I will soon be constructing our garage, uninsulated with a 120 mm frame, and I'm wondering if expansion nails would work to attach the sill to the concrete slab.
I was thinking of using Gunnesbo 8x110 but cannot find any information on the forces it is approved for.
Does anyone know?
Expansion nails are mentioned in almost all threads about attaching walls but it's difficult to find clear information. Those of you who have used expansion nails, how did you do it? How many did you use?
Most people today use track nails. These are considerably weaker than expander nails. The forces are incredibly small at the track, apart from the force straight down. An expander nail one and a half meters is about right.
You mean those "pipe sleeves" that look something like this?
Traditionally, they are mostly used for lighter assemblies, like inner walls. The pull-out strength is not very high, around 0.5 - 1 kN I would estimate.
If you are considering using these for a sill, two things must be taken into account. Possible uplift forces in the building, which depend on the building’s weight, height, roof shape, and size. But also the wind exposure of the location. A low, not too narrow building with a heavy roof, for example, concrete tiles, rarely has uplift forces, then it should be in a very exposed location.
The other thing to consider is corrosion. The expansion nail does not tolerate much at all, as it is with just thin electroplating and overall thin material.
I would still like to advocate that you might use hot-dip galvanized concrete expanders, "as usual". View attachment 68766
My sill consists of Lekablock. I bought expansion screws for this. Approximately 1/0.5 m. The garage has withstood both Gudrun and whatever else they are called. Better with many weak ones than few strong ones.
Thank you so much for your responses. The reason I was wondering was primarily that they recommended expansion nails at the lumberyard.. It feels silly to buy such an important part for the building at Biltema, but they do seem to have both expansion bolts of the above type and cheap square washers!
Should you drill exactly as far down as the bolt will reach, or should you stop a few mm before so that you can hammer down the last mm?
A package of 25 is enough for cc 80. The building is low but not so narrow (ridge height 3 meters, gable roof, and external dimensions about 5.3x8)
Thank you very much for your responses. The reason why I asked was mainly because they recommended expansion spikes at the lumberyard.. It feels a bit silly to buy such an important part of the building at Biltema, but they seem to have both expansion bolts of the aforementioned type and cheap square washers!
Should you drill just as deep as the bolt is supposed to reach or should you stop a few mm before so that you have to hammer down the last mm?
A pack of 25 is enough for cc 80. The building is low but not so narrow (ridge height 3 meters, gable roof and external dimensions about 5.3x8)
My sill consists of Leka blocks. I bought expansion screws for this. About 1/0.5 m. The garage has withstood both Gudrun and all their names. Better with many weak ones than few strong ones.
Yes, in LECA there is not much that holds particularly well (Anchoring compound and injected concrete are in a class of their own here, but expensive and complicated), so having many that don't take so much load each is the right approach.
I usually use lecaskruv/lightweight concrete screws, definitely the fastest since you don't have to drill, and I also feel like they hold well compared to other solutions.
