Using Tapcon Concrete Screws To Secure Wood To Cinderblock 

In spite of all the haters, I really appreciated a couple of things about this video. He didn't music. He didin't take forever to get to the point, and he turned down the volume when he used the drill. Thanks!

Thanks for a brief, informative video. No stupid music intro, no long boring backstory with a bunch of asides, and no lame attempts at humor. This is how all DIY videos should be.

I do alot of tap cons into concrete bulkheads in buildings, and into block. A few things I always do when attaching woods is 1, predrill a countersink hole for the screw so it sits flush or slightly below the surface so I can putty over for final prep to hide the hole. 2. always use a hammer drill….it will make that drill bit drill like butter. 3. insert a fairly beefy chunk of auto motive or speaker wire into the hole the entire length of the screw and leave about 1” of wire sticking out of the hole. Then insert your tap con screw right next to the wire and run it home. When you’re done your screw will be sunken a bit below the surface and it will definitely be super tight because the wire ensures proper grip on the threads. I cut the excess wire sticking out with a sharp utility knife. Before I learned that trick I had a lot of tap cons just spin in the hole and never tighten up. It is very rare that one does not tighten up using the wire trick unless you have a weak concrete blowout inside the block.

Im a builder and im just adding the fact that you can also use a counter sink bit on the wood after you drill through the wood if you dont want the screws sticking out past the wood.

I do like the fact that he likes to explain things very simply for those of us who are DIY novices ; ) His personality quirks can actually cause the video to be more entertaining : )

What I like about this video is its real. Its not the perfectly orchestrated video where someone takes an hour to set up everything perfect, and practices a bunch before actually drilling. The power actually does go out on your drill while you are working, and you need to rig up a way to hold the boards in place while drilling. Also - you don't need to be another $200 hammer drill to drive these screws. Your standard drill will get the job done.

he is drilling into the hollow portion of the cinder block. It is solid about 1" from the edges and directly in the center. Even though he is using shorter tapcons. it is better to drill into the solid block

The battery dying was classic man lol, thanks for leaving that in.

This is exactly what I needed to see before I start drilling, myself. It's a little daunting as a newbie.

thanks for the video, as I need to do something similar for a fence attaching stucco side of a house. But shouldn't you have cleaned out the concrete dust from the pilot holes before you screwed the tapcon screw in?

more importantly a discussion on what the "concrete" screws look like and differs from say a wood screw would be an education in itself. already knowing how to drill is a given

Thanks man this video saved me a shit load of time and mistakes I'm building a room in my garage and had multiple ideas floating around this is great THANK YOU

I need to build a subfloor in a shed can I use this same system building a floor

tip due to the nature of Masonry blocks (cinderblock ) to provide a longer lasting hold a dab of Construction adhesive on the tip of the mason Screw and also a couple dabs on the 2x4 contacting the Block will give you a longer lasting hold and protect you from Failure from degradation of the cinderblock due to moisture or seismic movement and or Load stress .. Many times I have see shelving fall after time from just relying on the Tapcon to maintain a permanent hold ... But all and all Great video good job Cheers

I came to this video trying to figure out how to hold up a piece of wood horizontally while I screwed it to a wall...and I ended up learning how to use a Tapcon screw. Appreciate it. Oh, and not hearing RU-vid music was a plus.

So for 3 inch tapcon screw. I need to drill 3 inch?

What size/length tapcon screw did you use to place with wood onto the wall?

I just finished mounting some 2x4s to a poured concrete foundation wall using Tapcon screws. Some comments about my experience: Drill: For solid concrete, a hammer drill is almost mandatory. You can try with a regular drill but you'll get frustrated and the masonry drill bit tip will likely wear out from heat/friction before you get the first hole drilled. For cinder block (as in the video), it's probably easier and the video seems to show that. Pre-drill holes in wood so you don't ruin a drill bit on the concrete. Use compressed air canister with the thin straw in the hole to remove dust/debris prior to putting in screw. Spray a little WD40 into the hole before putting the screw in. Makes it much easier to insert screw. The comments about using soap on the screw before insertion are in a similar vein Screw position and depth: With cinderblock, I'd try to position the screw so it's not hitting the cavities on the inside of a cinder block (kind of like trying to put a screw through drywall into the stud behind the drywall instead of the stud bay). With solid concrete, this isn't an issue. Tapcon recommends at least 1" of screw into the concrete and maximum depth of 1.75"; for a 2x4 mounted as in this video (i.e. going through 1.5" of wood) that would be a total screw length of 2.5" to 3.25" Tapcon recommends drilling the hole in the concrete 0.25" deeper than the expected depth needed. Example: Mounting a 2x4 as in video with 2.5" screws means there will be 1.0" of screw in the concrete. Therefore, drill the hole in the concrete to a depth of 1.25". I ran a bead of construction adhesive along the back of the 2x4 just before mounting. Screws plus adhesive makes for a very secure mount. If you really wanted to beef it up, you could try using a washer but the tapered screw head is designed for countersinking and might not work too well with a washer. If you screw up and make a hole too big, use something like a toothpick or solid core copper wire in the hole as you insert the screw. I ran the first screw at the midpoint of the board, then used a level to place other screws. My boards were 8' so I placed the first screw at 4', then additional screws at 1, 3, 5, and 7 feet.

I LIKE HOW YOU USED A WOOD.TO HOLD UP THE OTHER WOOD,CAUSE I OFTEN WORK BY MYSELF.

What concrete drill bit did you use ?

This may be a stupid question but is there a special drill bit I need to buy to drill the pilot hole into the concrete? Do I need one for the wood and another for the concrete? Would this hold a cabinet on the wall?

How much weight can these hold?

What if you put weights on the wood, like a heavy cabinet.

Thank you for a DIY simple wood to concrete block video!

this video didn't need to 5 mins long but I like how you kept everything level

I would suggest a 3/16 or 5/32 masonry bit, deepending on tapcon used.

Are tge dry wall screws? (Sorry im absolutely new to all this)

Very informative, thank you!

Can this be done if the block is not filled with concrete

Informative and entertaining, thanks for posting

will this work for dry wall?

Thanks. Nice demonstration.

Do U need a special drill for masonry nails?

How do you take the screw out of the wood when it is in the concrete

I'm curious why you didn't counter sink the screws so that they're flush.

very useful video - good idea for me

Dude, this was great. Thanks!!!!!

So, what size tap con did you use? 11/2 for the wood plus an inch . Is that 2/1/2 inches? I am trying to add a 1x3 to the base of a wall in a remodel. The original (design?) was drywall on top of 1/2 inch plaster, why? no idea... for cabinet installation. I removed a pantry and am replastering the upper wall. long story short, I wanted to add drywall to the base of the wall for uniformity at 36 inches from the base. The tap cons aren't holding and then I need to attach one wall cabinet to the block. I guess it makes sense not to go into the hollow portion which is what I seem to be doing even though I am using short tap cons. Thanks for the video

Nice video. Thanks!

Very helpful. Thanks much👍

Drag the threads of the TapCon along the edge of a bar of bath soap. It only takes a little of the soap hanging on the threads to make driving easier. If you use enough of these, you will snap one off eventually while driving it and this will help. It won't effect holding strength or pull out.

Well some of these comments are really brutal. So my comment is going to be like this. I love to use those screws . they save me a lot of time when I have to install kitchen cabinets floating shelves or some built-in Furniture I just love them.

thanks for the vid maybe im crazy but i thought it was helpful to me now i can go hang my wood to wall with some confidence

Try using a impact driver to drive the tapcons in that ryobi don't have enough power

awesome video. learned so much! Going to do this for my husband haha

Appreciate your video.

Ryobi saw this video, apologized and quickly sent him a dewalt drill to “make things right”

Thanks for the video. You make it so easy. Now its my turn!

Very informative

Thank you for this video

Rotary Hammer Drill is necessary for pilot hole. Use a vacuum to clear dust. Also, drill pilot 1/4 inch deeper so dust can be collected when inserting Tapcon screw.

Will these work in solid poured concrete walls?

I have never had luck using tapcons in cinder block. Especially when using the 'recommended' bit size. Maybe I should use a step smaller than that? Also, using a hammer drill makes drilling through the concrete a ton easier and smoother.

That Ryboi drill is probably not the strongest, a hanmer drill will work a heck of a lot better. I know my makita drills through concrete like butter. Nice results, thanks for the vid

Great video!

Thank you for sharing that you know letting other people know that those screws do exist because even some professionals don't know they exist. I run into those people all the time when they see me installing they asked me you're not going to put those plastic anchors? I be like no I don't need them. And they're so surprised to see that it works without those anchors.

Two partially driven screws ready to hold 5 or 6 hundred pounds.

Helpful video.. thankx

A hammer drill would be much faster drilling into concrete. And I would use pressure treated wood when in contact with a concrete wall.

Haven't heard a dude yell at the camera like this since the last scotty kilmer video I watched.

great video ty

Did you drill into any hollow points?? I did and became worried lol

We’re your block hollow? Mine are and want to make Sure this is still a good option. Thanks!

awesome thank you

WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO McFLY FROM ``BACK TO THE FUTURE''...........

Hammer drill?

So many professionals in the comments. I'm curious at why they even took the time to watch

What about Sizing of Screws, Min and Max Length of Screw into wall in addition to thickenss of lumber, Countersinking max debth, number of screws per distance to avoid sagging, calculate max load per screw, Type and sizing of drill bit...........? 5 min to hold a board, drill a hole, and plant a screw?

Whoever sees this , I hope you have a blessed day ✌️

Thank you!

Thank you so much!

I think you lost your illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator.

Rule numero uno when using masonry bits, USE A HAMMERL DRILL. It's a MUST.

The holes should be drilled into the wood before it is against the wall. That is unless you want to destroy a perfectly good drill bit when it hits the cement.

The screw looks about 2" but using the benefit of the doubt, let's say the screw is 2-1/2". He drilled into a 2 x 4 so, 1-1/2" of the screw wasn't driven into anything behind the wood...that leaves 1" into the cinder block minus the head of the screw which extends beyond the surface so...3/4" into the cinder block. If the big bad wolf comes along and huffs and puffs on it...shack up with the other pigs.

Thanks!

How to actually attach wood to concrete. 1.) before anything, know exactly how much weight said wood will be holding booth horizontally and vertically. Everything else goes from there. If it’s hundreds of pounds you want masonry anchors and lag bolts, if a bike rack 2x4 will suffice 2.) Use a hammer drill with masonry bit and depth gauge to get screws flush 3.) Shop vac the dust out of the hole 4.) check board is level as you drill in each screw 5.) adding anchors is optional, but if it’s solid concrete and you want it to be permanent and unshakaeable, a few dollars for masonry anchors wouldn’t hurt. 6.) I know this guy wants to help people out, but demonstrating with the wrong tools, technique, and steps isn’t helping anyone.

This is amazing, lol.

I received this info from the Gardenfork RU-vid channel: Maybe it would had been better to explain how some center-blocks have 2 or more cavities (hollow). Depending on the building code, sometimes there will be filled with cement in the cavity (fillblocks). To be safe, it’s best to drill holes in the center blocks in the part that is solid. It’s like a stud in the centerblock, but it’s not. So drill holes in the solid part. You can match up a center block to the wall center block and see where there’s the solid part (1 inch in at the start of a center block and sometimes in the middle of the center block. Longer center blocks may have 3 cavities so drill the holes and if it’s solid straight through, it’s good. If you find your drill reaching the hollow part (rushed thru), then it’s hollow. Ask your hardware store clerk for more info or check out this link to get a better understanding: Gardenfork ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VPz80DaOjcY.html

Are you using a hammer drill?

Thank you!!!

Securely. Yes.

Sick ryobi

Thank you

I would use pressure treated lumber and the tapcon should be flush

You need to drill about 1/4 inch deeper than your Tapcon screw.

Hammer Drill is best for concrete drilling

Title ‘Helpful DIY’ I loved this , it was so bad it was actually good , hits like and subscribes 😳

thanky migo made mistake of drilling bigger hole thinking of inserts

It doesn't appear to me that those screws went all the way in, they are now flush with the wood.

What is a hammer drill with depth gauge? I’ll take Tools for $300, Alex.

Two screws - neither of which were properly sunk. This is what you call "how NOT to 'secure' anything to anything." Any foundation movement whatsoever is going to result in these 2x4's warping, and probably pulling the screws right back out. Hint: if the screw head is casting a shadow, you didn't do it correctly.

🤣😂🤣 Nailed it! You’re allowed to NOT post things you record. Dude had to know he was gonna get destroyed in the comments.

Why in the world would you use Phillips head?

is that a hammer drill you are using?

Great Vid: Thanks for sharing.

Did he drive right into a knot?

You sound like Greg from Succession, lol

All these experts comments. It was just an example . Great video my man.

"phillips head drill bit"