Nails, screws, studs, nuts, dowels... You cannot do without fastening hardware either in construction, or in production, or in everyday life. The dowel-nail is one of the most popular products in this group, since it provides reliable fastening when connecting various structures to concrete, brick and other types of bases.

What is a dowel-nail and its varieties

According to the technology of installation and purpose, dowel-nails are divided into two main types:

• For driving by hand. The product is made from a special nail and the dowel itself. Models can be equipped with a locking edge and have a spacer zone. During the process of driving a nail, the spacer elements create a rigid and reliable fixation of the attached object to the base structure. Dowels are used during finishing work when fastening lightweight structures made of wood, plastic and other materials.
• For a construction pistol. Mounting dowel-nails for professional tools consist of a nail with a wide head and a movable washer located in the tip area. Used when mounting massive heavy structures.

Dowels are represented by plastic and metal products. A specific option is chosen depending on the degree of hardness of the base material.

To make a synthetic body, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyamide are used; nails are made from steel alloys with a protective galvanized layer. They are suitable for mounting light and small elements.

Metal dowel-nails for concrete are used when connecting heavy and complex structural elements is required. The basis of the fastening is a powerful rod with a pointed end, which is equipped with a lock washer. The presence of a massive head on the nail prevents it from sinking deep into the base. High-strength steel grades are used to make nails. Metal dowel-nails with threaded rods or bolts are produced for structures that have a particularly large mass (up to 5 tons).

A conventional dowel sample is not suitable for fixing to surfaces made of hollow bricks and cellular concrete, as well as materials with similar structures, since the spacer element is not fixed in the body of such structures. But special modifications of products have been developed and produced, aimed at fastening in aerated concrete and even in plasterboard sheathing. They have a large thread on the spacer body, and the tip is made in the form of a feathery drill. It is convenient to use such fasteners; they are simply screwed into the structure with a screwdriver without pre-drilling holes.

Manufacturers also produce facade dowels designed specifically for fixing the thermal insulation layer. Such products are equipped with a toothed plate at the base.

In addition to the usual universal fasteners, such a new product as an injection dowel has appeared on the market. They use it as follows. A special anchor in the form of a mesh is inserted into the drilled hole, a dowel is driven in, and a composition is injected through the sleeve using a syringe, which quickly hardens and exerts pressure, as a result of which the mesh in the body of the structure straightens.

How to drive a dowel into a brick structure or concrete

Installation of manual dowels is absolutely simple. It consists of the following sequential operations:

• Drilling holes at attachment points. The drill must match the diameter of the dowel. The holes are made with a depth equal to the length of the fastening element plus 5 mm.
• Removing any remaining material from the hole.
• Installing the dowel into the prepared cavity. By hitting it lightly with a hammer, it is gradually immersed into the hole. The part should fit tightly to its walls.
• nail. If it has a thread, then screw the nail in using a screwdriver.

When using a mounting gun, there is no need to make holes in the wall. It is used to shoot a dowel-nail through the structure being fixed, securely fixing it to the base surface. This method not only speeds up and simplifies the work, but also eliminates dust and debris that appears when working with a drill or hammer drill.

What factors are taken into account when choosing products?

When choosing fastenings, focus on the following points:

1. The magnitude of the load directly on the dowel-nail, the base structure and the mounted element.
2. The nature of the load, which can be stationary or dynamic.
3. Type and properties of the material (brick, stone, concrete, aerated concrete and others).
4. Fixation type.
5. Type of structure (ceiling, load-bearing walls, partitions).

Standard sizes

When choosing a fastener, an important role is played by its dimensions, which are marked with a digital designation. The first number indicates the diameter of the product in millimeters, the second - its length. The variability of these parameters is quite large: from 5×25 to 10×160. Each dowel-nail option has maximum load restrictions.

Various parameters and technical characteristics of dowels are regulated by GOST 28457-90. Some changes in technical specifications are allowed, but there are standards and regulations that must be strictly observed. These include:

• production material;
• minimum and maximum value of rod curvature indicators;
• the thickness of the protective galvanized layer that covers the nail;
• compliance with the standards of misalignment of the rod and washer diameter.

Changes in other characteristics specified in GOST are permissible if justified and verified technical conditions exist.

The most popular among consumers are nylon dowels of different diameters (2 - 16 mm) with threads. They are used for standard base surfaces made of brick and concrete. They can easily withstand stationary loads ranging from 200 to 450 kg.

When mounting a profile, the best option is considered to be fasteners of size 6×40 mm. To fix various objects to wall and ceiling structures in large-panel houses, it is recommended to use dowel-nails 6x60, 60x80 mm.

How to remove a dowel

Apartment renovations necessarily include wall finishing: plastering, wallpapering. Before starting such work, you should clean the surface of protruding nails and dowels. In the case where the dowels protrude from the body of the wall along with the nail, such an operation is not difficult. First, the fasteners are loosened and then sharply pulled out of the structure with pliers.

Often, owners are faced with the fact that structures previously attached to the wall have long been removed, the nails have fallen out, but the plastic elements remain. To remove them, you can act in various ways. For example, screw in a self-tapping screw of suitable diameter and try to perform actions similar to the previous method. Or try to drill it out with a drill. But often such maneuvers do not lead to the desired result: the dowel is not removed. Builders often leave the plastic element, driving it into the wall, after cutting off the cap, and then putty the surface.

There are situations when a nail breaks when driven into a concrete wall and partially remains in the dowel. How to be in this case? You will need a soldering iron or gas torch. The plastic element of the dowel is heated so that it becomes soft, plastic, and the fasteners are pulled out until the polyethylene hardens again. It is not always possible to achieve the desired result the first time, so the operation can be repeated again and again.

A huge range of different types and sizes of dowel nails allows you to use them for various purposes. And make reliable fastening of metal structures or wooden beams to concrete, brickwork, fix plaster mesh, mounting strip, plinth and many other elements.

You drilled the hole quite easily and screwed the screw in tightly enough, but over time the dowel and screw may become loose and simply fall out of the wall.

The reason for this may be the pressure of the spacer around the dowel on the surrounding elastic material. Either the wall itself is made of not very durable material, or a hole is drilled in a masonry joint, and the mortar contains more sand than cement.

There are several ways to strengthen a dowel. But you should only attach objects to the wall that it can support. Sometimes it is enough just to drill a hole, increasing its diameter, and use a dowel and a self-tapping screw of the appropriate diameter.

Dowel for hollow surfaces.

For more reliable fastening, you can use a metal dowel. Its advantage is that it expands faster and, therefore, is fixed. When screwing dowels into tile surfaces, the conical ends may twist around their axis. To avoid this, insert the dowel first, and then screw the self-tapping screw into it.

Fiber dowel.

If the wall surface is hollow, the hole must be filled with mineral mass, after diluting it with water. To do this, drill a hole, bringing its diameter to 10 mm, and insert a mesh cartridge into it, which will hold the mass in the hole. And although the mixture is mixed with water, the screw in it will not rust. Screw it into the soft mass before it hardens.

Filling mass.

Fill the prepared hole with a mixture of synthetic resin and filler so that a nail or screw can be secured in it. This mass is very plastic, and it can easily be introduced into a narrow hole in small portions, pushing and compacting with some suitable object (for example, the blunt end of a pencil). Take a two-component filler (for example, epoxy glue) and mix it with sawdust until you get small elastic balls. This mixture can be used to fill the hole. Soon the synthetic resin will firmly adhere to the walls of the hole, creating an ideal mass for inserting the fastening device into it.

Insert a nail into the sealing mass, but first dip it in liquid candle wax so that it can then be easily removed from the hardened mass (the epoxy glue-based compound hardens after 12 hours). You can do the same with a metal fastener with an external thread for a nut.

Filling voids.

In critical situations, when it comes to drilling in relatively soft building materials, the voids must be filled with sufficiently strong material. To ensure that the hole is drilled in the right place, you can make a special device from an aluminum profile and a piece of wood. When drilling a hole through the accessory, press it firmly against the wall to ensure it fits snugly against the wall and prevents movement. Insert a sixmm masonry bit into the fivemm hole in the profile. If during operation the drill is at an angle relative to the wall, then unwanted voids will appear in the hole. Dust remaining after drilling can be collected with a vacuum cleaner. Such a hole should be slightly larger than the diameter of the tube nozzle (10 mm) so that air does not create plugs inside. When the mass protrudes slightly from the hole, which is filled to capacity, the dowel will hold firmly in it. But a self-tapping screw can be screwed into it only after a day.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS REQUIRED:
Aggregate
Dowels
Hammer drill
Hammer
Screwdriver
Pencil

Screw the screw into the metal dowel all the way until it fits snugly in the hole.

Place the collet against the wall and press the dowel

Screw the screw into the dowel first so that it does not rotate
holes

Fill the hole with small portions of adhesive mass

Fastening in uneven voids

Mix sawdust and epoxy glue

When carrying out repair work, it often becomes necessary to drive a dowel into the wall. This may be required, for example, when installing suspended ceilings or in other cases. Even hanging a simple shelf or picture on the wall without this procedure is extremely difficult. In this regard, it will be very useful to know how to drive dowels into a wall.

Before starting to describe the technological aspects of the work, it would not be superfluous to decide what a dowel is and what it can be.

A dowel is usually called a device that serves to firmly hold fastening elements in any surface. In other words, simply screwing a self-tapping screw into concrete will not be enough. Besides the fact that this is quite difficult, it is also pointless, since such a connection will be fragile. It will be impossible to rely on such a fastening. To increase reliability, a plastic sleeve is inserted into the prepared hole in the wall, into which a self-tapping screw is then screwed. This sleeve is the dowel.

Based on the design features and application options, we can conditionally distinguish at least two types of these fasteners.

• Expansion type dowels, which are usually used to attach something to walls made of solid material. They are plastic bushings that are fixed inside the hole due to the protruding elements of their design.
• Universal dowels. They can be used when fixing elements on walls made of hollow materials. The essence of their action is that when the screw is tightened, the dowel expands and becomes deformed, filling the voids and providing a strong fastening.

It is worth saying that it is not enough to simply install a dowel into the wall, but you need to know how to do it correctly.

• First you need to determine the required location. This is necessary so as not to drill into the wall several times. Therefore, you need to mark the exact location of the hole with a pencil. It is better to spend more time on the necessary measurements and markings than to later look for ways to fill unnecessary holes.
• Once the wall is marked, you can start drilling holes with a special drill. This is best done using a hammer drill or an electric drill with a perforation function. The tool must be positioned strictly perpendicular to the surface to be drilled. Otherwise, the drill is likely to break. Next, with slight pressure on the tool, a hole of the required depth is drilled, which must correspond to the length of the dowel.
• When the holes are ready, you need to insert the dowels themselves into them. To do this, you need to lightly push the fastening element with its end into the hole, after which, with light blows of a rubber or wooden mallet, hammer in the dowel over its entire length. With correct calculations and work, the dowel should be tightly and firmly fixed in the hole, level with the wall.

It is worth saying that in order to properly fix the dowel in the wall, you need to choose a suitable drill. In addition, the dowel should be driven into the hole. It should be equal in diameter to the dowel. This is the only way to avoid worrying that a mirror suspended on such a fastener, for example, will not fall.

Video

In this video tutorial you will learn how to attach dowels to a concrete wall:

Materials characterized by a dense structure and high hardness, which include concrete, brick, natural and artificial stone, are actively used not only in the construction industry, but also in repair work. That is why the question of which dowels to choose for concrete and other solid materials in order to securely fasten various objects to building structures is very relevant.

The fastening element, which will be constantly under load during operation, must be correctly selected not only in its dimensions, but also in other parameters. Only in this case will it be able to ensure high reliability and durability of the formed connection.

What is a classic dowel?

The classic dowel for concrete and other solid materials has been preferred by specialists in the field of construction and repair for a long time. Consumers often call it a “dowel-nail.” Concrete fasteners can be made of metal, nylon and various types of plastic. Naturally, products made from different materials differ in their characteristics and, accordingly, in their area of ​​application.

The load-bearing capacity of a dowel on concrete is determined by its design features. In the classic design, a dowel-nail is a sleeve, the entire outer surface of which has special notches that prevent such an element from turning in a hole in a wall or in any other building structure. Special whiskers, which, due to their elasticity, are constantly in a decompressed state, help prevent the fastening element from being pulled out of the wall. When a screw is screwed in, the fastening element expands due to longitudinal slots on its surface, which ensures high reliability of its fixation.

Parameters of dowel-nails with a mushroom-shaped edge used for through installation (click to enlarge)

In addition to dowel fasteners, which operate on a mechanical principle, the modern market offers dowels for porous concrete and other similar materials, fixed in the holes through the use of a special adhesive composition. By filling the internal cavities of the porous material, the adhesive composition reliably fixes such an anchor element in a previously prepared hole.

The classic dowel-nail intended for concrete is such a universal fastener that it is quite difficult to list all the areas of its application. With its help, they install frames for various purposes, attach furniture and interior items to the surface of walls, fix household appliances at the required installation location, and also solve a whole list of other important tasks.

What is the difference between a dowel for concrete and a dowel for brick?

High reliability of fastening obtained using dowel-type products will be achieved only if they are correctly selected not only taking into account their size, but also the material of the structure in which they will be mounted.

Experts do not recommend using concrete dowels for installation in brick building structures. This recommendation is especially relevant when it comes to hollow bricks. In this case, special fasteners are used for installation, which differ from a conventional dowel-nail both in design and in the features of use.

Masonry fasteners have extended dimensions and a double thrust mechanism. Like a dowel designed for concrete work, such a fastener can be plastic or metal. The reliability of fastening a brick dowel is ensured by the fact that at least one of its spacer elements does not fall into the cavity in the brickwork, but into its solid part; it is this that ensures the required fixation of the anchor in the wall or any other building structure. The expansion of the dowel spacer sleeve occurs when a threaded rod or screw is screwed into it, the diameter of which must be selected correctly.

A dowel intended for concrete works on a completely different principle and can only be used for installation in solid solid materials. Such a dowel is driven under pressure (which is why it is often called a nail) into a previously prepared hole. If you try to fix concrete fasteners in a brick wall, the internal structure of which has many air cavities, you can simply destroy the mounting hole. Even if such a dowel is metal and has a considerable length, you still will not achieve reliable fixation in brick or any other porous, hollow and not very durable material.

Considering all of the above, you should take a very responsible approach to the selection of fastening elements for structures made of various materials, differing both in their hardness and the characteristics of their internal structure. The markings applied by manufacturers on the packaging of such products helps to understand what a particular fastener is intended for.

Rules for installing dowels for brickwork

Considering the fact that installing a dowel fastener intended for brick is somewhat more difficult than fixing a dowel used for concrete work in a wall, you should understand this procedure in more detail. In this situation, it is very useful to take advantage of the experience of specialists, who are often faced with the need to securely fix objects that have even very significant weight on brick building structures.

If in order to fix a dowel for concrete work in a building structure, which is driven in like a simple nail, it is enough to use a minimal set of tools, then to accurately and securely fix the fastener in a brick wall you will need:

• a hammer drill or drill needed to drill a mounting hole;
• drill of the appropriate diameter;
• adhesive intended for laying ceramic tiles;
• a set of rubber spatulas of different sizes.

The procedure for installing a dowel into a brick wall consists of the following steps.

1. The first thing to do is to carefully drill a mounting hole for mounting the fastener. This can be done using an electric drill or hammer drill with only drilling mode (no impact) turned on. It is important that the diameter of the drill used to perform this procedure exactly matches the diameter of the dowel itself.
2. After drilling, the hole must be thoroughly cleaned of construction dust and pieces of material that have crumbled into its internal cavity. You can check how thoroughly you have cleaned the hole using the dowel itself: it should fit in without difficulty or obstacles.
3. When the hole is thoroughly cleaned, you can begin work with dry tile adhesive, which must be diluted with water in the proportion specified by the manufacturer. After the adhesive mass is ready for use, it is necessary to fill the hole drilled for the dowel. You can use a rubber spatula for this, and you can push the adhesive mass into the depth of the hole using the dowel itself or an ordinary pencil. When the hole is completely filled with adhesive, you can insert a dowel into it, which should go into it all the way. After this, you need to let the adhesive composition completely harden, which is quite enough for 24 hours.
4. After the tile adhesive has completely hardened, you can screw a threaded element (pin or screw) into the dowel. In this case, be sure to pay attention to the fact that screwing occurs with some force. This means that your dowel is securely fixed into the brickwork. Fasteners obtained using this simple technology are highly reliable and can withstand even significant weight loads.

You can also use this method if you need to install fasteners in a porous material (the use of concrete dowels for such structures is also prohibited). Such materials, in particular, can be gas or foam concrete, porous brick, etc. Taking into account their high popularity in the modern construction market, the choice of fasteners that could ensure reliable fastening of objects fixed on such structures is a rather serious problem.

Dowels are used to fasten a variety of objects to surfaces made of various materials. They are necessary fasteners, without which no repair can be completed.

The variety of types of dowels is quite large, and specific dowels are used for each specific job. All dowels can be divided into two main categories: expansion and universal. Expansion type dowels work on the principle of expanding the material of the sleeve located in the hole. The dowel sleeve is usually made of durable plastic, and the core can be metal or plastic. Used for hard solid surfaces.

What types of dowels are there for hollow materials? These are universal dowels that roll into a tight nylon knot when the core is screwed in, filling all the existing voids. There are also dowels for fastening insulation with wide heads.

The length of the dowels is in the range of 2-12 centimeters, and their diameter is 0.4-2 cm.

The sleeve in such dowels is made of polypropylene, nylon or other similar materials. It has a relief surface, various antennae and protrusions that hold the dowel in the wall. The plastic expansion dowel has a core whose length exceeds the length of the sleeve. The core has threads or cone-shaped projections that hold it screwed into the sleeve material.

How much weight can a dowel support?

When choosing the type of dowel, you need to focus on such an indicator as the maximum possible operating load. With this load, the dowel will not collapse during operation in static mode. The recommended load indicator is also important. All this data must be provided by the dowel manufacturer. Depending on how much weight the dowel can support, its length and diameter are selected. Of course, the longer and thicker the dowel, the greater the load it can withstand. Much also depends on the surface material. For example, on foam concrete no dowel can withstand significant weight. It will simply come out of its hole.

The most popular in construction is the dowel-nail, which is used for any materials. High-quality fastening with its help can be ensured only if certain conditions are met. How to drive a dowel nail into a hard surface correctly? To ensure the integrity of the material, you need to ensure that the distance between the dowel and the edge of the surface is at least the length of the dowel.

A hole is punched in the material using a puncher. The diameter of the drill or drill must be equal to the diameter of the dowel. But the depth of the hole should exceed the length of the dowel by a value equal to the diameter of the dowel. The hole is cleared of dust with some long and thin object, or blown out with air. After this, a plastic dowel is inserted into the hole and sunk into it flush with the surface. A fastening element in the form of a self-tapping screw or a nail with conical notches is screwed into the plastic sleeve with a screwdriver or screwdriver until it stops. The core pushes the sleeve tightly into the hole, preventing the dowel from extending or turning. This is also facilitated by the antennae and protrusions on the sleeve itself.

It is not recommended to hammer the core, as this may cause the sleeve to rupture and require re-installation of the dowel. A dowel-nail properly fixed in a solid material is almost impossible to pull out of its place.