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| Hello,
I want to mount an aluminum sculpture to the wall over a fireplace. The wall is covered with stone facing and mortar, over plywood I believe. The sculpture is about 40lbs, and provides two "keyhole" tabs to mount it. I've located the sculpture so that the tabs line up with a mortar joint, drilled two holes, and ratcheted in two Tapcon 3/16 x 2 & 3/4 masonry screws. However, I have two problems: first, because the stone face has varying depth, one of the 2 & 3/4 screws isn't quite long enough. Second, and more importantly, I'm not sure the mortar is strong enough to be the only thing holding the screws - and maybe I should be using some anchor. Any ideas? I feel the drill go all the way through the mortar, so I know there's hollow space behind. I could put in a drywall type "wing anchor" which would spread out, but that would mean making a hole larger than the bolt. I know there are sleeve anchors that spread out, but would these work in the mortar, and would I need to know the depth of the material? And, to add more thought to the problem, should I even be bothering to line up bolts, or should I be fastening the bolts snug and using piano wire with hooks, which provide much more play. Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by sierraeast (My Page) on Fri, Dec 4, 09 at 11:13
| If you can find a molly bolt fastener that has the neck long enough for the mortar as well as the substrate behind it, I would go that route. You would have to estimate the thickness of the grout/mortar/substrate. The longest I've seen in a molly was 1-1/4" so I dont know that would work for you dependent on your stone/grout/mortar depth plus the plywood behind it. Another avenue would be the toggle bolt route you mentioned using a fender washer for over the larger drilled hole. Here's a link that might help: |
Here is a link that might be useful: fasteners
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| The lateral strength of the stone is only as strong as the ties that hold it to the substrate. The weight and the depth off the wall will be critical. The closer to the wall the less lateral resistance (or pull out force) is needed. |
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