Cover anchors in old concrete

[tphaggerty]

Helping a friend put in new mesh cover for the winter. The pool and concrete are at least 15 years old, so not green concrete. Most of the existing anchors are loose or bent or both, plus the new cover has several new anchor points we need to drill.

When my pool was put in, the anchors were drilled and put in several weeks after the concrete was poured, so still green and able to tighten up around the anchors. They just drilled a tight hole, then pounded in.

The question is, what is the best way to secure new anchors in the existing holes? Any difference for newly drilled holes? I have had one anchor work loose, I used some hydraulic cement to reset it in the same hole and it seemed to work, but I have since heard/learned that hydraulic cement is actually very weak in a structural sense.

Any advice?

 

[awtrizzle]

Subscribed. I have several loose anchors.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Hydraulic cement is fine to install the new anchors in cured concrete. It's not strong structurally, but you're not looking to affect the structural integrity of the decking, you're just wanting the anchors to stay tight. You could also use 2-part epoxy to set them in the deck.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

Clean the holes with a 3/4" hammer bit.. cements & epoxies will do nothing, you need the mechanical bond made by soft brass & the tamp tool.

 

[Bama Rambler]

...cements & epoxies will do nothing

You are wrong here! Industry and commercial construction regularly use cement and epoxies to set building and structure anchors and I'm sure they are exposed to a lot more stresses than a pool cover anchor and they hold just fine. While the mechanics of expanding soft brass against concrete decking works for pool cover anchors, you can't make a blanket statement that cement and epoxies do nothing!

 

[dw9000]

I installed my loop loc and over drilled 2 holes. Bought some of that gorilla construction adhesive and it is holding fine