The best way to air seal the sill plate is to place a sill sealer (also called a sill gasket) on the concrete before laying down the sill plate. The entire sill plate-rim joist area can be further air sealed and insulated with spray foam, but sill plate joints and seams with rim joists should first be caulked.

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1. Lay a continuous layer of 1/4-inch foam gasket or similar moisture and air barrier on top of the concrete slab before applying sill plates.
2. Apply a bead of caulk along the inside perimeter where the sill plate meets the concrete slab, if desired for additional air-sealing.

The bottom plates of the walls in your garage are also sometimes called the sill plates. If the floor or foundation of the garage is made of concrete, these plates are often attached to it with anchor bolts. When the concrete begins to crumble and allows moisture to collect, the plates can rot, weakening the walls.

1. Position the sill plate in place on the concrete slab or foundation.
2. Drill holes through both the sill plate and into the concrete, using a concrete masonry drill-bit.
3. Insert one wedge anchor bolt set into each drilled hole and hammer it into place with a hammer.

Powder-actuated fasteners are ideal for securing 2×4 sleepers to floors, furring strips to walls, and plywood subfloors to concrete slabs. They provide an incredibly strong and fast way to attach to concrete—but you can’t remove the nails once they’ve been fired in.

LIQUID NAILS® Concrete & Mortar Repair, (CR-805), is a weather-resistant indoor/outdoor acrylic compound with silicone, ideal for repairing and sealing cracks and joints in concrete and masonry surfaces. This easy-gunning sealant dries gray similar to concrete or can be painted.

Wedge Concrete Anchor

Concrete nails are made of hardened steel and have fluted shafts that help them sink into the concrete. Even with this heavier hammer, you will need to drill pilot holes for the nails. This is best done with a hammer drill and a masonry bit that is the same diameter or slightly smaller than the nails you’re using.

Can you screw directly into concrete? Concrete screws are a quick and convenient way to fasten to concrete. The best thing about these screws is that you can screw directly into concrete without any need for hammering or an anchor or shield to install. All you have to do is drill a hole and drive in the screw.

Unlike self-drilling screws which do not need pilot holes due to their drill bit end, self-tapping screws like concrete screws do require the user to mark a spot for the pilot hole.

The proper length could be either the 2-3/4″ or the 3-1/4″ length concrete screw. The 3-1/4″ screw would be right at maximum embedment and depending on the abrasiveness of the base material, may be too long.

Blue coated anchor screws are used to attach materials to concrete, concrete block or brick.

The blue, corrosion-resistant coating enables them to withstand the harshest conditions. And their unmatched performance in concrete, block and brick applications make them an excellent alternative to expansion anchors, plugs and lag shields.

The standard blue Climaseal® Tapcon® screw are a light duty masonry anchor primarily used in dry indoor applications for attaching items to concrete, brick or block. They can be used in applications ranging from attaching 2×4 lumber to concrete, a light fixture to brick, or furring strips to a block wall.