anchor bolt spinning in hole

wrathkeg · 19 Feb 2017

Hi,

I am trying to fit one of these to a brick wall. The fixings it came with are like these anchor fixings but with M6 hex screws. I followed the instructions and first drilled a 6 mm pilot hole followed by a 12 mm hole with a masonry bit. The drilling went fine into sound masonry. I hand tightened the screws into the anchor fixings, put the anchor fixings into the wall and tightened. And tightened. And tightened. It became apparent that the fixings were just spinning in the hole rather than gripping as if the holes are too big. Any suggestions as to what I can do now please? I would much rather use the holes which are already drilled rather than drill new ones if possible.

Ta,

wrathkeg

Burnerman · 19 Feb 2017

As you say, the sleeve is just spinning in the masonry. Its important that the wedge is still retained where it needs to be, so can you pull the sleeve out to check? With the bolt removed, maybe you can tap a nail down the side of the sleeve just to hold it until it starts to expand.
John

wrathkeg · 20 Feb 2017

Good tip about the nail: thanks. I put a couple of small 1" nails down the side, tightened the bolt and the sleeve seemed to grip until I could tighten no more. I must say, not impressed with this product but it seems to be done now.

foxhole · 20 Feb 2017

They require 10mm hole which is why the spun in a 12 mm hole.

wrathkeg · 21 Feb 2017

Having not used these fixings before, I went ahead and followed the instructions and drilled a 12 mm hole. I'm sure a 10 mm hole would have been suitable.

Burnerman · 21 Feb 2017

For sure, Foxy is correct so don't know what's going on there......the bolt needs to be a snug fit in the hole, and it'll grip every time. Often enough 10mm would be on the snug side though and the bolt could spring apart if its tapped in. Probably an 11mm drill would have been the one

John

wrathkeg · 21 Feb 2017

To make things worse I had to go out and buy a 12 mm drill bit when I already had a 10 mm one in the shed! I happened to see in an otherwise reliable DIY manual that for these fixings the hole generally has to be twice the diameter of the bolt, so there seems to be a lot of misinformation out there on these.

Burnerman · 21 Feb 2017

Don't know about that one.....I'd start at 10mm and then increase until all was snug.
John

benbo · 29 Jul 2019

wrathkeg said:
Hi,

I am trying to fit one of these to a brick wall. The fixings it came with are like these anchor fixings but with M6 hex screws. I followed the instructions and first drilled a 6 mm pilot hole followed by a 12 mm hole with a masonry bit. The drilling went fine into sound masonry. I hand tightened the screws into the anchor fixings, put the anchor fixings into the wall and tightened. And tightened. And tightened. It became apparent that the fixings were just spinning in the hole rather than gripping as if the holes are too big. Any suggestions as to what I can do now please? I would much rather use the holes which are already drilled rather than drill new ones if possible.

Ta,

wrathkeg

If the hole is about a millimeter or so oversize causing it to spin, grip the Anchor Bolt gently with pliers turn bolt about half a turn or so until it is a tap fit in the hole.
This will stop it slipping, but really if the hole is well outside the manufacturers recommendations I would think about drilling a new hole.
The collar under the bolt head is the same size as the recommended drill size and a larger hole will allow the anchor unit to flake around at its front end.

foxhole · 29 Jul 2019

benbo said:
If the hole is about a millimeter or so oversize causing it to spin, grip the Anchor Bolt gently with pliers turn bolt about half a turn or so until it is a tap fit in the hole.
This will stop it slipping, but really if the hole is well outside the manufacturers recommendations I would think about drilling a new hole.
The collar under the bolt head is the same size as the recommended drill size and a larger hole will allow the anchor unit to flake around at its front end.

Probably sorted by now 2017 post !!

benbo · 30 Jul 2019

foxhole said:
Probably sorted by now 2017 post !!

Yes I expected it to be sorted, but all info is useful for those who search.

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anchor bolt spinning in hole

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