Attaching wood shelving to cinder block walls.

[Uncle Hook]

I need to attach some 2 by 4s to 50 year "cinder block" walls. Plan to use lag bolts with lead anchors unless someone has a better suggestion.

Is it better to drill holes into the cinder blocks or into the cement mortar layer between the blocks?

I don't have a hammer drill and am planning to use a regular corded drill. How much improvement do hammer drills offer for this sort of thing?

[WayneJ]

Just another thought on atachments. Depending on how much weight you are putting on the shelves. Have you ever used "Tap Cons". They are made to screw right into cinder block or cement. They hold well and don't need the big hole lead anchors use.They usualy come with the proper drill in the package.With a big fender washer under the head it should hold good.
Wayne

[Hellrazor]

I'd only use tapcons if you are fastening into the mortar joints.

[jabe]

I use only 3/16" or 1/4" tapcon screws into the cinder block not the motar joints. I use a regular drill as cinder blocks are soft and you don't need a hammer drill. I dip the mason bit in water couple times during the drilling process just to cool it and it prevents the silver solder holding the carbide tip to fail. It also keeps the bit sharper longer. Length of the screws will be determined if the blocks are grouted or not and the thickness of the wood you're fastening. I cannot recommend the amount of srews to be used, check with the manufacturer's recommendation for load rating. Hope this helps.

[crokett]

If you want someting permanent, use tapcons and construction adhesive. The 2x4 will fail before the glue does. DAMHIK.

[Tequila]

I've used tapcons a lot in the past. They work very well, especially for static applications. I'd go with tapcons for the shelf - and definitely only in the mortar layer.

I've had a few cases of tapcons failing in "dynamic" applications such as railings. Lead anchors seem to be able to handle motion much better than the tapcons can.

As for your question of hammer drill vs regular, they're night and day different. You can definitely get away with using a regular drill with a masonry bit if you've got a reasonable number to install. If you've got a lot (>25?) you might want to consider a cheap hammerdrill.

One more option that I've had a lot of success with is powder actuated fasteners. I'm not sure if that's an option for you, but I've never had one of them fail, and they're much easier to install than tapcons or lead anchors, since there's no masonry drilling to do.

[DaveStL]

I need to attach some 2 by 4s to 50 year "cinder block" walls. Plan to use lag bolts with lead anchors unless someone has a better suggestion.

Is it better to drill holes into the cinder blocks or into the cement mortar layer between the blocks?

I don't have a hammer drill and am planning to use a regular corded drill. How much improvement do hammer drills offer for this sort of thing?

I put up a lot of shelving and grids in the garage. Two of three walls are cinder block. I used 1/4" mollies, and drilled into the voids on the blocks themselves. Besides the fact that they're very solid, the nice thing about mollies is that you can easily get the shelves perfectly level, even if the bit wanders a little.

As jabe said, the cinder block is soft enough that a masonry bit works ok, esp. if you keep the bits cool by frequently dipping them in water. For the poured concrete wall, though, I had to buy a rotohammer.

[newbie2wood]

If the cinder blocks are in the basement, I would try to avoid putting holes into them. I would use construction adhesive. However, if you must attach the stud to the wall, tapcons will work very well. Drill into the cinder blocks, not the mortar. You should drill into the web area of the block, otherwise use anchors if you are drilling into the void.

A hammer drill is not necessary but make sure to get the correct drill bit.
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Vaporizer-info.com

[Uncle Hook]

You should drill into the web area of the block

I see there are different opinions about where to drill the holes. What is the web area of the block? Why drill in the web area as opposed to some other area or in the mortar? Is it ease of drilling, or strength of the attachment?

On closer inspection, the blocks may actually be course cement (rather than cinder) blocks. They form a foundation wall in a walk out basement / garage. The blocks are a blue grey color. They seem darker and corser than the light grey cement blocks I have seen in recent years. Some of the walls are interior, while others are exterior. My thought is to attach studs to the walls and then attach shevles to the studs.

I appreciate everyones replies and plan to check out the tapcon screws.

[newbie2wood]

A cinder block has 2 hollow spaces. Looking at the larger "solid" face of the block, the web is basically the left and right edges and the center portion of the block. The web area provides the greatest strength of attachment. You can drill into the void but if you are not careful you will cause the area around the hole to crumble.

A lot of people recommend drilling into the mortar because it is much easier to drill. However, if it is easier to drill into I would question the holding strength. I'm not sure what your project is but I guess you can go this route if the project is not too heavy and/or anchors are utilized.
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MylieKayeandJackAims live

[Hellrazor]

Its not about easier to drill, its about having something solid around 100% of the tapcon. You could put a 6" tapcon into a block and less than 1/2" is bearing. Heavy weight could allow the screw to tilt if its in hollow block, thats not going to happen if its in a solid mass.