Found out the hard way how fast concrete nails rust on a barn job

I was doing some shoeing work at an old dairy farm near Lebanon, Tennessee about two months ago... nice family operation but the barn floor was pure concrete. I figured I'd just use some 1.5 inch concrete nails to hold down a rubber mat where a horse kept pawing. Two weeks later I came back for a reset and those nails were already rusted halfway through and the mat was loose. I didn't think moisture would get to them that fast but the barn stays humid from the cows. My buddy Bill who's been to 40 years told me to use stainless steel or coated masonry nails next time. Now I'm wondering how many other folks out there learned that lesson the same way I did or if you've got a better trick for keeping mats down on concrete floors.

3 comments

3 Comments

ray6139d ago

Bill's old school but @cora813's right, plastic anchors beat metal every time.

cora8139d ago

Lebanon huh I know some folks over there. Just a heads up though even coated masonry nails can rust out if the concrete stays damp, I had that happen on a dairy farm in Murfreesboro where the floor was always wet from the washdown. What worked better for me was using those plastic expansion anchors with stainless screws, you drill a pilot hole tap in the anchor and screw it down. It took a little longer to install but that mat never budged and no rust after six months.

joseph_green139d ago

Have you tried the Tapcon brand plastic anchors? I've been using those on a damp basement floor and they hold like crazy, way better than the regular generic ones.