance of damage due to water getting in the whole and freezing.

Contractors really like them since they are fast and cheap (compared to epoxy). I personally don't like the idea of an anchor cracking the material around its-self to gain capacity.

 

[XR250]

I only use them in interior applications with relatively low load. I have installed many of these myself and they seem to go in fine.