stuck in concrete, screw won't come out, please help. (room, replace, remove)
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I've used a bunch of those and unfortunately since the sleeve is meant to deform. Any imprecise hammering on the nut, striking the washer or forcing the sleeve into a roughly drilled hole can cause this. In practice, the amount of force required to pound the anchor in to a properly drilled hole and the amount that will deform the anchor is not all that far apart. From the looks of it someone beat on that anchor pretty hard attempting to force it in where it wouldn't fit, or else the assembly was damaged before it was installed. You can probably cut this one off and drill a new hole 1" away and still keep the post centered.
The hole is actually more than 4 inches deep, and the screw was doing its job for the most part, except when it started to bend
Just curious on how it would bend if the hole drilled was big and deep enough and you were able to insert the screw with the sleeve into the whole with a light tap. If you had to force the screw in, the hole was not drilled to requirements.
I've used a bunch of those and unfortunately since the sleeve is meant to deform. Any imprecise hammering on the nut, striking the washer or forcing the sleeve into a roughly drilled hole can cause this. In practice, the amount of force required to pound the anchor in to a properly drilled hole and the amount that will deform the anchor is not all that far apart. From the looks of it someone beat on that anchor pretty hard attempting to force it in where it wouldn't fit, or else the assembly was damaged before it was installed. You can probably cut this one off and drill a new hole 1" away and still keep the post centered.
If I move it an inch, I think its going to throw the alignment with other 2 corner posts off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sj08054
Just curious on how it would bend if the hole drilled was big and deep enough and you were able to insert the screw with the sleeve into the whole with a light tap. If you had to force the screw in, the hole was not drilled to requirements.
Yeah not sure, the drill bit was 1/2 inch and so was the anchor+sleeve. It did go in for the first inch without a problem then it got stuck and I thought it was good and I started to hammer away. Anyway, now I need to figure out a way to get it out.
Thanks for the replies guys.
Moving the location is not an option, unfortunately.
I did follow the instructions, it said drill the 1/2 inch hole, hammer the screw in, and then start to thread the screw on top which will then expand the sleeve from the bottom and dig into the concrete.
Its the Redhead 1/2 x 3 inch concrete anchor from Home Depot.
If I can get it out then I can try another one after maybe just expanding the hole a teenie bit, maybe I should not have hit the thing with a hammer to begin with.
Right now I am thinking of hitting the hammer sideways a bit and try to pull it up.
The trick with two nuts is the way to back it out. You risk cracking the concrete with sideways blows...
The grit is likely why the thing did not get deep enough -- it likely was clinging to the walls of the hole you drilled and partially filling the bottom. It is basically incompressible , after all is is ground up concrete...
Once you get the old anchor out make sure to vacuum out the hole.
The anchor can "hammered" down but not "mashed" into place, thing more like fitting a nice wooden bung into a barrel than slamming pitons into stone. The wedge expansion is what improves the hold, not pounding...
The trick with two nuts is the way to back it out. You risk cracking the concrete with sideways blows...
The grit is likely why the thing did not get deep enough -- it likely was clinging to the walls of the hole you drilled and partially filling the bottom. It is basically incompressible , after all is is ground up concrete...
Once you get the old anchor out make sure to vacuum out the hole.
The anchor can "hammered" down but not "mashed" into place, thing more like fitting a nice wooden bung into a barrel than slamming pitons into stone. The wedge expansion is what improves the hold, not pounding...
Yeah, I'll be careful not to hammer it sideways then.
The other thing is, I read the trick with two nuts, and I am confused. The original screw really has not turned because its inside that sleeve (which by the way is now distorted).
Even if I have another nut on the original screw on top of the existing nut, the whole thing will turn without any resistance though (because its inside), don't you think ? The screw freely turns right now, its the damn sleeve thats stuck on the inside of the hole.
Yeah not sure, the drill bit was 1/2 inch and so was the anchor+sleeve. It did go in for the first inch without a problem then it got stuck and I thought it was good and I started to hammer away. Anyway, now I need to figure out a way to get it out.
You hammered away on concrete? LOL My guess is the sleeve wasn't meant for concrete, you drill into concrete with a HAMMER DRILL, not your standard drill, and you certainly don't hammer into it, at least with force. The sleeve holds in concrete when it expands by tightening the nut.
Use a locking vice and some torque to get it out, if it won't come out no big deal - use a dremel or sawzill to break off stuck bolt and drill into the broken bolt. A hammer drill with a masonry bit will go into it like butter.
Edit - I see from the picture it's at an awkward position and angle to grip the sleeve. Still, it look like there is enough protruding from the top of the mount to grip with a locking vise.
I think what I would do with that is cut off the existing anchor and bolt flush with the concrete. Then, drill another hole in the post base you are using, maybe 1/2-1" to the side of the original, then mark the concrete for a new hole. Drill that and use a new anchor. Make sure the new hole is deep enough and, as others have said, vacuum out the debris. this might let you "start over" without having to move the location of the post base.
You hammered away on concrete? LOL My guess is the sleeve wasn't meant for concrete, you drill into concrete with a HAMMER DRILL, not your standard drill, and you certainly don't hammer into it, at least with force. The sleeve holds in concrete when it expands by tightening the nut.
Use a locking vice and some torque to get it out, if it won't come out no big deal - use a dremel or sawzill to break off stuck bolt and drill into the broken bolt. A hammer drill with a masonry bit will go into it like butter.
Edit - I see from the picture it's at an awkward position and angle to grip the sleeve. Still, it look like there is enough protruding from the top of the mount to grip with a locking vise.
The thing with these sleeves is they have to have a friction fit against the sides of the hole in order to tighten otherwise the whole sleeve would spin. I found them mildly frustrating to use because the the difference between a smooth fit and and what happened to the OP is a slim margin.
Thinking back on it, I did run into a situation where the bolt and sleeve bent and stuck half way in, and i was able to pry the anchor out but I probably got lucky as pulling up on the washer and nut can tighten the sleeve in the hole. Maybe try using a vice grip to hold the sleeve to the bolt so it moves as one piece before attempting to pry it.
You may need to sacrifice the post mount, either bend it or cut it away to get a clean angle.
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Vacuum out the debris!
