Anchor Anatomy 101: Drop-In Internally Threaded Anchors

This is the fifth Anchor Anatomy 101 blog post focusing on anchor systemsEach post is designed to clarify anchor components, installation processes, and common applications to help you make informed anchor selection decisions based on your project’s unique requirements. Our preceding post focused on the Heli-Tie helical wall tie. This post reviews a few types of drop-in internally threaded anchors. 

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PAF, GAF or Pass? Part 2: Acceptable Uses and Limitations for Power-Actuated Fasteners in Seismic Applications

In Part 1 of this two-part series, we discussed how power-actuated fasteners work, the varying load strengths, the similarities and differences between powder-actuated and gasactuated tools and pins, and the approval process for Evaluation Reports. Now that we have a basic understanding of pins and poweractuated tools (PATs), we are ready to dive into the acceptable uses for these fastening systems and specific limitations that exist as they pertain to the resistance of seismic forces.  

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PAF, GAF or Pass? Part 1: A Guide to Selecting a Power-Actuated Fastening Solution

“PAF, GAF or Pass?” is a question that designers are often faced with when they need to attach wood or mechanical, electrical, or plumbing (MEP) fixtures to concrete, steel, or masonry structuresbecause there are several considerations to be made when deciding whether to utilize a direct-fastening solution or to pass and utilize a different attachment methodThis is Part One of a two-part series discussing poweractuated fasteners and their applications. Before we get into the nitty-grittylet’s define these acronyms and discuss how these types of fasteners work. 

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Anchor Anatomy 101: Heli-Tie™ Helical Wall Tie

This is the fourth Anchor Anatomy 101 blog post focusing on anchor systems. The goal of each post is to review anchor components, installation processes, and common applications to help you make informed anchor selection decisions based on your project’s unique requirements. The prior Anchor Anatomy 101 blog post focused on wedge type anchors. This blog post “drills down” into helical wall ties.  

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Anchor Anatomy 101: Titen HD® Concrete and Masonry Screw Anchors

Today’s blog post is the first in a series called “Anchor Anatomy 101.” Each post is designed to clarify anchor components, installation processes, and common applications to help you make informed anchor selection decisions based on your project’s unique requirements.  

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Which Anchoring Adhesive Installation Method Is Faster: A Comparison of Core Drilling vs. Carbide Drilling into URM

Have you ever specified an adhesive for an unreinforced masonry (URM) retrofit? If so, you may have wondered about the difficulty of drilling holes at 22.5° from horizontal in order to properly install an anchor to take tension loads.

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Allowable Load Tables at Your Service — A Look at the Technical Engineering Bulletin (TEB) for Anchors

One interesting part of being a field engineer for Simpson Strong-Tie is having the opportunity to see how different structural engineers may take different approaches to similar designs. We at Simpson Strong-Tie have come to appreciate these different approaches and embrace this phenomenon by providing multiple resources to aid in the completion of a design. This is very apparent when it comes to the design of post-installed anchors

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Overview of the Strength-Based Cracked and Uncracked Masonry Design Standards for Adhesive Anchors

We’re entering the year 2024 — welcome to the world of cracked and uncracked masonry. The last time Simpson Strong-Tie wrote a blog post regarding design criteria for post-installed anchors in masonry was in 2019, and ICC-ES was considering the adoption of a revised version of AC58, the Acceptance Criteria for Adhesive Anchors in Cracked and Uncracked Masonry Elements. Acceptance Criteria, or ACs, outline the testing that a manufacturer must comply with in order to get an evaluation report. In some cases, the ACs contain calculations methods if they are otherwise unavailable. If you missed the previous blog post, here is a link so you can explore a bit of the history that has led us to where we are today.

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Eleventh Day of Trivia — Foundation Retrofit Plates

While working as a structural engineer in San Jose, California, I had the great opportunity to design many retrofits of historic (and some not-so historic) buildings. Younger me loved the site visits, crawling around in the dust and dirt to create as-built drawings, and I got tremendous satisfaction from helping to make these buildings safer and stronger. Older me would not enjoy the crawling so much.

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