Concrete wall plug repair

thos

Hi all,
I've got an electric gate where the swings arms are mounted in the pillars, and the wall plugs are coming loose from the bracket.

Pic below.

What are my options?

- I can't relocate due to the alignment of the arms to the gate
- The top bolt is 10mm and lowers are 8mm, I could probably look to oversize to 12 and 10? Drilling out the top bracket hole looks like it might be tight though.
- Repair? Fair amount of pressure on the bracket with the gate arms, so worried any bodge won't last long.

Any other options or ideas?

jack of all

Remove the bolts, blow out the holes and fit chemical anchors? Although that bracket is quite close to the wall edge, if it fails again it might pull off the corner altogether.

alta stare

+1 for the chemical anchors. It is good stuff.

maestroamado

I am guessing the pillar about 18" just by the position of the gate from the corner.
If possible your best bet is drill the top bolt right through the pillar.
You can buy a threaded bar and put lock nuts on either end.

maestroamado

maestroamado wrote: »

If possible your best bet is drill the top bolt right through the pillar.
You can buy a threaded bar and put lock nuts on either end.

If your doing it this way make a big washer/plate out of a bit of steel to spread the load.

10-10-20

maestroamado wrote: »

I am guessing the pillar about 18" just by the position of the gate from the corner.
If possible your best bet is drill the top bolt right through the pillar.
You can buy a threaded bar and put lock nuts on either end.

...and just in case it's a cavity-block and you're right on-top of the void, a steel plate on the far-side of the pillar too.

listermint

Do the chemical anchor thing works wonders.

However.


You need to look at the cause of this fault. The weight of the gate. If the gate is unsupported and heavy in the open or closed positions for long periods then same will happen again.

Have you support for when it's open ? A gate sitter or wheel is a good idea.

Have you drop pad bolt when in closed position these are good because they support the gate when closed.

listermint

Just noticed it's electric gate. Hmmm pad won't work really nor roller could burn motor.

thos

Thanks all, I'll take a look at chemical anchors. Any suggestions where I can get them online given current situation?

In terms of the pillar - it's a good 24" thick, this is on the rear face, so going straight through would be onto the front face of the pillar, which is the front of the house so not really an option for aesthetics.

In terms of the cause, the gate itself is supported and will move freely. This bracket is purely for the arms to open/close, they are not bearing the weight of the gate. The gate stops up against a kerb, and looks like it's running too long and pushing itself up on the kerb, which over time has loosened the bracket. I can adjust the timing from the gate to reduce the travel, so will be doing this at the same time.

alta stare

The easiest and cheapest at this point is the chemical anchors with new bolts. The weight will have to be kept off the bolts when the stuff sets otherwise it may compromise its strength.

I have used chemical anchors in work for heavy brackets and barrier pillars and the stuff works perfectly for it.

What kind of wall is it? Did the gate drop itself over time? Mounting a gate near the edge of a pillar is never a good idea. Is the arm set up correctly? There could be many reasons why it dropped but its usually down to bad installation and incorrect set up of the arms.

alta stare

thos wrote: »

Thanks all, I'll take a look at chemical anchors. Any suggestions where I can get them online given current situation?

In terms of the pillar - it's a good 24" thick, this is on the rear face, so going straight through would be onto the front face of the pillar, which is the front of the house so not really an option for aesthetics.

In terms of the cause, the gate itself is supported and will move freely. This bracket is purely for the arms to open/close, they are not bearing the weight of the gate. The gate stops up against a kerb, and looks like it's running too long and pushing itself up on the kerb, which over time has loosened the bracket. I can adjust the timing from the gate to reduce the travel, so will be doing this at the same time.

Most electrical wholesalers would have them. Tell them what you want it for.

Those arms can cause alot of issues if not installed properly. Usually it's the arms themselves that fail though. Are the brackets on the side of the pillar facing inward?

thos

The arm itself is free, so it's not weight bearing. It's in 5yrs, hasn't had a major problem, but recently notice the gates were not closing fully, and found play in the gate, related to this mount. I suspect it's the timing of the motors, and it pushing itself up on the kerb and stressing the mount that way, so that will be addressed.

Given the current 10mm now has some play in the wall, do I need to oversize this when using a chemical anchor or is that going to take up the slack in the wall?

alta stare

thos wrote: »

The arm itself is free, so it's not weight bearing. It's in 5yrs, hasn't had a major problem, but recently notice the gates were not closing fully, and found play in the gate, related to this mount. I suspect it's the timing of the motors, and it pushing itself up on the kerb and stressing the mount that way, so that will be addressed.

Given the current 10mm now has some play in the wall, do I need to oversize this when using a chemical anchor or is that going to take up the slack in the wall?

Again id say the arms werent set up correctly. The motor should run for about 10 seconds after an open and close action. This compensates for wind drag and the likes. If they were running longer than yeah the pressure must of pulled the bracket out of the wall over the 5 yr period.

Are the holes gone much bigger? If not just cleaned them out and fill with the chemical anchor. Then centre the new bolt back in and leave to set over night. You may have to find someway of supporting the bolt so its doesnt sag when the chemical anchor is setting.

longgonesilver

Before spending any money try re-fitting what you have. Loosen the nuts a few turns, push the bracket back against the wall tapping the bolts in to loosen the anchors if you have to and then tighten the nuts again and tighten the nuts more than they were tightened before. Make sure the gate stops before reaching the kerb.