How important is it to nail the floor plate into a concrete basement floor if...?

...if I use construction adhesive, and the wall isn't structurally supporting anything above it? It is only a half-wall to cover a half-block wall. I don't have a nailer for concrete nails. Is it critical to nail the floor plate?How important is it to nail the floor plate into a concrete basement floor if...?
all you do is drill thru the wood.... then drill into cement.... and just beat long nails into the holes.....then use the adhesivesHow important is it to nail the floor plate into a concrete basement floor if...?
Hi, as i'm sure you know, there is a right way, a wrong way, and the in between. I built Bedrooms, sectioned of my whole basement into a Laundry room, Boiler room (MECHANICAL Room) Family/tv room and so on. And all I used was PL-400 construction adhesive for all the floor plates, and where I had attached them to the cement walls. That was 10 years ago, 8 years ago I wanted to put a door in one of the walls and the 2x4 plate broke before the adhesive did. So, i'm not saying it's right, but the in between way does work.


Good Luck and I hope this helped
when i build interior walls, i drill through the sill plate, into the concrete and install a red head bolt, which is a concrete anchor bolt intended for such projects. You will need a concrete drill bit and preferably a hammer drill. I usually install the bolts every 6 feet, and at least 6 inches from the corners. Make sure you use the drill bit recommended for the anchor. You can purchase these bolts at any hardware store.
You don't need to anchor the sill plate into the concrete as long as it's glued with some good construction adhesive. What you should do for sure is use a piece of treated lumber for the bottom plate though, as concrete tends to have moisture in it from the ground below it. This will help prevent mold and decay within the bottom plate. A wall this small is not critical to mechanically fasten the wall down.
You could glue it (not ideal) but you also have to protect it from coming in contact with the concrete. Either with a layer of Poly or Foam gasket tape. (both glue won't stick to). If you don't have a power hammer try good old concrete nails and a heavy hammer or Tap-con screws with a hammer drill.
Unless you push or bang against the wall alot, adhesive will probably be just fine. Just a couple concrete nails driven in as far as possible with a regular hammer is a good idea. Even if you can only get them down a fraction of an inch, it really helps keep the wall from moving.
Especially if it's a half wall. I wouldn't want to


depend on adhesive to anchor it.


You don't need concrete nails.


A few drilled holes with screw plugs will do it.
DO NOT NAIL INTO BLOCK!!!





It will crack. construction adhesive should be fine.
The best walls on a masonry floor are of masonry materials. Sill plates and the wooden walls are not the best or least costly. You have free choices like soda cans to glass or plastic bottles mortared like bricks from the slab up that make a better choice and no wood is used. Then you get a continuous thermal wall, that can help regulate temperatures instead of stick framed walls that do nothing but cost you money. They are more expensive to finish and they make no contribution to the comfort of thermal properties of your interior.





One of the biggest problems we see daily are termites in wooden floors. Those wooden floors that can not be checked, as in a crawl space inspection, suffer the most in many ways certainly when in a semi earth to wood situation. .





While drilling slabs for anchor bolts is a common practice of conventional construction, I personally am not in favor of it past the bare minimum, and with some extra measures in place as it does invite pest and other problems in the future inside walls too. Glue does not leave you in better shape as moisture can loosen wood from concrete if it swells. I've done both methods and seen them fail even under the most careful of installations. 1 flood out, from a water heater, toilet or water bed often starts this ball a rolling.





Future hydration of the boards, from moisture rising from the slabs micro cracks, or worse cracking that can happen with expansion plus the many drilled holes also can cause problems too. It is with this in mind I would reconsider the choice of any wood in contact with concrete , unless you must as in lintels.





We often design %26amp; install Adobe, Rammed Earth %26amp; other alternative buildings with clay %26amp; naturalistic or patterned concrete materials . Even floors that can mimic real wood and your floors are therefore safe and pretty too. If the slab was installed correctly from the start with pex tubing for hot water to flow within, your warm also.





I hope some of this helps you and do come join the Yahoo building discussion group sponsored by Georgia Adobe..


Best Regards,


Joe Woodall