Thread: Drilling into brick

I would like to put some hooks on the brick wall of the garage to store whipper snipped etc. the bricks are larger than house bricks and appear to not be solid. I asked at the hardware store which screws to use. I asked three people and got three answers! I would have thought I would need a plug or some kind of anchoring system to hold the hooks and take the weight. Would that be right?

Originally Posted by StrataStruggler

I would like to put some hooks on the brick wall of the garage to store whipper snipped etc. the bricks are larger than house bricks and appear to not be solid. I asked at the hardware store which screws to use. I asked three people and got three answers! I would have thought I would need a plug or some kind of anchoring system to hold the hooks and take the weight. Would that be right?

I prefer green plastic plugs directly into the mortar for sheer loads. They wont hold that well if force is applied on the pull (in line with the screw) but are fine for fitting hooks. Plus you can drill them out and put a dab of mortar to hide the hole if you remove the hooks at a later date.

I'd use plugs as well. You could try dynabolts for heavy loads, but they would have trouble if they were too long and expanded in the hollow part of the brick.

You may have besser blocks. Drill near the edge, but not two near where the block is solid, or in the middle. Then use plugs and screws. You might also try a masonry screw.

The above is only a guide as I have not seen the job and I am unable to tell the strength of either the mortar or the bricks.

A picture is worth a thousand words - try it . . .

Preferable to drill into the brick and plug it as opposed to the mortar, as the mortar is soft and will let the plug go easily.

Originally Posted by Overkill

You could try dynabolts for heavy loads, but they would have trouble if they were too long and expanded in the hollow part of the brick.

Dynabolts are old tech and have had their day in my opinion. Something like a screw-in anchor is a far better option. They hold well, they are easily removed, they can be used close to a slab/brick/block edge without cracking and they can be used in hollow-core bricks/blocks.

I have also used the plugged anchors and much prefer them over dynabolts, but the plug will be a permanent part of the wall. I used the plugged anchors to fix a timber raker to 190mm blockwork in my garage and it's been highly successful.

shameless plug (no that's not a product ) raptr screws

Originally Posted by ScroozAdmin

shameless plug (no that's not a product ) raptr screws

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Helps if you plug the right link, haha.

Originally Posted by BLWNHR

Helps if you plug the right link, haha.

links good, just tested on chrome FF IE and Safari, dunno why your getting the error, maybe need to clear your cache

Originally Posted by ScroozAdmin

links good, just tested on chrome FF IE and Safari, dunno why your getting the error, maybe need to clear your cache

Works now. Didn't 6 days ago.

Originally Posted by johnc

I prefer green plastic plugs directly into the mortar for sheer loads. They wont hold that well if force is applied on the pull (in line with the screw) but are fine for fitting hooks. Plus you can drill them out and put a dab of mortar to hide the hole if you remove the hooks at a later date.

This is good advice.
A whipper snipper is relatively light, assuming that the mortar is standard sand/cement and not very old lime mortar it will easily hold a sheer load of that weight, and as stated is easy to repair later should you need to.
You can use 10 x 75mm dynabolts if you prefer but nylon plugs will do.