Anchored New Safe Down- What a PITA

[mcantar18c]

I tried finding an example of what I used and got stuck, but I can't find anything similar to it online. It was a smooth cylinder, tapped on top about 1/4" down there was a plug. The bottom was cut into 4 "leafs" that would expand as the plug was pushed down into them.

Sounds like maybe a female anchor?...

[SideShow Bob]

Mason bits and a hammer drill makes drilling concrete so much easier.....also the set tool for the RedHeads.....
The first anchor may be useable, you need to drive the wedge into place before attempting to install the bolt. Try using a rod or smaller bolt as a punch and hammer the wedge into place then try the bolt again.

[BuffCyclist]

Yes. Or measure everything so that you already had the anchors in place when ya moved it into the closet. just saying.

Yes, well, hindsight or some crap like that. Then again, when we moved the safe into the closet, the only way to get it into the corner was to slide it, so if the red head anchors were already installed, we would have had to lift it vertically and set it down on the anchors.

If it's a drop-in style anchor you might be able to drill out the plug then remove the sleeve. Sometimes tapping the top of the sleeve for a bolt after you drill the plug makes it easier to get the sleeve out. Be patient it's "fiddly" and you'll probably have to move the safe first. All that said if you set two Red Heads and it's in a tight surround, two is probably enough.

Thats kind of what my plan was if I couldn't get my pin puller to work. I rigged up a 15" piece of 3/8"-16 threaded rod, put about a 5" piece of 2" diameter aluminum on it (already had the hold drilled in it), and two nuts with fender washers on the top side. Really hoping a few hard whacks and it will pop out, but I have the carbide drill bits at home if necessary.

Sounds like maybe a female anchor?...

It looks exactly like the one in the bottom right, smooth sided, was about 2" long and 1/2" in diameter. Thats what the guy said I needed. Well the first guy said I needed was 4x Tapcon anchors. He handed me some 1.5" long, 1/4" diameter screws and said thats all you need, will be more than enough to hold down anything in concrete. I explained that it was a 500lb safe and he said thats good enough. Luckily, my Fiancee called me at that time and he walked off so I could set the screws down lol.

Mason bits and a hammer drill makes drilling concrete so much easier.....also the set tool for the RedHeads.....
The first anchor may be useable, you need to drive the wedge into place before attempting to install the bolt. Try using a rod or smaller bolt as a punch and hammer the wedge into place then try the bolt again.

I was pounding the anchor above (see pic) very hard into the concrete with a punch and my giant hammer. Even after 20-25 very hard whacks, when I would try to put the bolt in, it would thread a tiny bit and then the anchor would slowly pull up. I should have just put the anchors back when I asked the guy what bolt size it used and he said '3/8"'. I said, yea thats good and all but whats the pitch? He said, that doesn't matter, just a 3/8" bolt. Looking at it, I was able to tell it was a coarse thread pitch, but the packaging didn't say one way or the other.

What stinks the most is that I have to wait until Wednesday morning before I get home and then I'll sleep all day to wake up around 3pm and then get to try my pin puller. If the nights weren't so long right now, I would totally drive an hour home just to try to remove it, then come back to work.

[baglock1]

Mine was a PITA as well. All four holes hit rebar about 1/2" from the depth I needed. Due to the constraints of the location, my only option was to slide it out a little and try again. I guess the rebar was running in the same direction because guess what happened on the next set of holes?

I said to hell with it and shoved the safe back against the wall. I then went out and bought 2 cases of of Old English malt liquor and left them on top of the safe. I figure the bad guys will grab that and leave before dealing with the safe.

Seriously, I ended up having to install the anchors at 45* angles and then installed a steel wedge under the bolt head. I don't like it but it's the best I could come up with short of building a steel frame to go under it (frame bolts to floor; safe bolts to frame).

[BuffCyclist]

Mine was a PITA as well. All four holes hit rebar about 1/2" from the depth I needed. Due to the constraints of the location, my only option was to slide it out a little and try again. I guess the rebar was running in the same direction because guess what happened on the next set of holes?

I said to hell with it and shoved the safe back against the wall. I then went out and bought 2 cases of of Old English malt liquor and left them on top of the safe. I figure the bad guys will grab that and leave before dealing with the safe.

Seriously, I ended up having to install the anchors at 45* angles and then installed a steel wedge under the bolt head. I don't like it but it's the best I could come up with short of building a steel frame to go under it (frame bolts to floor; safe bolts to frame).

Yea, I was afraid I would hit some rebar but got lucky enough that none of the holes hit it. However, there was one hole that i could have sworn i hit a hardened rock or something, because i spent a good 15min drilling through not even 1/4" of an inch, then after that it drilled through very easily.

What I'm taking away from this is that I need to buy a hammer drill. I thought they were really expensive, but after looking online they can be had for less than $100.

[<MADDOG>]

Before you buy one, you may wish to try Home Depot, or your local rental center like Sunstate, United, or Ahern, and rent one. Hate to see you buy one and never use it again.

Hell, check out a pawn shop.

[BuffCyclist]

Before you buy one, you may wish to try Home Depot, or your local rental center like Sunstate, United, or Ahern, and rent one. Hate to see you buy one and never use it again.

Hell, check out a pawn shop.

Yea, well I've been looking for a quality corded drill and a hammer drill would fit that bill (especially since its only about $30 more than the drill I was looking at getting). Only having to drill 1 more hole though, I don't plan on buying it for this specific application.

[Irving]

I don't know, three out of four bolts in a narrow closet sounds good to me.

[Shootersfab]

I used double sided tape on the bottom of mine.... hasn't budged...

[Inconel710]

I'm surprised your safe didn't come with a sheet of paper showing where to mark the floor. My bedside safe had one.