Bell bottom sleeves are plastic sleeves that hold the anchor bolt in place while concrete is poured in heavy structural and foundation work. Madden Bolt designed them. The flared, bell-shaped bottom adds bearing and pull-out resistance where the assembly sits in concrete. We pair the sleeve with the matching anchor bolts and hardware so it ships as one matched assembly. One assembly, one source. AISC certified, family-owned since 1988.
Bell bottom sleeves are plastic sleeves that fit over the anchor bolt in heavy structural and foundation work. What sets them apart is the flared, bell-shaped bottom. A straight sleeve just houses the bolt; the bell flares out at the embedded end to pick up bearing area and pull-out resistance in the surrounding concrete. We assemble the sleeve onto the anchor bolt so it ships as part of the complete assembly.
Engineers call out bell bottom sleeves where an anchor bolt assembly has to resist high uplift and bearing loads in a concrete foundation. The flared base spreads load into the concrete and holds the assembly down when tension tries to pull it out. That puts them to work on:
The sleeve is one piece of a larger anchorage, so we assemble it onto the bolt. Pair bell bottom sleeves with our custom anchor bolts and the whole assembly comes matched.
Bell bottom sleeves come in standard anchor bolt diameters from 1 inch to 3 inches — 1, 1-1/4, 1-1/2, 1-3/4, 2, 2-1/4, 2-1/2, 2-3/4, and 3 inch. These are stock sizes; we don’t make custom sleeves. Tell us your anchor bolt diameter and we’ll match the sleeve.
We’re an AISC certified fabricator with a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) on staff. The anchor bolts we pair with the sleeve are fabricated, threaded, and hot-dip galvanized under that certification, traceable from raw steel to the finished bolt. The sleeve itself is a stock plastic part of the assembly. See our full quality and safety standards.
Bell bottom sleeves are plastic sleeves that fit over the anchor bolt in heavy structural and foundation work. The flared, bell-shaped bottom adds bearing and pull-out resistance where the assembly sits in concrete. We assemble them onto the matching anchor bolts.
They hold the anchor bolt in place while concrete is poured. The flared, bell-shaped bottom also spreads load into the concrete and resists uplift, so you’ll see them on LNG terminal structures, transmission and substation foundations, and heavy industrial work.
Stock sizes. Bell bottom sleeves come in standard anchor bolt diameters from 1 inch to 3 inches (1, 1-1/4, 1-1/2, 1-3/4, 2, 2-1/4, 2-1/2, 2-3/4, and 3). We don’t make custom sleeves, tell us your anchor bolt diameter and we’ll match the sleeve.
No. The sleeve itself is plastic, so it doesn’t get galvanized. The anchor bolt it pairs with is hot-dip galvanized in-house per ASTM A153, but the sleeve ships as a plastic part of the assembly.
Yes. The sleeve is part of an anchor bolt assembly, so we assemble the sleeve onto the anchor bolt with its nuts and washers and ship them as one kit matched to the foundation. Our anchor bolts page covers the bolt configurations we pair with sleeves.
Send us your assembly drawing or foundation detail and we’ll quote it. Request a quote online or call the Houston shop at 713.939.9999. Standard, rush, and expedited orders are all fine.
Send us an assembly drawing or a foundation detail. We run standard, rush, and expedited orders, and we get them out the door fast.
