# Sheared head on Tapcon screw - how to remove?



## mkuether

While installing a Tapcon screw into a concrete floor, I managed to shear the head off the screw before it got all the way in. I need to get it out and try again. I have tried to drill the screw for an extraction, but I have not gotten very far. Also tried the vise grips, sawing a groove and trying a standard screwdriver, nothing has worked. My creativity is tapped out...

Anyone have any ideas on how I can get this screw out? Is there any type of penetrating lubricant that may make this any easier? Special drill bit to use to completely drill out the screw? I have about 1/4 to 3/8" protruding from the floor.

Thanks,
Mark


----------



## AtlanticWBConst.

Leave it in place. Take a reciprocating saw with a metal-cutting blade and cut it off at the base of the screw. If there is still a "nub"left...smash it flat with a hammer, and then continue on with your project....


----------



## mkuether

AtlanticWBConst. said:


> Leave it in place. Take a reciprocating saw with a metal-cutting blade and cut it off at the base of the screw. If there is still a "nub"left...smash it flat with a hammer, and then continue on with your project....


I would do that, but I need a fastener in that spot for this project. Removal is somewhat necessary...


----------



## redline

May need to try a carbide bit.


----------



## Sammy

Trying to drill it out would be tough since they are pretty hard.

If you have 3/8" sticking up you may be able to get a pipe wrench on it which will bite better as it tightens. Or maybe a broken stud extractor if you have one. 

If that wont work maybe drill a hole in the concrete next to it to relieve some of the pressure and give it some movement. Then once you get it out, oversize your hole and use a fixed sleeve anchor or a lead lag.


----------



## Kingfisher

Hitting it with a hammer may break the teeth loose so you can get it to back out, other wise you realy may have to leave it and drill beside it. Also always drill the holes 1/2" deeper then the screw to have room for the dust the screw pushes down as it goes in the hole.


----------



## mkuether

FYI - I ended up solving my problem by drilling into and tapping the existing Tapcon using a carbide bit. Thanks for all your advice. Next time I will be more patient in drilling a hole for the screw to avoid this problem in the first place...


----------



## End Grain

*If you're not using Tapcons every day*

I use maybe 100 - 150 Tapcons a year and most end up in places that are noticeable.

Years back, I purchased and tried using the Tapcon drill/drive kit but gave up. I no longer try to drive Tapcon screws into concrete as they tend to snap off or simply strip out. Rather, after drilling the correct size hole 1/4" deeper than necessary, I use a pinpoint blast of compressed air to blow the drill dust out of the hole and a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket (or drive bit) to gradually tighten the Tapcon screws down. No heating up from friction, no stripouts, no snapoffs, no problems. Takes me longer for sure but the Tapcons move along in the hole much easier, tighten up properly, hold much better over time and the results are much neater.

Obviously, if you use lots of Tapcons everyday and they're eventually hidden or covered over or in areas that are not aesthetic, my method simply isn't cost-effective.


----------



## nap

End Grain said:


> Obviously, if you use lots of Tapcons everyday and they're eventually hidden or covered over or in areas that are not aesthetic, my method simply isn't cost-effective.


It could be if you condsider the time it takes to put a second, or third tapcon in and the costs of the additional tapcons.


----------



## melkisadek

*I got the Tapcon blues*

I googled "Tapcon removal" and found this thread helpful. I've broken a few tapcons lately in sidewalk and step cement where I really need to put an anchors in thea same spots. I called a tapcon rep and in the conversation he advised me not to use a ratchet for installation as that would be the best way to snap them off. Actually, when I worked slowly with a ratchet and didn't use too much pressure, I had my best results. Then one day I used a high torque, slow speed drill and got fairly good results. So I thought I had my answer. That was a short lived fool's paradise. Snap. Snap. The rep advised me to get the tapcon installation tool to put in my drill and I'm going shopping to check it one in a day or two. He told me that tool would make it almost imossible to snap one off. I reading otherwise in this thread.
Meanwhile, back to my real question . . . if a carbide drill bit will cut into the tapcon, what do I use to then back it out? And what size bit was used to begin with. There doesn't seem to be much space in the shaft of a 1/4 or 5/16 inch tapcon.
I just picked up a set of Craftsman "Bolt-Out"s with the hope that if I chipped out the concrete around the top of the "stud" I could get a bite on it. Another thought that I've not yet tried is to heat the tapcon with the hope that if it expands it'll push the concrete around it and then when it cools, will be looser and easier to extract.
I'm looking for some feedback on those ideas. 
By way of background, I'm a volunteer who repairs exterior stair rails for low income home owners and see a lot of misinstalled post bases. And, yes, I've contributed by share to that problem. That's why I'd like to learn how to repair these properly. My intention is to enlarge the hole enough to put in lead shields and lag screws.

an aspiring handyman,

Al


----------

