How do I get wood dowels to stay in concrete holes?

Question

I'm installing a laminate-to-carpet transition strip on a concrete slab. The installation directions had me drill holes in the slab and then tap dowels into them. Well, my holes turned out a bit bigger than expected and the dowels aren't a tight fit, so is there some kind of glue I can use to keep them in place? Would wood glue be a bad idea? (I'm not looking for something to outlast the house, just last as long as the laminate it matches)

Answer 1

Start a carpet tack in the end of the dowel, then tap the dowel into the hole, tack first.  When the tack hits the bottom of your hole, it will drive up into the dowel, expanding it to fit snugly in the hole.  If the holes are quite a bit oversized, you can first wrap some masking tape around the dowel.

Since the dowels are already loose in the holes, glue is not likely to work well.  If you really want a "product", two-part epoxy putty will likely work.  If comes as a 3/4" "rope" that looks like gray plasticine with a tan centre.  You cut off a piece and work it in your hands 'til it is all one color, and warm in your hands.  You then have a few minutes to mould it to whatever your purpose -- plug a hole, patch etc.  Useful stuff but not really necessary for this project.  Masking tape and a tack will work better.

Answer 2

as an alternative, you can just use liquid nails or other construction adhesive and just glue the transition down to the concrete. set some books or other weight on it for several hours.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Gorilla glue, if it doesn't hold it nothing will. My son broke a large chunk of concrete off of our walkway and my hubby used gorilla glue to fix it and it is still holding strong.

Answer 4

Use a good two-part epoxy.

Answer 5

Although the gluing sounds like a great idea, but I believe that the dowels are to be installed inside the hole, and they are designed to be a snug fit.

Go to your local hardware store and purchase a dowel that is the next diameter size up. Saw to desired length and install as per manufacturers directions. No glues or epoxy to mess with and its cheaper too.