Metal inserts of various types are cast into concrete floor slabs to serve as hangers or connectors for other parts of the structure that will be supported from the floor system. These inserts include electric conduit and junction boxes, supports for hung ceilings, slots for pipe hangers, fastenings for door closers to be set under the floor, and circular metal shapes for vertical pipe openings.
Metal anchors of various types are used in building construction. Each type is specifically shaped, according to the purpose served. These include anchors for securing stone facings to masonry walls, anchors for fastening marble slabs in place, column anchor bolts set in foundations, and anchor bolts for fastening sills to masonry.
Joist hangers are used for framing wood joists into girders and for framing headers into joists around stairwells and chimneys.
Various types of expansion bolts, screw anchors, and toggle bolts are available for securing fixtures, brackets, and equipment to solid material, such as masonry, brick, concrete, and stone. Anchors also can be had for fastening to hollow walls, such as plaster on metal lath in furred spaces and hollow tile. The best device to use depends on the requirements in each case.
For use with practically any materials, including soft and brittle ones, such as composition board, glass, and tile, fiber screw anchors with a hollow metal core find a universal application. These plugs with braided metal cores possess many advantages: They can be used with wood screws and with lag screws. The flexible construction permits the plug to conform to any irregularities. Because of this elastic compression, the fibers are compressed as the screw enters. Screws can be unscrewed and replaced. Shock and vibration have no effect on gripping power. The plugs come in about 40 sizes to fit anything from a No.6 screw to a 5â„8-in lag screw.
In practice, a hole is drilled first, the plug is driven into it, and then the screw is inserted, expanding the plug against the sides of the hole.
For some fastenings, one-piece drive bolts are hammered like a nail into prepared holes in masonry or concrete. Other types of expansion bolts have expansion shields or are calked into place. The expansion shield is expanded in the hole by a tapered sleeve forced against a cone-shaped nut by the tightening of a bolt threaded into the cone. These types are not recommended for soft or brittle materials.
For thin hollow walls, toggle bolts equipped with spring-actuated wings are used (Fig. 11.89). The wings will pass into the hole in folded position. After entering the hollow space, the wings open out, thereby obtaining a secure hold.
For fastening lightweight materials to nailable supports, stapling machines are extensively used. In one patented system, for example, staples secure acoustic tile to wood furring strips. In this system, invisible fastenings are obtained by using a full-spline suspension for the kerfed pieces of tile and a special stapling machine adjusted to function at the proper distance below the furring strips. The machine staples the splines (at the joints of the tiles) to the supporting strips, giving a speedy, economical, and secure fastening.
