Anchor Bolt Sleeve Installation

Typical Plastic Anchor Sleeve Installation

Printer-Friendly PDFPlease click through the installation steps to see how a plastic anchor sleeve is typically installed.

1. Screw or push the anchor sleeve onto the anchor bolt to the level required. Fix the sleeve in place to achieve the desired amount of threaded projection required

2. Insert sleeved bolt into template and fix it in place for concrete pour. Often a nut is used to hang the anchor bolts from a template.

Keep in mind that the top of the sleeve should be flush with the top of the concrete once the top is cut away.

3. Pour the concrete into the form to create the foundation or other structure desired.

After the concrete cures, cut the top from the sleeve at concrete level right before the equipment or steel structure is installed onto the anchor bolt. Keeping the sleeve intact until installation will prevent water and debris from entering the cavity.

4. The anchor bolt can now be adjusted slightly to connect to the base of the structure or equipment that is being anchored to the foundation. This minute amount of adjustment may not seem like much, but it can make the difference between a successful installation or resetting a foundation.

5. After the anchor bolts have been correctly adjusted and when equipment/structure is ready to be set, non-shrink grout is cast into the cavity created by the anchor sleeve and the equipment/structure is installed.

Alternate Configurations

Creating a grout pocket

Plastic anchor sleeves can also be used to create a grout pocket for an anchor bolt. Instead of setting the sleeve and anchor bolt together during the concrete pour, only the sleeve is set in place and once the concrete cures an anchor bolt is placed inside the sleeve and set. The space within the sleeve limits the size and length of the anchor bolt being used in this alternate configuration, so anchors, like headed anchor bolts, are often used in this application.

Other uses

Anchor sleeves can also be used in a wide variety of applications that may not involve the traditional use of setting an anchor bolt into concrete. For instance sleeves can be used in walls or floors to create spaces in structures for other materials, such as pipe or railing, depending on the project requirements.