Nailing Into Concrete Wall

If you expect to be doing a lot of concrete nailing you may want to consider investing in a powder actuated nailer.

Nailing into concrete wall.

The wood could be a 2 x 4 bottom plate for a wall or a simple 2 x 2 cleat for some utility shelving in your basement or garage. Some concrete nails are the cut nail design shown in the photo with a thick flat shank and a tapering v profile. Actual gunpowder from a modified 22 caliber shell propels specially designed nails through the wood and into the masonry. A concrete nail gun is a dead simple tool consisting of a hollow metal barrel and a firing pin.

You can use regular 16d sinker nails as concrete nails in an upcoming project where you need to attach a piece of treated lumber to a poured concrete slab or a wall. My diy way to screw brackets into cement same as brick. Other nails have a thick shank that sometimes has spiral ridges for improved holding power. How to drill into concrete to hang a tv shelves racks etc.

Concrete nails are shaped like thick common nails. Hold a masonry nail against the concrete wall with your fingers. Professional carpenters often use a powder actuated nailer for this a tool that fires special nails through the wood and into the concrete using 22 caliber gun powder cartridges. Hammer the nail into the anchor.

These nails are cheap hold well as long as they penetrate at least inch into the concrete and are extremely hard to pull out. Drill a pilot hole into the concrete wall using a drill and masonry bit. Masonry nail anchors will hold light to medium weight objects such as furring. These nails are driven through a board and into concrete underneath much like nailing a wood board to a wood floor.

Choose a length that will penetrate the concrete at least 1 inch. They can be used in concrete block and brick. The hole should be the same size in diameter as the masonry nail anchor. Place the tip of the masonry nail against the marking you made and hold it steady with your fingers.

Insert the anchor into the hole so the top rim is flush with the surface of the wall. Both hex head and phillips head styles are available. A masonry nail also known as a concrete nail is made of tough steel and designed with fluted shafts that help them drive into concrete without breaking.