Post-installed anchors compared: concrete screw, wedge, sleeve, drop-in and chemical
Five anchor families, one decision: what the base material will tolerate, how fast the joint must carry load, and how much capacity the detail needs. This table compares the five post-installed anchor families we publish individual specification pages for, using only fields that mean the same thing across the columns. Where a figure is not established by the collected evidence, the cell says so and asks you to confirm it at RFQ; nothing is filled in with an assumption, and no cell implies a family cannot be supplied.
Comparison table
Size and capacity figures are family bands and reference-ETA values as the collected specifier source qualifies them — they position the families and are not a substitute for the ETA or ICC-ES report of the specific product and size.
| Field | Concrete Screw | Wedge Anchor | Sleeve Anchor | Drop-In Anchor | Chemical (Adhesive) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setting mechanism Differs in kind across the columns: a cut thread, torque-set expansion at a point, along a sleeve, via a setting tool, or a bonded adhesive layer. | Self-tapping — hardened screw cuts its own thread into a predrilled hole; single-use | Torque-controlled expansion — nut torque wedges an expansion clip against the hole wall | Torque-set expansion through a full-length sleeve — pressure distributed along the hole | Internally threaded shell expanded by a setting tool driven to the hole bottom; fastening threads in afterwards | Bonded — threaded rod set in injected epoxy or vinyl ester; load transfers through the adhesive layer |
| Base materials | Concrete (predrilled, rotary-hammer only) | Concrete | Concrete, brick and block — the tolerant expansion family for masonry | Concrete (drilled to body-length depth, dust blown out) | Concrete — including damp or water-filled holes with vinyl ester adhesive |
| Size & embedment band Family bands and reference-ETA windows as the collected specifier source qualifies them — individual products vary. | M6–M16 metric (3/16″–5/8″ inch); effective embedment 45–85 mm, floor h_nom − h_s ≥ 40 mm | M6–M24 family band; effective embedment 40–150 mm | M6–M24 family band; effective embedment 40–150 mm | M6–M24 family band; M6–M16 common thread series with 25/30/40 mm body heights at M6/M8/M10 | M8–M24 rods on the reference ETA (EAD floor M6); embedment window 80–210 mm, bounded by 4d–20d |
| Capacity positioning Same meaning across columns (tension capacity), but the bases differ — cracked vs uncracked concrete, sizes and embedments — so figures position rather than convert. | Pull-out governs: 9–16 kN cracked C20/25 at h_ef 64–85 mm vs ~95 kN steel — about a factor of six below the screw itself | Slightly above a same-diameter screw anchor — the wedge bears on the hole wall instead of cutting a thread; cracked cone ≈ 70% of uncracked | Unverified — the collected page gives no capacity figure for sleeve anchors; capacity is product- and size-specific, confirm at RFQ Unverified — confirm at RFQ | Unverified — the collected page gives no capacity figure; values are product-specific from the ETA or test data Unverified — confirm at RFQ | Highest of the families: ≈ 29 kN cracked / ≈ 54 kN uncracked on an M12 rod at 110 mm in C20/25 — roughly twice a comparable mechanical anchor at depth |
| Installation & time to load | Drill, drive in, load immediately — no torque tool, no cure window; never turned again after setting | Drill, clean dust, insert, torque-set, load immediately — no cure window | Matched carbide bit, clean hole, insert, tighten gradually — immediate load | Drill to body-length depth, blow out dust, drive with a setting tool until the anchor seats and expands | Drill–brush–blow–brush cleaning cycle, inject, set rod, wait out the temperature-dependent cure — load only after full cure |
| Qualification route | EAD 330232 — cracked approval and seismic per product and per size; design to ACI 318-25 Ch. 17 / EN 1992-4 | ACI 355.2 (US) / ETA under EAD 330232 (Europe); widely qualified for cracked concrete and seismic | Unverified — the collected page does not name a qualification route; confirm the approval document at RFQ Unverified — confirm at RFQ | Mechanical expansion family — ACI 355.2 / ETA under EAD 330232; values product- and size-specific | EAD 330499 — reference epoxy ETA-20/0533 (M8–M24 rods); seismic C1 across the rod range; fire product-specific |
| Relative installed cost | Lowest of the three fast-setting families — drive-in, no washer pass, no cure window | Low to medium — adds a washer and a torque pass over a screw anchor | Low to medium (mechanical expansion family) | Unverified — the collected page does not rank drop-in installed cost; confirm at RFQ Unverified — confirm at RFQ | Highest — dispensing tool, cleaning cycle and cure window add trade time; wins where capacity per anchor shrinks the drill programme |
| Best for | Repetitive light-duty fixings — formwork ties, hanger brackets, conduit and cladding rails — where speed per hole dominates | Medium-duty concrete details, including cracked-concrete and seismic work with a qualified product | Masonry — brick and block where a point wedge would spall the base material | Flush-mount equipment and threaded-rod suspensions; fixtures that unscrew without disturbing the anchor | Deep embedment, tight spacing, near-edge positions, sustained and seismic loads — the capacity ceiling of the families |
- Verified
- Differs
- Unverified — confirm at RFQ
- Conditional — confirm configuration
How to choose
By the base material
Solid concrete is the common ground — all five families live there. Once the base is brick or block, the field narrows: the sleeve anchor's expansion is distributed along the whole hole, so it grips masonry where a point wedge can spall the unit. And once the hole is damp or water-filled, the chemical anchor with vinyl ester adhesive is the family that keeps its qualification — the others assume a clean, dry, drilled concrete hole.
By speed and procedure
The concrete screw sets fastest — drill, drive, load, done, at the lowest installed cost — but it is single-use and pull-out governs. The wedge and sleeve add a torque pass and still load immediately. The drop-in trades a setting tool for a flush, internally threaded point that removable fixtures can unscrew from. The chemical anchor is the only family with a cure window: its cleaning cycle is part of the qualified system and loading waits for full cure — procedural cost, paid back in capacity.
By the load and the approval
For light repetitive fixings the screw anchor's speed wins; for medium-duty concrete the wedge is the default and the most widely qualified for cracked concrete and seismic; for deep embedment, tight spacing, near-edge positions and sustained loads, the chemical anchor's bond is the capacity ceiling. In every case the design document is the ETA or ICC-ES report of the specific product and size — cracked approval and seismic category are granted per size, not to the family logo.
Frequently asked questions
Mechanical or chemical anchor — where is the line?
The line is capacity and geometry. Mechanical anchors (screw, wedge, sleeve, drop-in) set fast and load immediately, and within their bands the wedge carries more than the screw at the same diameter. The chemical anchor transfers load through an adhesive bond, which is why it wins the hard details: deep embedment up to 20d, tight spacing, near-free-edge positions, sustained loads, and damp holes with vinyl ester — at roughly twice a comparable mechanical anchor's tension at depth. The costs are procedural: the hole-cleaning cycle is part of the qualified system and the joint waits out the cure window before loading.
Why is the concrete screw anchor rated so far below its steel strength?
Because the thread, not the screw, is the weak link: at the largest size the steel carries about 95 kN in tension while the thread cut into cracked C20/25 pulls out at 9–16 kN in the practical embedment window. This is the family design, not a defect — size concrete screw anchors by the pull-out value at your embedment and concrete class, and step up to a wedge or bonded anchor when the design load exceeds it.
Which anchor holds in brick or block?
The sleeve anchor is the tolerant choice for masonry: its expansion is distributed along the whole hole length, so the pressure does not crack the unit the way a point wedge can. All five columns in this table are qualified around concrete; for brick and block the base-material fit, not the capacity table, is the first filter — and the approval document of the specific product should confirm performance in the actual base material.
Individual anchor specification pages
Each family has its own page — embedment windows, capacity context and RFQ guidance.
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What to include in your inquiry
- ✓ Standard and property class (e.g. DIN 912, ISO 4762, class 8.8) — or a drawing for custom parts.
- ✓ Sizes, lengths and thread type (metric or inch).
- ✓ Quantity per size and your target delivery date.
- ✓ Destination country, plus any coating or finish requirement.
- ✓ Any documents you need with the shipment (e.g. mill test certificate) so the quote includes them.
- ✓ Your inquiry goes straight to the factory team by email and gets a reply within 24 hours.
- ✓ Factory-direct pricing
- ✓ Standard and custom specifications
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