Drilling into a brick wall question...

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Drilling into a brick wall question...

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:08:48 PM EDT

I'm going to be putting up some shutters on a couple of windows on the side of my home. The wall is brick and I will be using a masonry bit. Should I drill into the brick itself, or the mortar between the bricks for the anchors? Does it matter? I'm worried about breaking a brick if I drill directly into it.

Opinions?

Thanks.

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:09:24 PM EDT

[#1]

Mortar.

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:09:24 PM EDT

[#2]

Brick.

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:09:54 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Brick.

Mortar!

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:10:14 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
Mortar.

Brick!!

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:10:28 PM EDT

[#5]

If you want easy drilling go intot he masonry, If that does not bother you than go ahead and go into the brick. Just don't push real hard on the drill and you shouldn't break the brick.

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:11:49 PM EDT

[#6]

would using a hammedrill help? sure does for concrete

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:13:01 PM EDT

[#7]

dont worry unless you are drilling a BIG hole you wont break a brick, but the mortor is like drilling in to sand with a binder, its ok for holding light stuff but for anything pulling stay away from the mortor

edit: just reread your first post, for shutter you can do either but i would go in tot he brick, and go get some tap cons, they will hold better than any anchor and you drill a smaller easier to drill hole

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:13:13 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
would using a hammerdrill help? sure does for concrete

In a word? Yes.

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:14:53 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Quoted:
would using a hammerdrill help? sure does for concrete

In a word? Yes.

Yes and Mortar!

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:20:17 PM EDT

[#10]

Brick brick brick.
Drill the hole in the brick, do not use some sort of a "red head" concrete anchor bolt, just one strong enough (rated) to do the job at hand.

Pros of brick:
It's solid.
It's fixed in place.
It's won't fall out.
Cons or brick:
It might crack.
It's hard to fix if you fuck it up.

Pros of morter:
It's easy to drill into.
It's easy to fix if you fuck it up.
Cons of morter:
It has no strength.
It crumbles.
It falls out in chunks.

Outside?
BRICK.

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:26:13 PM EDT

[#11]

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:26:13 PM EDT

[#12]

+1 on Brick.

Use a hammer drill if available and drill a small diameter hole to start and gradually up it to the size you need. Tapcons are fine for shutters, I've never seen a shutter that 4 Tapcons wouldn't be able to hold. Plust their reduced size will allow you to drill in one shot.

If no hammer drill available go in short spurts and let the bit cool completely. Bits fail most often from overheating and glazing the carbide insert. Hammer drills typically go slower and the concussive force helps dig into the brick.

Most any face brick you'll be going into can handle up to a 1/4" hole drilled in one shot without cracking. Over that size and definitely do it in steps.

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:32:26 PM EDT

[#13]

What kind of brick?

If it's a red clay brick, I'd drill the brick. You do not need a hammerdrill for any reasonably sized anchor. Red bricks drill like butter.

Are the shutters decorative or real storm shutters? If decorative, use a plastic anchor. It won't crack the brick but be sure to drill deep enough so there's extra room behind the anchor. This gives the excess plastic a place to go as you screw into it. If it has no where to go, the stresses go up greatly and you could crack the brick.

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:42:11 PM EDT

[#14]

Just make sure you use a 1x7 twist drill...

And chrome lined anchors.........

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:47:41 PM EDT

[#15]

Mortar! and fill the hole with silicon before you set the anchor

Posted: 12/25/2005 5:57:30 PM EDT

[#16]

Drill into the mortar, insert anchor, fill anchor with exterior silicone, insert screw through shutter.

IF the next owner does not like shutters, he will not like holes in the brick even less.

this may sound like over-kill but I just finished a $40K bathroom with a $5K shower door...over-kill keeps customers lined up and Wifey happy...

YMMV,
Pete

PS

B&D Glass bits are DaBomb for all masonary installs. Large format porcellain tile and Nat. Stone/Granite get the Bosch hammer drill bit treatment.

Posted: 12/25/2005 6:03:02 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Drill into the mortar, insert anchor, fill anchor with exterior silicone, insert screw through shutter.

IF the next owner does not like shutters, he will not like holes in the brick even less.

B&D Glass bits are DaBomb for all masonary installs.

+1

Posted: 12/25/2005 6:07:49 PM EDT

[#18]

Brick, Always drill the brick if you can, much harder and more solid then the weak morter used between the joints. Always use a hammer drill and a good bit. It will drill about 10x faster with a hammer drill and proper bit. Always use the best lags you can, I always buy mine at a fastener store rather then the local hardware store as I have found that there is a huge difference in quality. I always drill, fill the hole with silicone, put in the lag/tapcon, tighten down, let silicone fill all the air space, clean off and let silicone harden. Keeps water intrusion to a minimum, [like none] and leaves no place for bugs and other critters to get behind the wall.

Posted: 12/25/2005 8:32:06 PM EDT

[#19]

I drill into brick chimneys on a regular basis to install satellite dishes. I use a 1/2" masonry bit, 1 1/4" anchors, and 5/16" lag bolts. You want to drill into the brick; trying to put anchors into the morter would guarentee that I would be back out to reinstall their dish after it fell off.

If your hardware store has a display of the various types of anchors, you will see the anchors being placed in the bricks, not the morter. Same if you read the instructions on the package of anchors.

-Troy

Posted: 12/25/2005 8:38:41 PM EDT

[#20]

Im a concrete guy, but even I know mortar has no strength whasoever.

I have never seen arfcom so divided over something like this.

1911 V Gluck

Ford over Chevy

And now Brick vs. Mortar

<----see the brick.

Posted: 12/25/2005 8:43:09 PM EDT

[#21]

Stainless Anchors are nice for this type of project. Rust streaks suck.

Posted: 12/25/2005 8:43:10 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
Im a concrete guy, but even I know mortar has no strength whasoever.

Didn't you used to drive a concert truck?

Posted: 12/25/2005 8:57:15 PM EDT

[#23]

brick. the shutter will fall off in short order if you put an anchor in mortar. i use tapcons

Posted: 12/25/2005 9:06:36 PM EDT

[#24]

here is a link to the hated evil doers web site. you can buy these at any hardware store. you can buy them in a small kit with the drill bit. get ones that have a hex head, the screw type are difficult to screw in without stripping the head of the screw. alot of times the kit will have a hex head driver that will fit into your drill. the ones in this auction like im refering to are in the box in the pic.

if the hole gets to big and the anchor isnt grabbing a 14 guage wire cut to the length of the screw stick it in the hole then screw the tapcon in works great. i use these (only bigger) to anchor centrifugal pumps for lake draws. they are always wet and havent rusted in my lifetime.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TAPCON-brand-300ea-1-4-x-1-3-4-hex-hd-concrete-screws_W0QQitemZ7574955060QQcategoryZ41500QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Posted: 12/25/2005 9:08:12 PM EDT

[#25]

All in all, it's just another brick in the wall.

Posted: 12/25/2005 9:10:25 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Im a concrete guy, but even I know mortar has no strength whasoever.

Didn't you used to drive a concert truck?

Posted: 12/25/2005 9:13:59 PM EDT

[#27]

timothy585,

Gonna go find you a pic to explain my answer.

EDIT: damn...that was easy.

I'm an electrician - work commercial or industrial - don't do houses - not many, anyway. But brick is brick. I've set anchors, or drilled through more 'brick' walls than I care to remember.

Look at the pic.

Find the places indicated as webs. That is where you want to place your anchor. If you drill into the cell, the sleeve anchor will just flatten itself out - suck all up and deform. A sleeve anchor needs a solid hole - well, call it a tube drilled in a web - to properly fasten.

If you use a 1/4" sleeve anchor, use a 1/4" masonary bit. Hold the bit steady - don't allow the bit to wallow-out the hole. I think a coupla 1/4" sleeve anchors should hold the shutters just fine. Depending on size and the supplied installation instructions.

Some brick is very soft, and you can use a masonary bit and a regular drill. Othertimes with hard brick, you'll need the masonary bit with a hammer drill. (I prefer the Bosch Bulldog for work. I own a cordless DeWalt drill that also hammers)

I NEVER use the mortar to hold anything. Then again, I don't hang shutters - it'd be a panel, Kendorf, etc.

Hope that helps.

Posted: 12/25/2005 9:20:01 PM EDT

[#28]

Brick and hammerdrill. Like anything I would do the job right, the easy way is rarely the best way.

Posted: 12/25/2005 9:37:39 PM EDT

[#29]

Use a 5/32" bit in a Bosch Bulldog hammer drill, start very slow and keep it slow until you're about 1" in, then use staineless deck screws with a spacer on the back of the shutter and set with a 1/4 drive impact driver. Done and very easy. I just put some custom shutters on last month, $5400 worth of shutters and I'm not worried in the least bit, well at least not for 50 years or so.

Posted: 12/26/2005 3:01:04 AM EDT

[#30]

www.itwbuildex.com/410tapcon.htm

Posted: 12/26/2005 3:08:55 AM EDT

[#31]

.......oh fuck it.

Drill both!!

Posted: 12/26/2005 3:31:36 AM EDT

[#32]

I have shutters installed on my brick house. My shutters are anchored to the framing. This is a hell lot stronger than anchoring it to the brick. It took 8" long ss lag bolts to do this but I use these functioning shutters for hurricane protection. Looks great on the house plus an added window protection.

Posted: 12/26/2005 7:33:30 PM EDT

[#33]

Thanks for all the help!

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Drilling into a brick wall question...

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