Is anybody using an alternative to lead for setting tacks & tags in concrete curbs or sidewalks. Our employee health and safety group has issues with using lead due to Cal OSHA lead exposure regulations.
> Is anybody using an alternative to lead for setting tacks & tags in concrete curbs or sidewalks. Our employee health and safety group has issues with using lead due to Cal OSHA lead exposure regulations.
I suppose that a quick setting portland cement grout has been tried? You'd probably need to use a screw or a ring-shank nail with the tag so that the grout would have something to grip.
Dennis you are more likely to die from breathing cancerous exhaust fumes while drilling holes in footpath.
OSH are going overboard.
I have drilled holes and then hit ramset/hilti nails into hole so below level concrete.
RADU
A two part epoxy works well. More expensive but the "good" stuff will last a WHILE.
Andy
Lead Alternatives -- Hilti nails
> I have drilled holes and then hit ramset/hilti nails into hole so below level concrete.
I'm trying to picture that... There's a hollow deep and wide enough for the hilti head, the nail goes in, the head is protruding within the hollow but below the general concrete surface. Is that it?
How much space is left between the nail head and the sides of the hollow? I've never actually used a hilti gun -- doesn't it have to be in contact with the concrete surface, or can it be a short distance away, to work?
Cheers
PS: I've often wondered about the advisability of using lead. Not so much the immediate hazard of placing it, more the long-term environmental effects of leaving it there. (Hunters are moving away, i think, from lead shot in order to reduce poisoning the environment.) Then there's the cost of lead...
Not a Hilti Gun, I wouldn't think
> How much space is left between the nail head and the sides of the hollow? I've never actually used a hilti gun -- doesn't it have to be in contact with the concrete surface, or can it be a short distance away, to work?
I'm going to guess that RADU didn't mean use a Hilti gun to drive the Hilti nail into the pre-drilled hole but to drive the nail with a hammer. Most of cases I've seen where a Hilti nails had been set in cured concrete with a gun persisted only as dimples formed by the concrete that spalled away. I wouldn't consider using a Hilti gun to set nails in cured concrete a sound practice for setting permanent marks.
Lead Alternatives -- Hilti nails
I have never used a gun, hit with 4 lb er it just saves having to hit nail all way in as it will bend in strong concrete and shatter the smooth surface. Drill hole neater.
RADU
JB Weld works well, and being two separate tubes makes it more likely to be viable next time I need it.
If you liked lead, you might like lead free solder, at about $30 per pound in bar stock. It's triangular in cross section so you can tell it from lead bar stock.
I've used a lot of these and never been disappointed.
Berntsen BP Series Markers for Concrete
Since the special Berntsen bit costs so much, I recommend using a separate masonry bit for the pilot hole, then using the Berntsen bit for the countersink.
> Is anybody using an alternative to lead for setting tacks & tags in concrete curbs or sidewalks. Our employee health and safety group has issues with using lead due to Cal OSHA lead exposure regulations.
Quick rock, a deeper hole than normal, and a nail type like this to anchor in the Quickrock..
Quick rock does not have the compression against a nail shank like compressed lead does.
How about just placing in the county standards that employees using lead plugs have to wear gloves like the cheapo surgical ones? Maybe that will keep the employee health and safety group happy.
I wish it were that simple Paul. If you have trouble sleeping, try reading this. It is all the record keeping, monitoring, medical testing, etc that makes you say "uncle" and look for alternatives.
I see what you mean now Dennis.
I have a magnail set in the intersection of three cracks in my driveway. I filled in the void with Quikrete and it has mostly eroded away. The magnail is still there, though.
