Radio Shack Wall Mount Lag Bolt Size?

[cfd_safety]

Does anybody know what size the lag bolts are that come with the Radio Shack 12" Wall Mount? I need to know so I can select the right size drill bit to drill my holes. I want to install my ST-2 outside my bedroom window. I could really use some help with this.

 

[pjtnascar]

Those lag bolts that Radio Shack includes with their brackets are generally too short and too small to really be effective. I would suggest that you pick up some lags that are about 4" long. Take the bracket with you and get the largest diameter lag that will fit in the hole. Also, you didn't mention what you were lagging into. (I went through a fiberglass siding that looks like wood) The important thing is to make sure at least one lag penetrates into a stud. Lags are pretty cheap so don't skimp by using the cheapie radio shack screws. BTW-The brackets are pretty good and sturdy and stood up to some heavy winds here over the winter with a 17' vertical antenna for 10 meters attached to a 10' mast.

Hope this helps.

 

[kb0nly]

Ditch the standard lag bolts though, spend just a few cents more and get construction screws. If you have metal or fiberboard/cement siding pre-drill that, then let the construction screw do the rest, they are a Torx bit head and with a cordless drill they go in no problem as they are self drilling. A lot stronger than a standard lag bolt also. I have put a lot of mast mounts on for TV antennas with those, find one stud and get one side into a stud at least. I wish they would make them so they are 16" wide to grab two studs but they hold up well.

If your really worried or you want to run a little more mast/weight on it you can make a couple backer boards, a couple pieces of pressure treated 2x4 and drill and bolt the standoffs to the boards, i use galvanized carriage bolts and hammer them in so the head is flush on the back side, tightening them will also help draw the head in the rest of the way. Then you can drill them for 16" centers and go direct into the studs. Finding the studs is easy depending on your siding. If you have a face nailed siding just go by the nails in the siding, good installers will go into the stud locations, if you have vinyl siding you can get a removal tool to pop up a bottom of a piece and look for the nail locations and also run a stud finder around to find them, that is if you don't have foil backed insulation which will give a false reading on most stud finders.

I also started using 2x4 poly wood from Menards for these, they come in a few colors, never need to be painted etc. Its the same material as vinyl siding and works great. Do it once, do it right, and your done! If you want i can take a picture of one of my installs as an example.

 

[cfd_safety]

Thanks guys for the replies. I am mounting into vinyl siding. Can one of you please answer my original question? How big are those supplied lag bolts? Also I have another question, do I have to pre-drill holes or is there a way I can just use the cordless drill to screw the bolts in place? If I do that I wouldn't need to know the size of the bolts. They have a flat head on the screw. I don't have a lot of experience working with drills and this will be my first time doing a project like this.

 

[kb0nly]

No idea on the stock size, i think they are something like 1/4" by a few inches long, not sufficient by any means it will fail.

Go get some construction screws, then you can just put them in with your drill. Another thing about the stock screws, they are standard old school flat head bit, hard to drive in with a drill and keep the torque going. Get some construction screws that have a Torx head on them, then you can just screw them in. If your drill has enough power you don't even need to pre-drill as they are self drilling.