Hanging a pool table light from a concrete ceiling

Cuebacca

Cuebacca

________
Silver Member
I am a renter in a house that has a finished garage, which will soon be my poolroom. I have Diamond light that I hope to install. I tried already to install some hooks to hang bicycles. After finding what I thought was a stud, I drilled a pilot hole through the drywall in the ceiling, only to have my bit get blocked by what sounded like metal. I'm assuming its not metal, but concrete.

Here are my questions:

1. Could it be anything other than concrete? I tried a second spot to be sure I didn't get unlucky enough to hit a nail or something, and got the same result.

2. If it is concrete, is there a safe/secure way to install screws to hang the light? (I want to make sure the screws down slip out and damage my precious light and table, and also be sure I don't reduce the structural integrity of the 2nd floor.)

3. Since I'm a renter, is this sort of thing considered wear-and-tear, or is it more along the lines of damage to the house? (I know, I probably should have asked that before trying to hang the bike hooks. :o) I'm assuming that if I actually ask my landlord (property management company), I'll get shot down, whether its considered wear-and-tear or not. Please don't get me wrong; I do generally take very good care of other people's property, including rentals, and go out of my way to minimize my impact on them. I just want to live a little here.

4. Are there any magicians in the house that can tell me how to levitate my light while I play pool underneath it? :p

I realize this may be the wrong forum for some of these questions, but I thought I'd start here at least. Thanks in advance! :)
 
Cuebacca said:
I am a renter in a house that has a finished garage, which will soon be my poolroom. I have Diamond light that I hope to install. I tried already to install some hooks to hang bicycles. After finding what I thought was a stud, I drilled a pilot hole through the drywall in the ceiling, only to have my bit get blocked by what sounded like metal. I'm assuming its not metal, but concrete.

Here are my questions:

1. Could it be anything other than concrete? I tried a second spot to be sure I didn't get unlucky enough to hit a nail or something, and got the same result.

2. If it is concrete, is there a safe/secure way to install screws to hang the light? (I want to make sure the screws down slip out and damage my precious light and table, and also be sure I don't reduce the structural integrity of the 2nd floor.)

3. Since I'm a renter, is this sort of thing considered wear-and-tear, or is it more along the lines of damage to the house? (I know, I probably should have asked that before trying to hang the bike hooks. :o) I'm assuming that if I actually ask my landlord (property management company), I'll get shot down, whether its considered wear-and-tear or not. Please don't get me wrong; I do generally take very good care of other people's property, including rentals, and go out of my way to minimize my impact on them. I just want to live a little here.

4. Are there any magicians in the house that can tell me how to levitate my light while I play pool underneath it? :p

I realize this may be the wrong forum for some of these questions, but I thought I'd start here at least. Thanks in advance! :)
Click to expand...
Go to Home Depot or a similiar store.also a Fastenall store IF you have one..these places have concrete anchors/screws..just remember when drilling into concrete you cannot use a regular drill you must use what is called a hammer drill or a drill that has that hammer setting..Fastenall is a store specializing in all types of fasteners for general contracting.another tip if drilling alot of deep concrete holes have someone hold a vacuum hose to the area to pick up all the fine dust..Good Luck to you..
 
Also i see you are in California.so it would not suprise me if in fact your ceiling was concrete..this is due to the earthquake problems..
 
Thanks, Joey! I just checked and it appears that we do have a Fastenal store in town. I'll check them out. Thanks again!
 
Cuebacca said:
I am a renter in a house that has a finished garage, which will soon be my poolroom. I have Diamond light that I hope to install. I tried already to install some hooks to hang bicycles. After finding what I thought was a stud, I drilled a pilot hole through the drywall in the ceiling, only to have my bit get blocked by what sounded like metal. I'm assuming its not metal, but concrete.

Here are my questions:

1. Could it be anything other than concrete? I tried a second spot to be sure I didn't get unlucky enough to hit a nail or something, and got the same result.

2. If it is concrete, is there a safe/secure way to install screws to hang the light? (I want to make sure the screws down slip out and damage my precious light and table, and also be sure I don't reduce the structural integrity of the 2nd floor.)

3. Since I'm a renter, is this sort of thing considered wear-and-tear, or is it more along the lines of damage to the house? (I know, I probably should have asked that before trying to hang the bike hooks. :o) I'm assuming that if I actually ask my landlord (property management company), I'll get shot down, whether its considered wear-and-tear or not. Please don't get me wrong; I do generally take very good care of other people's property, including rentals, and go out of my way to minimize my impact on them. I just want to live a little here.

4. Are there any magicians in the house that can tell me how to levitate my light while I play pool underneath it? :p

I realize this may be the wrong forum for some of these questions, but I thought I'd start here at least. Thanks in advance! :)
Click to expand...


Hold on a second before you start drilling!

It could be a lot of things that would take too long to explain. I'll pm you my number and call me. I have been in both commercial and residential construction for over twenty years and maybe I can help narrow things down before you drill into something you wish you hadn't.:eek:
 
Da Poet said:
Hold on a second before you start drilling!

It could be a lot of things that would take too long to explain. I'll pm you my number and call me. I have been in both commercial and residential construction for over twenty years and maybe I can help narrow things down before you drill into something you wish you hadn't.:eek:
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:eek: LOL.

Very generous of you, sir! I will give you a call tomorrow. Thanks! :)
 
Da Poet said:
Hold on a second before you start drilling!

It could be a lot of things that would take too long to explain. I'll pm you my number and call me. I have been in both commercial and residential construction for over twenty years and maybe I can help narrow things down before you drill into something you wish you hadn't.:eek:
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How very true this is too..
 
When you are drilling blindly and hit metal, think of two things:

1) electrical conduit or junction box
2) water pipe

If you persist in drilling, you may get lit up in a major way, or your pool table may be ruined by water.

I think you should give your landlord the option of poking holes in things themselves.
 
Well if it's a concrete slab, it will typically have reinforcing steel (rebar) in it. Maybe you just got unlucky and hit a piece of rebar in the bottom mat of steel! Drilling a couple of holes will not affect the structural integrity of the slab at all.
 
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hopefully you don't hit anything vital as someone stated above
if it is JUST a concrete slab above, which , seems unlikely to me, unless it's a firecode requirement where you live
try using sammys
invented by a pipefitter named sammy (that's what i heard)
about a buck each
they are great for anchoring purposes
all the plumbing supply houses here sell them
they come in various lengths and for wood or concrete applications
there is a 3/8x16 female thread on the end for using all thread rod
they WILL not pullout
i've hung heavy cast iron pipe off of sammys
 
Dead Crab said:
When you are drilling blindly and hit metal, think of two things:

1) electrical conduit or junction box
2) water pipe

If you persist in drilling, you may get lit up in a major way, or your pool table may be ruined by water.

I think you should give your landlord the option of poking holes in things themselves.
Click to expand...

In my defense it, wasn't completely blind. I did use a stud finder and carefully measured the distance between several studs, to hopefully avoid the pitfall of drilling into some object between two studs. I concede though, I should have done more research before starting this. Maybe I'll have to invite the property management company over and let them do some jump shots and extreme masses on my table as payback. :(
 
I got one word for you: "HILTI".

You can certainly find somebody that can install some Hilti bolts for you...
 
Someone above mentioned concrete fasteners and hammer drills. They forgot to inform you that you need to use a concrete bit in the hammer drill. A regular bit intended for wood or metal will not last long on concrete.

Many speculations were made as to what you may have hit (electrical components,plumbing lines,etc.) but since it is a two story house, it may also be a joist hanger. Granted,I don't know how your home is laid out, but the 2nd floor joists could change directions (for load bearing points). If it is only a joist hanger you shouldn't have a problem drilling through it.
 
Cuebacca said:
I am a renter in a house that has a finished garage, which will soon be my poolroom. I have Diamond light that I hope to install. I tried already to install some hooks to hang bicycles. After finding what I thought was a stud, I drilled a pilot hole through the drywall in the ceiling, only to have my bit get blocked by what sounded like metal. I'm assuming its not metal, but concrete.

Here are my questions:

1. Could it be anything other than concrete? I tried a second spot to be sure I didn't get unlucky enough to hit a nail or something, and got the same result.

2. If it is concrete, is there a safe/secure way to install screws to hang the light? (I want to make sure the screws down slip out and damage my precious light and table, and also be sure I don't reduce the structural integrity of the 2nd floor.)

3. Since I'm a renter, is this sort of thing considered wear-and-tear, or is it more along the lines of damage to the house? (I know, I probably should have asked that before trying to hang the bike hooks. :o) I'm assuming that if I actually ask my landlord (property management company), I'll get shot down, whether its considered wear-and-tear or not. Please don't get me wrong; I do generally take very good care of other people's property, including rentals, and go out of my way to minimize my impact on them. I just want to live a little here.

4. Are there any magicians in the house that can tell me how to levitate my light while I play pool underneath it? :p

I realize this may be the wrong forum for some of these questions, but I thought I'd start here at least. Thanks in advance! :)
Click to expand...
One of the things that I've always tried to do when I was hanging something is to not just hang it by using anchors. What I generally do is to take a piece of 1" x 4" of 1" x6" and use lags to hold the wood to the ceiling. In addition to lag bolts, I spread Liquid Nail to the back side of the wood and glue it to the ceiling. Then I would put the light hangers into the wood. If know of anyone who has a router, you can even route the edges of the 1" board and give it some character. Good luck.
 
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