Signgeer - Super Tools for Sign Heroes - Edition 22 - Catalog - Page 106
This is a guide only . . .
FIXINGS
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FIXING TO MASONRY & BRICK WALLS.
When mounting flat signs to solid masonry or brick walls, plastic wall plugs are the most popular
way of fixing to these surfaces. They are available in different colour coded sizes and come with a
recommended drilling guide. The plug to use will depend on the size and weight of the sign you are
fitting. Red or brown coded plugs will be suitable for most applications.
Using a hammer drill and a masonry bit of the correct size, holes will need to be drilled in the surface
approx 20mm deeper than the length of the plug you have chosen. Then tap the plugs into the holes
until they are flush with the surface. The sign can be attached to the wall using either normal coated
wood or stainless steel (if being fitted in salt air environments) screws. The red plugs will usually accept
screw sizes of 3.5 - 5mm and the brown ones 4 - 6mm.
CONCRETE ANCHOR BOLTS & THUNDERBOLTS
These are generally used for much heavier loads e.g. projecting sign brackets, swing sign brackets and large banner brackets which are under
high wind load and the fixing must never fail. The wall should be solid and in good condition.
These are supplied in different lengths and diameters, to accept different loading requirements. The thunder bolts don’t need wall plugs, they
just require a pre-drilled in the wall and the dust removed from the hole. They can then be screwed in; the outer spiral on the bolt will cut its
own thread into the masonry giving a high strength fixing.
EXPANDING SLEEVE ANCHORS & EXPANSION BOLTS
These are supplied in various diameters and lengths, and just require a pre-drilled into the wall’s surface with the dust removed. The anchor is
pushed into the hole flush to the surface, with the inner threaded bolt protruding out past the surface enough to pass through the hole in the
bracket and engage with the nut and washer.
Then simply tighten the nut which pulls the inner tapered rod outwards - this expands the outer part of the anchor inside the wall until it
won’t tighten any more.
RESIN / CHEMICAL ANCHORS
These systems come with a solid threaded metal rod, which is bonded into a pre-drilled hole in the wall. The hole must have all of the debris
and dust removed. Then the adhesive dispensed into the hole and the threaded is rod inserted, leaving enough thread protruding to accept
the bracket hole and the nyloc nut and washer. Depending on the hardening time of the adhesive, you won’t be able to fit the sign immediately, so this needs to be taken into consideration.
If done correctly, this will give a very high strength fixing which will last a lifetime.
PLASTERBOARD FIXINGS
Internal plasterboard walls are normally only 15mm thick after the skim is applied and hollow thereafter meaning the board is extremely weak
internally. You can use conventional wall plugs and screws for fitting lightweight materials to them, but they will fail if the weight becomes
too much and the plugs will pull out.
Some of these special fixings use an extremely large tapered thread which cut its own thread into the board, along with its own special self
tapping screw. There are various other types which need a special fitting gun which collapse the fixing in behind the actual board, leaving
a mechanical thread in the wall to fix into. Others fit into a conventionally drilled hole and are designed to collapse behind the board when
tightening the screw it comes with.
SELF DRILLING SCREWS
Available in many different lengths and head types (e.g. pan head, countersunk, torx, Phillips).
Can be easily recognised by the drill on its tip. These are designed to fix medium weight items onto various thicknesses of metals such as
posts and frame work, where nuts and bolts cannot be used. Tests should be performed on very thin coated materials such as industrial cladding as it may not be thick enough for the screw to hold especially if overtightened.
They should always go through a pre-drilled clearance hole in your sign. Do not drill through 2 substrates together.
When driven by a cordless drill, it will cut its own thread into the metal you are fixing into. No pre-drilling holes in the fixing substrate should
be necessary as the drill bit on the tip does this for you.
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