Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - attaching 2x4 to foundation

im building a sofft around a large pipe in my basement that requires me to mount a 2x4 flat against the concrete wall as the base of the soffit.

ive tried using tapcons, i bought a pack of 1/4" x 2-3/4" "concrete anchors" which are what was listed for 2x4s on the diagram at home depot. the tapcons came with a drill bit thats needed for drilling the initial hole.

im using a milawaukee 1/2" high power drill and for the life of me i cannot drill into the concrete more then a 1/8" how much force is needed on the drill to get the bit into the concrete? any idea what im doing wrong?

also are there any easier ways of a attaching a 2x4 to concrete? a stud driver isnt acceptable is it?

telefunken,

Solid concrete is HARD! I use tapcons in mortar and brick all the time, occasionally concrete. Keep pushin'. And it may take another bit or two. I buy them by the 6-pack(carbide tipped).

In the past I drilled and used lead anchors. But I do like the tapcons.

fred

should i be pushing hard or thats going to damage the drill? also what speed should i have the drill at? ive heard to use it at the slower settings, but the only time i got any headway into the concrete was when i had the drill almost going full blast.

any other tips would be appreciated.

also does anyone know any slightly easier options?

Beg, borrow, or rent a hammer drill. Hitting a piece of aggregate in concrete can bring any rotary only drill to a dead halt.

so id still be using tapcons, but i would just use the hammer drill to get the hole into the concrete instead of a regular drill?

another question, how good do tapcons hold, im soffiting around a pipe that runs about ateast 15ft in my basement. im concerned that im not going to drill into the cement properly and/or the tapcons not holding and my soffit will fall down.

These are the 2 methods I would use


1) rent a powder actuated nail gun
2) hammer drill a 3/16" inch hole into the concrete, then insert a tie wire, and hammer the nail into the remaining space in the hole.

This site has a good selection of engineering data, including strength ratings for Tapcon fasteners:

http://www.itwbuildex.com/tapcon.htm