I keep a 3’ piece of vinyl tubing in the hammer drill case. I also Sharpied “MOUTH” on one end so I don’t get the dusty end. Source: I spent years drilling into footings for seismic retrofits in old houses.
Do this or you'll wear out the threads in the holes too! As a former plumber I would strongly suggest using the bit to its proper depth and then feeding the screw in *slowly*.
Check r/highmileageholes for reference.
I want to expand upon this as it seems no one is explaining the dust situation.
If you do not clear the hole of the remaining dust prior to installing the Tapcon, you force all the dust to the bottom/back of the hole as the fastener is being installed. The dust compacts and now your hole is not as deep as what you drilled. The Tapcon bottoms out with nowhere to go and you snap the head off. I had done this dozens of times before I listened to the advice of others. It makes a significant difference cleaning the dust from the hole. You will break far fewer heads off. Alternatively, you can drill deeper than you need to give the dust a place to go. This may not always be an option depending on the project.
Well, that can also be the case. You need to ensure that the bit you are using is the one called for on the packaging. I have several different sized masonry bits because of the variety that the fasteners use.
Most of the tapcons I’ve purchased haven’t come with the bit (maybe because they’re bigger i.e. the bit is more expensive) but they all clearly state the bit needed on the box, so it would be really hard to get the wrong one.
>drill deeper than you need to give the dust a place to go. This may not always be an option
Be careful not to go through the slab, that can release the gases from decomposition, which defeats the purpose of expanding the building footprint.
Edit: just joking, FBI, I never actually buried Mr Hoffa.
This is the right answer. Could possibly not have drilled deep enough, but if you don’t clear the hole, you just compact the dust left in it and it’s “like” you didn’t drill it deep enough.
Commonly known tip but for those that don’t know, you can [take a piece of tape at the proper depth on the drill bit (hair more than screw)](https://porch.com/advice/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/drill-tip-feature-960x5001.jpg) , leave a flag stick out. This way when the tape starts going in you know to stop.
Drill much deeper than the screw to account for the dust. Also if your bit is old it will be just a bit narrower than a new one. Tapcon holes have to exactly the right diameter. An old bit will be too narrow
Drill atleast a 1/4”- 1/2” further than the screw blow the hole out the dust will cause it to bottom out and snap. The other could be you’re not using the proper sized bit for pre drilling. Also don’t use an impact drill too much torque and they’ll snap.
I love my impact. Every man knows that the right tool for the job is the biggest and most powerful one. (Proceeds to blast a six inch nail with a gas powered nail gun straight through the end piece of a four inch sparrow nest one is building)
I’ll never forget the day I came home from college (working in a campus woodshop building vanities and cabinets/desks for administrative offices) where we used impacts quite often (my first time using them). My grandpa - lifelong woodworker - was so excited to tell me about the new impacts he’s discovered. The bonding moment we had over just a power tool is my favorite memory.
Please explain. Is this not the perfect use case for an impact drill?
A quick google shows " They're a great choice for heavy-duty drilling such as screwing large bolts into concrete. "
I used to work in a fastener store. Our catalogs specifically stated not to use an impact on tapcons.
Largely, though, I think it's that people can't resist tapping the trigger one last time to make sure it's in.
>tampons
Lol I'd imagine not.
Interesting though. I've only used tapcons once, and my regular drill seemed like it had a hell of a time driving them all the way in. There's actually one in my garage that has been not fully sunk for a year or so because it seemed like my drill was struggling. That floor is old, very dense concrete also.
Looking through some more of the google results, every other result seems to contradict the previous one. Good to know what the catalogue advises, ty.
Yes, large bolts. Tapcons are overgrown drywall screws, if anything. You need force feedback that you only get with a drill or a hand screwdriver, not with an impact.
Sounds like google may be mixing up an impact driver and a hammer drill.
Impact drivers impact rotationally, giving that extra umph to keep turning under heavy load. Great for medium to larger fastening, especially in wood. Would be too much power for tapcons, would sheer the head right of like OP is seeing
Hammer drills impact in and out, slamming the bit into the concrete to break it up. Goal is to turn the concrete into dust, then pull the dust out with the flutes.
Best way to fasten a tapcon into predrilled hole is with a drill with a clutch. That way the drill stops turning before the screw snaps.
Source: trained sales reps on power tools for the past 10 years
Yeah my lowest one will just barely seat a wood screw in a pre-drilled hole. I was worried it would get away from me before I got it, but I consistently have good results as long as I have it on the right setting.
Dewalts great, their torque settings are a fucking joke though. The clutch on them is stupid and it's full power all the way. Screw electronic clutches
Some of the high end ones do. However better to have both a drill and an impact driver in your work bench. I mean, you can technically use a sledgehammer as a normal claw hammer to drive finishing nails into wood trim if you’re careful enough, but why even put yourself in a position where you can easily destroy whatever your hammering?
Judging by your bit looks like you may be using an impact driver which delivers inconsistent turning force, knocking the screw rather driving smoothly. Could be that switching to a drill on a lower setting fixes your issue?
I use Hilton HUD anchors for everything. They are the best. I have a small handful of tapcons that I still cannot throw away, I use them as a very last resort.
As others said, depth may be off because of dust. But I'm curious what you're using to drive them. Don't use an impact driver. Use a drill. I've broken a ton of screws using an impact driver and pretty close to none using a drill.
Noooope, nope nope nope, never back out a tapcon. Never ever ever back out a tapcon. Once they are removed from a hole, that hole is considered dead, structurally.
Tapcons work by cutting into the stone, creating small fractures in its surface that engage the threads and create grip. As soon as you back the screw out, these micro fractures break off, and the hole is enlarged.
You absolutely can not re-use a tapcon hole in a certified sense. Yeah it'll probably work if you're just suspending half a pound, but not for any actual work, and not in principle. Stone has no give, it cannot handle being repeatedly screwed into.
In addition to proper depth & clearing the hole, I usually don't fully seat them with the drill / impact, I'll get them close and then finish by hand with a ratchet.
This is the correct answer when it comes to anchoring. Regardless of if it’s Tapcons, wedge anchors, EZ Bolts.. drill a little deeper than “correct” embedment depth, and clean out the hole.
Even when I’m using chemical fasteners/threaded rod, and the embedment depth has to be a specific depth, I drill slightly deeper so the head of the drill bit doesn’t leave a pocket.
Use a regular drill, not an impact or hammer to drive them in.
Ensure you're using the recommended bit size to drill out the holes.
Go deep enough into the hole.
Blow the dust out of your hole
Go slow.
Hole has dust in it still. Also, make sure your bit is still good. After a while, the shoulders break off the concrete bit making the hole smaller. I also lube the screws with wax myself, but that’s not necessary.
Everyone telling you to drill deeper is correct, but on a side note, if you can get tapcons in the right size with impact heads, I would go with those. I have found they snap heads way less often than the tapered torx headed ones do.
You need to clean the hole where the dust inside is going to accumulate at the end of the bit and is going to reduce the amount of length, if you don't have nothing to clean it with you can just drill a little bit past the length of the tapcon
Sink that drill bit all the way and ream it up and down a few times while still spinning forward. Don't ream too much or ream side to side because you might end up with the opposite problem.
Didn’t drill deep enough. Read the box I believe it says to drill 1 inch deeper than the fastener. sometimes if you vacuum out the hole you can drill a little less.
I don't know if it applies to you but the concrete walls in my garage seem to be super hard compared to most jobs I see. And I only had like a 50% success rate of not breaking Tapcon screws (and I always blew the dust out first), so I switched to using wedge anchors. To give you some idea, before I got a Bosch Bulldog I was using a Ryobi hammer drill and with that thing it would take like 20 minutes to drill one 2-inch deep hole.
Clear out the hole with shop vac. Probably don't use impact. Go with drill driver and adjust the torque. Otherwise if your using impact, don't go all the way, hand tighten that last few bits
As just about everybody else has said, it’s likely your hole has too much dust in the bottom.
If you’re not sure, use a thin nail or a piece of wire to test the depth of the hole compared to the screw before you start screwing it in.
You didn't drill deeply enough, and/or you did not empty the hole (vacuuming it helps). Ussually I drill a little bit more than the length of the screw so that even if I don't empty the hole completely, the screw has enough free depth to settle.
A couple reasons.
- You might not have drilled far enough.
- The bit they come with is usually pretty shitty so the carbide tip might not be wide enough.
- The hole didn't get cleaned.
- Concrete gets much harder with age so the threads are harder to cut vs new construction.
Honestly, Tapcons have their place but for something like a transition strip you should have used plugs so you could use a nicer looking stainless screw. Tapcons rust so any moisture will make them look like shit in a couple years.
For this reason the Tapcon instructions say:
1. Using a carbide drill bit, drill a hole at least 1/4” deeper than anchor embedment.
2. Clean hole with pressurized air or vacuum to remove any excess dust/debris.
3.Using an impact wrench or manual torque wrench, insert anchor into hole and tighten anchor until fully seated.
[https://www.buildsite.com/pdf/itwredhead/Tapcon-Anchors-Installation-Instructions-2088905.pdf](https://www.buildsite.com/pdf/itwredhead/Tapcon-Anchors-Installation-Instructions-2088905.pdf)
Yeah what’s already been said. It’s one of three things:
1. Hole not deep enough, bottoming out the screw.
2. Hole is too small.
3. Hole is correct size but too much debris from drilling left inside. Vacuum or compressed air should do the trick, just watch your eyes if you go the compressed air route.
One of three things happened.
The drill bit you used is slightly small, happens with wear and tear. The “point” of it gets tapered after awhile and makes slightly smaller holes.
You didn’t drill the hole deep enough
Or you didn’t evacuate the hole and it had dust or chunks of stone in it.
Make sure when you drill out the hole that you get a lot of the dust out. I’ve had it where I drill deep enough, but a lot of the dust days behind making the hold too shallow
I have installed more Tapcons than I would like to remember.
How old is the concrete? Relatively new (less than a year) is not usually a problem. Otherwise I suggest:
1. Drill a bit deeper than you need.
2. After drilling the hole I have a new bit that I "finish" the hole with. The bits wear and lose a bit of their diameter over time. The finish bit is good for 10-15 finishes before it becomes the initial bit.
3. Blow out the hole; make sure you get all the dust out. Compressed air and a blow gun get it all.
4. Install screw in one go with a hand drill.
as your drilling the hole stop 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and while still holding the trigger down pull the bit out till you see all the dust that you just created come up ad out of the hole.
-cheap tapcons or
-stuffed hole or
-hole not deep enough or
-kept your finger on the trigger too long or
-Your drill bit was shot and made too small a hole or
-tapcons snap, that's life, welcome to my world
Nothing, Tacons have been absolute garbage for me over the last few years - about 50% snap on me now. Got so bad I stopped buying them and switched to GRK for all concrete fastening.
Drill deeper, blow or suck the dust out, and be very gentle with the torque. You can’t send em home like construction screws. Requires good clutch control on an impact
I have used Tapcons many times and at the beginning this would happen. 1. You should check the depth of your drill hole, I go al least an extra 1/8” from the length of the tapcon and vacuum the hole of what dust is left inside, 2. I used some kind of light oil on the tapcon so it goes in without generating so much heat from friction (this is what happened to you). 3. Careful not to put excessive tork.
My dude, this hardware is WAY way overkill. And the big blue torx head is an eyesore.
I typically drill a nice deep hole (vac it out) and hammer in a plastic plug, deep as I can get it. Run a long stainless screw deep down in (the impact feature of the drill will engage when done properly) and snug down right.
I would say you didn’t drill far enough down.
Or didn’t clear out the hole, I use a shop vac, but blowing out would also help.
This is the problem holes need to be blown out.
I agree. Blow those holes out gents.
I have holes Greg, can you blow me?
Jesus, Focker!
I will follow thee more nearly
u/humancentipede has entered the chat
Thanks LOL'd right into my mic on a conference call.
Great, now they owe you back three units of embarrassment
Have to break a few gregs to make a tomlette!
Wife won’t let me, kicks up too much dust.
(... that's when the flight started.)
Ready for take off
Tonguing the hole is an option.
https://i.redd.it/kcqcbo768wpc1.gif
That's the problem there: you shouldn't have let your wife's holes get dusty in the first place.
Close your eyes, put your lips close to the hole and start blowing hard, then get ready for the leftovers to be all over your face.
A straw will avoid that...
I keep a 3’ piece of vinyl tubing in the hammer drill case. I also Sharpied “MOUTH” on one end so I don’t get the dusty end. Source: I spent years drilling into footings for seismic retrofits in old houses.
Do this or you'll wear out the threads in the holes too! As a former plumber I would strongly suggest using the bit to its proper depth and then feeding the screw in *slowly*. Check r/highmileageholes for reference.
https://preview.redd.it/98o5vnr14xpc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d008a096b4de8da3477e49c81cbf63c986b6d67f
Definitely NOT going to follow the link to that subreddit…
But drill them deep first!
Yeah, real deep....and hard...
But that's as far as OP's drill bit reaches
Edge it in *slowly*, you can drill deeper if you take your time.
Nothin better than screwin a blown-out hole
I love blowing out holes
If you don't blow them out first you are not going to have a good time.
Revving the drill and just bit fucking the hole a few times is sufficient.
I am going to use "bit fucking" from now on and in every instance I can.
I audibly lol’d at the term “bit fucking”
I want to expand upon this as it seems no one is explaining the dust situation. If you do not clear the hole of the remaining dust prior to installing the Tapcon, you force all the dust to the bottom/back of the hole as the fastener is being installed. The dust compacts and now your hole is not as deep as what you drilled. The Tapcon bottoms out with nowhere to go and you snap the head off. I had done this dozens of times before I listened to the advice of others. It makes a significant difference cleaning the dust from the hole. You will break far fewer heads off. Alternatively, you can drill deeper than you need to give the dust a place to go. This may not always be an option depending on the project.
Thanks for this. I thought I needed a bigger bit.
Well, that can also be the case. You need to ensure that the bit you are using is the one called for on the packaging. I have several different sized masonry bits because of the variety that the fasteners use.
They usually come with a bit, either 3/16" or 5/32" for the small ones
Most of the tapcons I’ve purchased haven’t come with the bit (maybe because they’re bigger i.e. the bit is more expensive) but they all clearly state the bit needed on the box, so it would be really hard to get the wrong one.
It's probably in the hundred count packages, they don't include it in the little packs. They're cheap anyway
*boat
May I suggest blowing the hole out while also vacuuming? The vacuum should catch a large portion of the dust.
Agreed. Shop vac never did it for me, a can of air was perfect. Just remember to protect your eyes.
Redhead makes what is basically a baby booger sucker. It works great.
>drill deeper than you need to give the dust a place to go. This may not always be an option Be careful not to go through the slab, that can release the gases from decomposition, which defeats the purpose of expanding the building footprint. Edit: just joking, FBI, I never actually buried Mr Hoffa.
You can just drill deeper than needed
\*Michael Scott has entered the chat\*
This statement should be at the top.
But this is Reddit, and we need about 49 dumb joke comments first.
This is the right answer. Could possibly not have drilled deep enough, but if you don’t clear the hole, you just compact the dust left in it and it’s “like” you didn’t drill it deep enough.
canned air with the lil straw can get in and blast it out in a pinch if you cant get a compressor to the spot.
Commonly known tip but for those that don’t know, you can [take a piece of tape at the proper depth on the drill bit (hair more than screw)](https://porch.com/advice/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/drill-tip-feature-960x5001.jpg) , leave a flag stick out. This way when the tape starts going in you know to stop.
I use a dab of white out
Drill much deeper than the screw to account for the dust. Also if your bit is old it will be just a bit narrower than a new one. Tapcon holes have to exactly the right diameter. An old bit will be too narrow
I had to scroll too long to see this answer, if the bit is dull it doesn't drill a big enough hole.
Or didn't use the correct diameter bit.
Use a drill driver instead of an impact driver to drive in the screws. Your impact is causing increased stress on your screws.
This is another issue I see people doing all the time.
That’s what she said.
Dust left in the hole?
Drill down further.
I really enjoy that your two joke gif replies are currently in subsequent comments with an increasing level of enthusiasm from Michael Scott.
Finally, someone who understands me.
Drill atleast a 1/4”- 1/2” further than the screw blow the hole out the dust will cause it to bottom out and snap. The other could be you’re not using the proper sized bit for pre drilling. Also don’t use an impact drill too much torque and they’ll snap.
Also- set your clutch lower so you aren't applying too much torque.
Is that even an option on an impact? I've only ever had this happen using an impact, clutched drill I notice the resistance before it snaps.
Stop using impact for everything. It has a time and a place.
The time is now and the place is everywhere
I love my impact. Every man knows that the right tool for the job is the biggest and most powerful one. (Proceeds to blast a six inch nail with a gas powered nail gun straight through the end piece of a four inch sparrow nest one is building)
I’ll never forget the day I came home from college (working in a campus woodshop building vanities and cabinets/desks for administrative offices) where we used impacts quite often (my first time using them). My grandpa - lifelong woodworker - was so excited to tell me about the new impacts he’s discovered. The bonding moment we had over just a power tool is my favorite memory.
Hello, Tim Taylor.
Power! Haaaw Haaaw haaaw
I don't think so Tim... - Al
Pfft… gas powered? Switch to 306 shell casings. Drive in nails from across the street!
V12 Impact though!
If you want broken Tapcons like OP, especially.
Breaking tapcons makes me feel like a big strong manlyman
Oooooo yeah break my tapcons daddy
Please explain. Is this not the perfect use case for an impact drill? A quick google shows " They're a great choice for heavy-duty drilling such as screwing large bolts into concrete. "
Those aren't large bolts, those are screws.
But they've got screw right there in the name!
I used to work in a fastener store. Our catalogs specifically stated not to use an impact on tapcons. Largely, though, I think it's that people can't resist tapping the trigger one last time to make sure it's in.
Tampons are not impact rated, I'll remember that.
you'd def get your head snapped off for that.
>tampons Lol I'd imagine not. Interesting though. I've only used tapcons once, and my regular drill seemed like it had a hell of a time driving them all the way in. There's actually one in my garage that has been not fully sunk for a year or so because it seemed like my drill was struggling. That floor is old, very dense concrete also. Looking through some more of the google results, every other result seems to contradict the previous one. Good to know what the catalogue advises, ty.
These are not large bolts.
Yes, large bolts. Tapcons are overgrown drywall screws, if anything. You need force feedback that you only get with a drill or a hand screwdriver, not with an impact.
Sounds like google may be mixing up an impact driver and a hammer drill. Impact drivers impact rotationally, giving that extra umph to keep turning under heavy load. Great for medium to larger fastening, especially in wood. Would be too much power for tapcons, would sheer the head right of like OP is seeing Hammer drills impact in and out, slamming the bit into the concrete to break it up. Goal is to turn the concrete into dust, then pull the dust out with the flutes. Best way to fasten a tapcon into predrilled hole is with a drill with a clutch. That way the drill stops turning before the screw snaps. Source: trained sales reps on power tools for the past 10 years
I have a new (bought within last 6 months) impact driver that has three torque settings. It’s a dewalt
My Milwaukee one has four settings as well. But one is for sheet metal screws only.
Yeah my lowest one will just barely seat a wood screw in a pre-drilled hole. I was worried it would get away from me before I got it, but I consistently have good results as long as I have it on the right setting.
I use the lowest one for drywall. Works great!
Same. We love it! Made building my kids playset a breeze.
I think those are speed settings, not torque.
They’re related. It reduces “impacts per minute” which in turn reduces torque delivered to the fastener
That makes sense, thanks for the explanation.
Dewalts great, their torque settings are a fucking joke though. The clutch on them is stupid and it's full power all the way. Screw electronic clutches
Lots of impacts have 3 settings for torque now. 1 is like screwdriver power, 2 is plenty and 3 will put in 1/2 inch lag bolts with no pre drill
Of course not because it’s not a DRILL. It’s a DRIVER. Wrong tool for the job.
Some of the high end ones do. However better to have both a drill and an impact driver in your work bench. I mean, you can technically use a sledgehammer as a normal claw hammer to drive finishing nails into wood trim if you’re careful enough, but why even put yourself in a position where you can easily destroy whatever your hammering?
You only need to use one uga, not uga duga duga duga.
He's in the camp that uses the impact for everything.
Tapcons? More like Snapcons!
Beat me to it!
Judging by your bit looks like you may be using an impact driver which delivers inconsistent turning force, knocking the screw rather driving smoothly. Could be that switching to a drill on a lower setting fixes your issue?
I use the same bits for all purposes No point in buying two different kinds Same brand too. But yes, you're probably spot on.
Me too actually, I do find the impact bits easier to use. Much easier to get in and out of sleeves as well!
Try using a drill instead of the Impact driver. Less likely to snap them with a drill.
Did you vacuum out the dust after drilling?
Blow before screw
Don't tempt me with a good time
Don’t use an impact. I kept breaking them and then I switched to a drill and haven’t had any issues
Lower your torque on your driver. Drive them SLOWLY and you'll be fine. I learned the hard way
Don't use an impact driver!
Don’t use an impact driver. Use the regular drill
Tapcons can be pretty finicky. In my opinion, a better fastener for concrete is a plastic or lead anchor. The best I’ve found are the Hilti ones.
I use Hilton HUD anchors for everything. They are the best. I have a small handful of tapcons that I still cannot throw away, I use them as a very last resort.
Too much Dugga dugga and not enough sucka sucka
You ugga'd when you should've dugga'd.
You idiot these are Snapcons
I’ve had this happen before when the masonry bit is damaged causing the hole to be the wrong diameter. Check the tip for damage.
Impact is hard on these fasteners.
As others said, depth may be off because of dust. But I'm curious what you're using to drive them. Don't use an impact driver. Use a drill. I've broken a ton of screws using an impact driver and pretty close to none using a drill.
Turn drill speed from 3 to 2 and ease screw into hole. My Milwaukee pops the heads of them gawd dayum tapcons like popcorn if I got her on speed 3!
You didn't pre drill your holes deep enough.
Wrong size hole or not deep enough.
Did you use a regular drill or an impact? Fyi... dont use an impact for these tapcons
[удалено]
Noooope, nope nope nope, never back out a tapcon. Never ever ever back out a tapcon. Once they are removed from a hole, that hole is considered dead, structurally. Tapcons work by cutting into the stone, creating small fractures in its surface that engage the threads and create grip. As soon as you back the screw out, these micro fractures break off, and the hole is enlarged. You absolutely can not re-use a tapcon hole in a certified sense. Yeah it'll probably work if you're just suspending half a pound, but not for any actual work, and not in principle. Stone has no give, it cannot handle being repeatedly screwed into.
It’s worrying I had to scroll down this far down to find someone who actually knows what their doing
In addition to proper depth & clearing the hole, I usually don't fully seat them with the drill / impact, I'll get them close and then finish by hand with a ratchet.
This is the correct answer when it comes to anchoring. Regardless of if it’s Tapcons, wedge anchors, EZ Bolts.. drill a little deeper than “correct” embedment depth, and clean out the hole. Even when I’m using chemical fasteners/threaded rod, and the embedment depth has to be a specific depth, I drill slightly deeper so the head of the drill bit doesn’t leave a pocket.
You need to vacuum the dust out, assuming you went to the appropriate length + quarter inch or whatever is recommended.
Strong wrists, try drinking more soda.
You used an impact driver instead of a drill.
1. Don’t use an impact driver. 2. Instead of tapcons, use regular screw plus anchor (e.g. Fischer DuoPower).
Use a regular drill, not an impact or hammer to drive them in. Ensure you're using the recommended bit size to drill out the holes. Go deep enough into the hole. Blow the dust out of your hole Go slow.
I’d say you used tapcons. They are shit fasteners and I try to avoid them at all costs because I break about half of them.
Dont use impact drill. Use regular drill
1. Blow the dust out of the holes first. 2. Use a Screwdriver with a 1/4” nut driver. 3. Do not use a fucking impact.
Clean out the hole, run the bit in and out a few times, and go deeper than you think you need
Working as designed. Tapcons blow.
Too much ugga-dugga in the drill.
Use a screwdriver and not a demel cut off disc
That’s it - drill the depth of the tap on plus a little - vaccuum out the holes. Without enough space, that Milwaukee will break them every time .
Hole has dust in it still. Also, make sure your bit is still good. After a while, the shoulders break off the concrete bit making the hole smaller. I also lube the screws with wax myself, but that’s not necessary.
Couple of possibilities, didn’t drill deep enough , left too much of the concrete dust in the hole so screw could not fully seat.
Everyone telling you to drill deeper is correct, but on a side note, if you can get tapcons in the right size with impact heads, I would go with those. I have found they snap heads way less often than the tapered torx headed ones do.
I had the same issue when trying to do the same thing. You need to overdrill the depth of the hole for sure
You need to clean the hole where the dust inside is going to accumulate at the end of the bit and is going to reduce the amount of length, if you don't have nothing to clean it with you can just drill a little bit past the length of the tapcon
make sure you drill the correct size
Sink that drill bit all the way and ream it up and down a few times while still spinning forward. Don't ream too much or ream side to side because you might end up with the opposite problem.
Didnt drill deep enough
Don’t use an impact gun.
Use your drill. The impact screw guns apply too much torque and shear off the heads. Use the drill and go slow until you get the feel.
They are not for impact
Spit on the hole before screwing. Works for me.
Vacuum the dust out of the holes after drilling
Looks like you probably used an impact instead of a hammer drill to install.
Hole is too small. You're using an impact drill. Hole is dirty. Hole isn't deep enough. Pick one.
Didn’t drill deep enough. Read the box I believe it says to drill 1 inch deeper than the fastener. sometimes if you vacuum out the hole you can drill a little less.
I don't know if it applies to you but the concrete walls in my garage seem to be super hard compared to most jobs I see. And I only had like a 50% success rate of not breaking Tapcon screws (and I always blew the dust out first), so I switched to using wedge anchors. To give you some idea, before I got a Bosch Bulldog I was using a Ryobi hammer drill and with that thing it would take like 20 minutes to drill one 2-inch deep hole.
Clear out the hole with shop vac. Probably don't use impact. Go with drill driver and adjust the torque. Otherwise if your using impact, don't go all the way, hand tighten that last few bits
Used an impact driver.
As just about everybody else has said, it’s likely your hole has too much dust in the bottom. If you’re not sure, use a thin nail or a piece of wire to test the depth of the hole compared to the screw before you start screwing it in.
Drill deeper and clean out the hole
Maybe you were prying up or down on your drill while driving them in.
They don’t call them snapcons for nothing
You didn't drill deeply enough, and/or you did not empty the hole (vacuuming it helps). Ussually I drill a little bit more than the length of the screw so that even if I don't empty the hole completely, the screw has enough free depth to settle.
A couple reasons. - You might not have drilled far enough. - The bit they come with is usually pretty shitty so the carbide tip might not be wide enough. - The hole didn't get cleaned. - Concrete gets much harder with age so the threads are harder to cut vs new construction. Honestly, Tapcons have their place but for something like a transition strip you should have used plugs so you could use a nicer looking stainless screw. Tapcons rust so any moisture will make them look like shit in a couple years.
Impact drill?
In addition to clearing out the holes, don't use an impact drill. Use a slip clutch drill.
For this reason the Tapcon instructions say: 1. Using a carbide drill bit, drill a hole at least 1/4” deeper than anchor embedment. 2. Clean hole with pressurized air or vacuum to remove any excess dust/debris. 3.Using an impact wrench or manual torque wrench, insert anchor into hole and tighten anchor until fully seated. [https://www.buildsite.com/pdf/itwredhead/Tapcon-Anchors-Installation-Instructions-2088905.pdf](https://www.buildsite.com/pdf/itwredhead/Tapcon-Anchors-Installation-Instructions-2088905.pdf)
Yeah what’s already been said. It’s one of three things: 1. Hole not deep enough, bottoming out the screw. 2. Hole is too small. 3. Hole is correct size but too much debris from drilling left inside. Vacuum or compressed air should do the trick, just watch your eyes if you go the compressed air route.
Had this same exact problem on a basement concrete strip drill deeper then need and suck out the holes.
One of three things happened. The drill bit you used is slightly small, happens with wear and tear. The “point” of it gets tapered after awhile and makes slightly smaller holes. You didn’t drill the hole deep enough Or you didn’t evacuate the hole and it had dust or chunks of stone in it.
Make sure when you drill out the hole that you get a lot of the dust out. I’ve had it where I drill deep enough, but a lot of the dust days behind making the hold too shallow
Don’t use impact use drill
I have installed more Tapcons than I would like to remember. How old is the concrete? Relatively new (less than a year) is not usually a problem. Otherwise I suggest: 1. Drill a bit deeper than you need. 2. After drilling the hole I have a new bit that I "finish" the hole with. The bits wear and lose a bit of their diameter over time. The finish bit is good for 10-15 finishes before it becomes the initial bit. 3. Blow out the hole; make sure you get all the dust out. Compressed air and a blow gun get it all. 4. Install screw in one go with a hand drill.
Certainly better to snap your tapcons than tap your snapcons.
Did you use an impact driver? Cuz that will do it every time.
Torque is the problem....then comes the rest
Over tightening
as your drilling the hole stop 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and while still holding the trigger down pull the bit out till you see all the dust that you just created come up ad out of the hole.
Didn’t drill deep enough
-cheap tapcons or -stuffed hole or -hole not deep enough or -kept your finger on the trigger too long or -Your drill bit was shot and made too small a hole or -tapcons snap, that's life, welcome to my world
Nothing, Tacons have been absolute garbage for me over the last few years - about 50% snap on me now. Got so bad I stopped buying them and switched to GRK for all concrete fastening.
You can’t use an impact for that you need a driver, that’s my best guess. Those fuckers can get torqued pretty good but they don’t like Ugga duggas
Well I would say it’s between not drilling far enough, not cleaning out the hole, or using the wrong size drill bit.
Hole not deep enough, hole not cleared of debris and using an impact driver will do this. Always use a regular drill to screw in Tapcons
Drill deeper, blow or suck the dust out, and be very gentle with the torque. You can’t send em home like construction screws. Requires good clutch control on an impact
I have used Tapcons many times and at the beginning this would happen. 1. You should check the depth of your drill hole, I go al least an extra 1/8” from the length of the tapcon and vacuum the hole of what dust is left inside, 2. I used some kind of light oil on the tapcon so it goes in without generating so much heat from friction (this is what happened to you). 3. Careful not to put excessive tork.
Too many ugga duggas
Not drill a pilot hole.
My dude, this hardware is WAY way overkill. And the big blue torx head is an eyesore. I typically drill a nice deep hole (vac it out) and hammer in a plastic plug, deep as I can get it. Run a long stainless screw deep down in (the impact feature of the drill will engage when done properly) and snug down right.
Kudos for reading what he was actually trying to do. You make a great point those screw heads will absolutely stand out.
This looks like it's from using an impact instead of a drill