Fastening of load-bearing beam in concrete

[fered]

Hi,

I am going to build a wooden deck and need to screw a ledger board to the house foundation which is concrete. I have a regular drill driver without an impact function, and I wonder if I need to invest in an impact driver as well, or is it unnecessary for fastening in concrete?

Best regards,
Farhad

 

[S0MMER]

Try drilling a hole with the one you have, but most likely you will need a rotary hammer with an SDS chuck.

 

[Nicro]

If you want to make holes in the concrete, you need a rotary hammer (or hammer drill = worse than a rotary hammer). If you're considering the mounting of the fastener, you can manage with a regular screwdriver if it's a facade plug or a regular plug with a screw. If you are going to use a concrete screw, you may need an impact driver for these.

 

[Dowser4711]

It entirely depends on the quality of the concrete in question, so we can't give you a 100% answer. Often, you won't get anywhere with a regular drill driver without a hammer function, but if you're "lucky," it might work just fine. On the other hand, in that case, you have slightly more porous concrete that will require more of the ledger board attachment than harder concrete.

If this is the only thing you need to do that requires drilling into concrete and your drill can't handle the job, it's probably best to rent a powerful machine for a few hours and get the job done quickly. However, if you plan to drill a few holes now and then, it's the perfect time to buy a more powerful machine.

 

[justusandersson]

Are you sure that the foundation wall is made of reinforced concrete? It was common from around 1920-1940, but after that, it's almost always concrete hollow blocks, which are a bit easier to drill into. In concrete hollow blocks, it's better to make many fastenings with shorter screws (nails plug is simpler).

 

[fered]

Hello,

Thank you for all the answers, I think I want to rent one with the impact function. Instead, I want to buy a small regular screwdriver that is light and handy and not heavy, can you recommend a good model?

Best regards,
Farhad

 

[Fred vom Jupiter]

Don't you have a neighbor, coworker, or relative who can lend you their machine? Ask around!

 

[petererlandsson1194]

hi,

I am going to build a wooden deck and need to screw a joist to the house foundation, which is concrete. I have a regular drill screwdriver without any hammer function. I'm wondering if I need to invest in an impact drill or if it's not necessary for fastening to concrete?

Best regards, Farhad

Rent a machine for this at the nearest hardware store like Bauhaus... You will regret it later otherwise... Don't be stingy now as the machine rental will be a very small part of the cost.

 

[petererlandsson1194]

Rent a machine for this at the nearest hardware store like Bauhaus... You will regret it later otherwise... Don't be stingy now as the machine rental will be a very small part of the cost.

Then, of course, it's important how you attach the load-bearing line depending on what kind of concrete we're talking about... New and cast-in-place? Then 8mm, brown plug, and French wood screw are sufficient... if it's concrete hollow block or concrete from the 30s, you'll need expandable plugs of decent length... regardless, you'll need a proper machine. As someone wrote... ask around among neighbors or acquaintances.. If someone works in a "craft profession," they have the machine you need.

 

[petererlandsson1194]

Hello,

Thanks for all the answers, I think I want to rent one with the impact function. Instead, I want to buy a small regular screwdriver that is light and handy and not heavy, can you recommend a good model?

Best regards,
Farhad

Biltema or Jula will work well if you’re buying a hammer drill. But buy a hammer drill and not an "impact drill." If it was a real "screwdriver" you were wondering about, I would probably recommend a "professional" machine depending on how much you will be screwing... I built a 60m2 deck with a corded machine from Jula (about 300. Screwed all the beams and decking... Never needed to change the battery since it was electric... The machine burned out twice but went back to Jula and got a new one under the warranty which is two years... There are no warranty conditions on how you operate the machine... mine was hot so you could burn yourself occasionally, but when it died... pick up a new one... So in summary, I built a 60m2 deck with a machine for 300:- and two trips to Jula.

 

[hsd]

Rent a nail gun, shoot the studs in place with steel nails, quickly and efficiently

 

[petererlandsson1194]

Rent a nail gun, attach the studs with steel nails, quick and effective

But that depends on the substrate, right? Crumbly concrete from the 1930s doesn't work that well... or hollow block concrete that you've cast yourself on-site... it often contains "sand with a spit and traces of cement," so any fastenings should be substantially expanding or chemical.