One of my first jobs out of high school involved installing electronics behind the line at fast food restaurants. The control box had to be mounted in a specific location on the wall. Oftentimes that meant I had one fastener in brick, another in mortar, one in a stud, and the last in drywall. So the answer to the question posed in the thumbnail for me has always been “yes.”
I have mounted thousands of devices on all types of surfaces, you cannot always choose where the mounting holes will be, bricks have holes inside, and longer anchors will pop through sometimes, hitting them in farther with a hammer will cause that.
@@markflierl1624 Most of our customers didn't have any knowledge of the technology or the tools to do the job.. Let me tell this young one, " Never grab the wrong end of a soldering iron when it's hot.
I always fit temporary/moveable stuff to mortar as to not damage a brick, hangin baskets , light, plaque, side tv aerial. Downpipe, fence dividing timber, front door canopy etc bricks.
In architecture the specifications for mortar were that it must always be weaker than the brick or block it was bonding. This was done on the premise that if there was movement that would result in a crack, the crack would follow the mortar joint which is much easier to repair compared to a brick or block.
Now you just need to convince the crack to "follow the mortar", instead of the force actually being applied (which tends to not follow a 90 degree zig-zag pattern). 😄
@@sigi9669 - If the force was being applied to the whole surface, *it wouldn't crack in the first place.* What causes walls to crack is precisely localised (and / or highly directional) forces that _aren't_ being applied to the whole surface. Mortar can certainly crack (due to multiple reasons), but shearing forces that cause one side of a wall to slide up or down can't really follow the mortar lines, because that would require bending or compressing the bricks themselves (two things bricks are notorious for not doing). Also, note that a lot of "brick walls" aren't really brick walls, they're concrete walls with brick veneers just for looks.
Personally I’d use a 6.5mm bit for brown plugs, 5.5mm for red. Generally speaking. All is situational on the type of plugs your using of which there are numerous, and the thickness of screws being used. So often bricks/walls just crumble, better to start with smaller hole and use bigger bit if necessary.
I agree. Oftentimes the chattering of the masory bit in the substrate will make a bigegr hole than the number size it's been given. I always use the half size down and often find it's perfect, nice and tight.
Okay, I'm knew on this channel but... it depends on what you are trying to secure on a wall. Yes, securing to brick is stronger. However, it is less expensive to replace motar than it is to replace brick. Since 1983 I've been working in the telecommunications industry an for the past ten years I have been installing copper and fiber service. A light plastic copper or transition box and conduit is secured to the mortar to avoid any costly damage to a customer's house.
Excellent video! This gentleman knows a lot more about it than me. But I wanted to offer a small tip that may be helpful. Sometimes I find the drill wants to bounce around a bit at the start and it's hard to get the hole started exactly where I want it. So I use a much smaller bit, like a 3 or 4, NOT on the hammer setting, just to create a small starter hole, not even 1/8" deep. Then I'll switch to the larger bit. Takes more time, of course, but it's a handy tip to have in the back pocket when needed.
That is exactly what I do, except I do not use a smaller bit. If I am using these plastic anchors you are most likely making a 1/4" hd bit. A lot of brands give you the bit with the jar of anchors. I just use the 1/4" on drill setting. It grinds away a small dimple. Then throw the drill on hammer and drill in. If I am drilling into tile I never turn it to hammer. Just use the hd bit on drill setting and it works wonders.
on many surfaces you can also start your bit in reverse - that tends to wander much less and will also leave a small depression right where you want to drill.
If, however you are using Lag and Shield fasteners for larger attachments, it is preferable to place them along the mortarline where possible. Because they expand more than plastic plugs they are apt to crack the brick. When placed in the mortar they will expand up to the brick giving a tight solid hold.
Drill- Packedge in typical box, came with a tool bag (added bonus), two batteries, one charger, drill, and driver. Two words "plenty of Torque" ruclips.net/user/postUgkxW1vOBRCMrgTCDEijzpVzDWsgI-Jm2iQv well I guess that's three. Nice upgrade from current setup. Has belt clips, I don't think I will be using those. Driver and drill were bigger than what I expected but it is an upgrade from the current setup. For the money I would say that this is a great setup for Professionals and DIY/Weekend warriors.
I always use lead shields in the mortar, wedged between 2 bricks, never had a problem. You can remove them from the mortar when changing things around and just patch the mortar. I have seen many cracked bricks and brick walls full of defunct plugs over the years though. Bricks also have a lot of voids in them, not the best place for anchoring.
I agree. Drilling into the brick totally wrecks the look of the house. The mortar may crumble, but a brown plug won't pull out with a no.10 screw. It will be wedged between the bricks, to a depth of 50mm.
I've got thousands of down pipes hanging from the mortar, throughout the Greater Toronto Area for 43 years and cannot remember one failing ever. For a long time we'd anchor the straps with a wood wedge. Bricks have open spaces inside and are quite brittle, they don't take plug expansion very well, in my humble opinion. I'd much rather have a mortar problem, than a customer with a cracked or broken brick on their home. Cheers
@@moondawg3693 Agreed. Nothing is permanent and people change their minds. What they want there today will need to me moved later. It's much easier to patch the mortar.
@@grantrichards4950 Totally agree. Not only is it easier to patch the mortar, quite often it's impossible to replace bricks. Sand and Cement are both going to be with us for a very long time. Brick designs come and go, as do their manufacturers. So if you ever want to replace a brick because it's riddled with redundant holes, you may find it's no longer available in that pattern.
Never had to fix something to brick before, did a You tube search, this pops up.. Straight Forward Clear and Concise instruction, saved me a lot of time and unnecessary blue language. Great Job, deserves the multi-million views
Why not.... Not weight what so ever... Hanging a gate etc the brick... Also new bricks as shite anyway... Not like the old accrington bricks.... They are quality!!!
My dad's black and decker hammer drill is still going strong after 20+ years! Amazing engineering! Obviously it's not as powerful as current drills, but for DIY projects at home, it's perfect and reliable.
I have B+D older than that, in the day there was diy drills together with a professional range, but the beauty of B + D is that back then they had service centres in most towns and it was easy & cheap to get all of their power tools serviced and maintained.
My dad's black and decker was bought before I was born (in the 1950s). It now has a plaster mixing paddle installed in the chuck permanently as that's the only thing I use it for. That paddle is now over 40 years old but still works fine and even still has some of it's original orange paint on it. I daresay I could find another chuck key for it but I haven't seen the original in over 50 years. (Yes it was a bit of a devil tightening the chuck onto that paddle which is why it has never been out since)
I remember my Father mixing mortar, he would use the proper amount of sand to mortar ratio, and then he would toss in about a quarter of a shovel of concrete mix too. We've never had to go back and fix loose mortar between bricks or blocks ever. I'm talking about jobs we did together when I was a kid, some 40-45 years ago and the mortar looks like it was just put in a month ago, no crumbling, or cracking and no repairs needed.
@@beemikeme 56 Thumbs up and one 20 yr vet of bricklaying knew what I meant and so did you obviously. Technically I did mean cement and the word concrete was wrong, but the message was understood and correct.
Mary Cooper (Sheldon's mom from Young Sheldon) steps out the door: "What did you DO?" (With that "if you lie to me I will know and there will be hell to pay" stare). 😁
Depending on what it is you're trying to hang / mount on the brick-faced wall, the weight bearing down on the screw, as well as the force pulling on the screw, will have to be considered. Drilling entirely through the brick, or even the mortared joint, anchoring a screw or lag bolt into the wall behind the brick face will provide a stronger anchor point. Just be sure not to crush the brick / mortar when snugging the screw / lag. In addition, find out what type of wall is behind the brick face. Concrete or block walls will require plugs or shields as well.
On more modern brick walls there could even be a space behind the walls to prevent thermal bridging. Maybe that's more for commercial but still should be considered.
Thank you! While looking at installing a patio light which charges with the sun, I did not know whether to drill into the brick or mortar. Your ideas are clear and accessible to my non-skillful sides. Thank you!
I always drill the mortar. I did this for over 40 years and never had a problem. I kept many of my clients for the whole time so if there were any problems I would have been contacted.
That works well on new houses I live in a ex council house built in 1947 when materials were in short supply and mortar was like sand they must have used a mixture of six sand or more to one cement.
Never had to do any DIY so total novice but my husband passed away so just looking at hints and tips on RUclips. Come across this. It is so helpful. Very simple and clear. Thank you so much
There is very little an average homeowner can't learn to do in terms of repair. From toilets to capacitors on an air conditioning compressor units. RUclips is a great resource! Just always use caution if working with electrical and thinking about the worst that can happen. Whenever turning a wrench think about what your knuckles might run into if it slips!
OMG - I love the tip about tapping the plug head in BEFORE turning the screw. AWESOME tip. I always seem to get a splurge of wall plug sticking out my hole that gets in the way of a flush finish. Embarrassingly, I got to 57 yrs of age and didn't know this gem! One is always learning. Thanks. Simon / Adelaide
As a union mason I was taught to never ever drill into the brick, unless you're going to be replacing it. Drilling into the brick permanently damages the building, and risks cracking the brick. It's a terrible practice. You should always put anchors in the mortar joint. We usually use lead sleeve anchors (or lead hammer drives for light duty). The best spot is usually where the bed joint meets the head joint. When the job is over, unless they're staying, the anchors are removed, and the mortar is repaired. If your mortar is so deteriorated that it won't hold an anchor, then it's time to grind and tuckpoint.
Totally agree bro. I'd I had crumbling mortar I'd just widen the hole and ram a tapered wood dowl or wedge home and use a coach screw type thread. Hung many heat pumps etc like that
I don't believe there's anything wrong with this practice at all. I probably would've used shorter screws myself but it all depends on what you're trying to hang. Screws that small usually won't damage the brick. Also, if he were to drill into the mortar in this particular video, it would be harder for him to hang something to the wall, you may not be able to drill your screw all the way in as well since the mortar caves inward. For me, this practice is fine considering the size of the screws. There's always a chance of brick being damaged regardless of tiny screws being drilled into them and they can always be repaired as well. Just my two cents.
@@georgebush6002 yes I have seen old Fred Dibnah doing that gotta say I'd be hammering those " iron dogs" in a couple more inches than what he appears to lol. However I learned it from my old boss doing plumbing and general contracting. He used to have a steel drum full of old roof nails we would use them with the wood wedges to mount all manner of things, mostly galvanized piping brackets though
A couple of points: 1. Why not show masonry bits in the introduction. The Dewalt bits were for wood and steel. This would help the novice understand and save confusion. 2. I disagree that you should ‘always’ drill into mortar. It depends on many factors such as, the age of the house and the type of brick (older bricks tend to be much harder, and modern bricks have holes in them to grab the mortar and are easily cracked), quality of the mortar, age of the mortar, what it is you are fixing as most items will be relatively light weight and the mortar would be fine, is the item needing to be removed in the future? 3. Mortar is designed to be repaired whereas bricks are not. Can be a benefit in both options. If you are hanging something, but it will need to be removed, then put it in the mortar. If it’s permanent and heavy go in the brickwork. 4. Position depends on what you are fixing. Brackets with many fixings will unlikely allow you to fix every point in the centre of the brick. 5. You didn’t mention where to drill in the brick to minimise the risk of cracking the brick. Glad the video has had a lot of views, but not sure how helpful it is in the real world and improve the novices understanding.
Old bricks can be soft too. A couple of times I have drilled a 6mm hole and put in a 12mm plug. Some blocks are so hollow, that they either fall apart, or the plug goes right through.
I once tried to drill into a 150-year-old brick, one of many thousands of locally made bricks that made up an old loco shed (75F UK) The brick was so hard it melted the masonry bit . . .
I was pretty shocked he didn't mention to avoid drilling near the edge. The risk of cracking can be significant. Using a concrete anchor Bolt in a brick at the end of a wall was a mistake I'll only make once.
@@josephstratti52 My house was originally built with solid bricks, no frog or other voids. Then when I had an extension the bricks were made with three large holes in the middle. Drilling a hole the depth shown in the example in the centre of a brick would hit the hole in the brick where there is neither brick or mortar. The house next door had someone drilling into the solid bricks too close to the corner of the wall. Large chunks of brick have split off. Putting a wire through the wall, drill the mortar makes more sense. You need to take into account a number of things when deciding where to drill holes in walls. SAFETY GLASSES and EAR PROTECTION. A modern SDS drill throws bits away from the hole very rapidly and the noise from some drills is very loud. This work was being done close to both eyes and ears. Safety and PPE should be the first thing mentioned in any of these DIY videos.
Mortar fine, for small loads, but brick gives five to ten times the load ability. Mortar if you are doing a temporary install as it is easier to patch. So pictures mortar, speakers and other heavy stuff - brick. Good stuff, cheers Neil
I brought one of the first 18" tv dish systems to my fathers to install on a red brick house and I tried the brick first with a newer masonry bit on a hammer drill and it murdered the bit fast. Pulled out a new bit and went for the mortar with no issues. I was extremely experienced in drilling slabs ,block walls, and poured headers but that red brick was rough.
Being a former cable and satellite installer, I have ran across everything including this. It is not the equipment. Trust me. There are brick compositions out there that will absolutely murder a common masonry bit.
I normally drill into the mortar because it`s much easier . Also , as a 71 year old , I reckon I`m ` crumbling ` faster than the mortar so the fitting is likely to outlast me anyway. Cheers.
The answer depends on the composition of the brick, the composition of the mortar, and the flexibility of the mounting options. Flimsy brick is no stronger the typical mortar and flimsy mortar is a disaster. I've got both flimsy brick and flimsy mortar on my home. It has held up for years, but is a pain to mount objects on.
Totally agreed to this answer. I've worked for 12 years in a college. The building is on the historic registry. There are times I can "drill into the brick" and it might as well have been sand. The mortar? Yeah right.
You know whenever I used to see holes being drilled into a brick building they always seem to be put into the mortar and I always got good results from going right into the mortar but I'm going to keep watching this video and see what's going on
Thanks soooo much ❗I have literally done this wrong for years. Now since I have a new cordless drill I'm definitely looking forward to drilling vs screwing. Great simplified content.
Sometimes I'm mounting something light or something I'll need to replace in a few years, like a sign, which I'll always mount in mortar. Holes in mortar are easy to patch and make disappear. When I need strength and a permanent mount, I drill into brick and use an epoxy anchor.
Awesome video, thank you. I learnt many things from this one video but the two key things: 1) drill into the brick, not the mortar. 2) hammer the screw a little so the wall plug goes into the hole and not visible from outside. Wish I knew this years ago :-)
This info can be controversial. I've worked in masonry for 30 years. It all depends on situation, load, etc... most often the mortar is preferred to drill and mount. Many bricks have holes too. Some bricks are very hard like terracotta and can crack or break easily or just difficult to drill into.. Finding and matching replacement bricks is nearly impossible, usually resort to "close enough". If you discover the mortar is in a weak condition like he pointed out, you can replace mortar, adding your fastener while wet, wait until dry, ready for use.
I remember when we didn’t have these tools and would use a star drill and hammer to make the hole, the push in a bit of roughly shaped wood plug. Some joiners could, using hammer and cold chisel, start a hole on one side of a brick wall then (to prevent spalling) go around to the other side which could be in another room, lightly tap the wall find the hole and finish the hole. My dad taught me how to make a chopped, twisted plug often used to hold door frames, a number of mortar joints were cleared and the flat, timber plug was hammered in; as it went in it twisted and was very secure. the plug is long enough so that when finished all the plugs could be sawn to length to take the door frame. To make the plug a piece of flat softwood which was joint thickness was chopped with an axe so that it remained the same thickness throughout but resembled the twist of an aeroplane propeller. This sounds confusing so google it.
You say: "I remember when we didn’t have these tools and would use a star drill and hammer to make the hole" I don't say you're lying, but I'm 75 years old and all I remember is the use of an electric drill or a big hand drill, but never the use of a hammer and a star drill!!
Have still got bruised hands from using a star drill bit and hammer 40 years ago, putting up lights in a canal tunnel. No battery drills then and not allowed generator near to water.
I’m a lady and I thank you the training . Im glad your video came to me, Ive been wondering what’s the right process and materials needed to drill into brick. I now I can say, “oh I got it”!
Your fancy red tape depth gauge. When i was a boy we had none of that fancy shenanigans, we stacked our free fingers on top of each other until we marked the right depth then drilled through them. Blood and bone everywhere there was but we got the job done. Ah, them were the days. (written by ' too much time on my hands ' on a Sunday evening ).
I use an impact drill with a dust extraction adaptor. Removes a lot of the dust and prevents a dust trail that can be hard to clean off the wall. Wear eye protection if blowing out the dust.
Yes - finally a comment that addresses the importance of removing loosened debris from the hole before inserting the wall plug. I use compressed air from a small canister sold at computer and camera shops.
The _only_ time I ever drill through the mortar, is if I'm running a wire/cable (typically ethernet for POE usually for a doorbell camera). This helps reduce snags, and I backfill the hole with silicone anyway, mostly to keep bugs from getting behind the brick.
As someone who drills based off blueprints we drill brick and mortar. Depending on what we are hanging we may scoot 1/4in to miss the mortar for a heavier load. If it's light we will run in the mortar for speed. Side note we do commercial construction all over the US and mortar is very inconsistent. If its important I would probably skip hanging it in the mortar.
Commercal electrician, we skip mortar whenever possible as the screws don’t hold as tight and it always seems like the tapcons strip the mortar instead of creating rivets to screw into
@@adrianakuzmikova1697 the problem with a hasp hinge in concrete is most don't allow for a bolt head ,which is what you really need for concrete. There are some styles of hasp hinges that don't fold back on themselves and leave the anchor head exposed. If you are trying to prevent strictly a crowbar attack you could do that style hinge with some red heads or cobras but then you could just take it off with a wrench.
@@MadebyKourmoulis I made hasp myself. I just need a good way to fix it to hollow brick wall. I need to find a way for screws to stay firmly in hollow bricks when hasp will be attacked by a thief.
A lot of modern bricks are hollow and do not lend themselves for face fixing and will usually disintegrate under the second attempt of trying to get a secure fixing. Personally I would never advise face fixing as the permanent damage to brick face. You can repoint a bed of Mortar easily but trying to replacing a damaged brick that is discontinued... good luck with that.
Not everyone is a Mason and can repoint. I am I would probably make an integral support structure worked right through the wall and lagged with pressure dispersion plates and blah blah blah but usually mounting anything to a brick wall depends all on the load.
I hate to sound like an idiot but this was extremely helpful! I wasn’t sure if there was other things that needed to be done for the brick drilling! I’m ready to do it myself! THANK YOU!
I always drill into the mortar. Most bricks have hollow voids to grip the mortar. If you drill into the void you only have about an inch (2.5 cm) to drill into. As well, bricks are brittle and can crack and mortar is easier to patch if you want to remove the plug. I've seen too many older brick houses littered with holes in the bricks from this. I also tend to use lead shields instead of plastic plugs when hanging heavier objects like clothes lines.
mortar is designed to be weaker than the brick so that any movement in the building cracks the mortar as it's easier to repair 25 years in the trades and at no point have ever used mortar over brick
Hue I agree and I also know alot depends on the bit size you use and the fixing you use and the length of the fixing and the lay of the mortar all these make a difference.
You might always do this, however its 100% wrong and much weaker than drilling into the bricks. Hopefully anyone coming across this video won't read your comment as gospel. If you consider bricks brittle I'm curious as to how you'd describe mortar...
Great video! Learned 2 new things today: always drill into the brick, and tap the screw to hide the plug to make it flush with the wall. You Sir, are awesome! Thank you.
Yup, I have a 30 year old Black and Decker drill that's still going strong. It could do with having the brushes replaced, but it's outlasted two cordless "replacements".
Nice. Thank you for posting 👍 And great zooming for close-in work. So many don’t bother but it really helps. This is something that I’ve wondered for a while now as I saw a few properties with screws into mortar.
@@SonnyGTAAre you asking about salmon brick? It's a softer cheaper brick that's fired at a lower temperature, soft enough that kids used it like chalk to write and draw on the streets and pavements. It is used as the interior layer in two-brick walls. It holds cut nails and a horse well as loud as it's not been exposed to weather. It was used a lot during the 1800 and early 1900s.
Had to fix a whole bunch of decks a couple years ago because whoever built them decided to lag the ledger boards into the mortor joint's instead of brick. Managed to make it through a few Canadian winters before the deck's started falling from the house. Point being, always fasten into brick or stone if it's a structural job. Going in mortor is fine for cable tie clips and stuff like that. Also idealy hit the center of the brick, especially if using large lag bolt/screws( 3/8",1/2").
@@hagarthehonorable8133 that's if it is brick veneer. My engineered plans called for lagging into the structural brick wall, and they have been inspected and passed so I think I'm good. But very good point if it's brick or stone veneer you should be lagging into solid framing.
This is actually a bit of a trick question because I'd say it depends on the brick. Some bricks are porous (improved insulation) or have huge hollow insides so you'd need to supplement with anchor mass as well to actually have something that the plug or screw can support against or it will be like trying to hang something in brittle styrofoam. I did have to use three cartridges of anchor mass for just two screws in a brick wall hanging a computer networking enclosure on a wall to be sure it was staying put.
always good practice to wear eye protection but dust in your eyes is the least of your worries when goofing around with masonry, you will breathe in silica and will lodge itself in the lungs and will never leave, too much of it and you get silicosis, too severe of a case and its a death sentence.
And if you've got lime mortar (which you should) you don't want to use any kind of hammer function on the drill. You're just going to crack the mortar. You won't see the damage, but if you live where it freezes, winter will show you where it is. Hint: If you see spalling (edges of the brick chipping away) that means the wrong mortar was used.
I am certainly a fan of lime mortar, though I suspect more spalling occurs due to hygroscopic salt contamination than due to cement mortars. In fact, my own house has soft reds and inappropriate cement pointing and, while I keep meaning to repoint it, I have yet to see any evidence of damage on the main building. On the chimney, however, there are a few spalled bricks, but here the pointing is in poor state and there is probable contamination from coal and wood smoke. I can't see that cracking lime is likely to be a problem in terms of water entrapment as it would tend to 'breathe', so I guess your concern is that the lime would fall out where cracked. Am I right?
I love how I've watched so many videos and never knew the reason for 1 and 2 on a power drill until this video. Very informative and succinct. Great video and awesome job explaining!
IMO.. The reason to use 1 is for more control and also you get more torque (force). For large drills bits (think hole saws and forstner bits) you'll want the lower speed with more torque as speed 2 is a risk you'll burn the drill out.
His description was rather vague. "1" is low speed/high torque. Use it for drilling tough materials (brick/mortar), mixing materials with a mixing paddle (paint/mortar mix) or drilling with large bits in wood (larger than 1/2"). If I use a drill for driving screws I always use speed "1" for driving screws. I prefer a separate impact driver for driving screws. "2" is high speed/low torque for drilling in light materials, such as wood or sheet metal with regular twist drill bits up to 1/2" in size.
I just now searched for "drill brick or between bricks?" and this came up the #1 result. Most information packed four minutes I ever spent on RUclips. Good job.
3:23 tap for screw in mortar lol. I’d also add that depending how good the brick bed is you’re creating a bridge with the screws that water can penetrate in over time. I think folks drill into mortar ad they don’t own a SDS drill.
@@JohnColgan. You’ve obviously never drilled into black brick with a hammer drill no chance. SDS do a far cleaner hole with ease. Joe public have weak drill drivers that only go into mortar easily. Like a £30 Boch from Aldi.
@@MrSmid888 We had to demo an old building and it would take us 40 minutes to drill a 100mm hole through just 2 bricks using a Hilti 450 SDS with 2 of us leaning on the drill pushing it into the bricks. Going through the mortar joints were no easier that mortar was like stone. I can't imagine how many batteries and drill bits it would take to get through that type of brick with a 18V hammer drill.
@@evzevz06 Yes those old bricks and mortar absolutely solid stuff, You start with a 8mm diameter drill bit and end up with a 6mm 😂😂 If you use a normal drill driver on masonry you end up with a bigger hole than need as it takes so long. I’ve burnt out an SDS drilling holes for anchors on those rubber speed humps for car parks. Fitted 3. I was using a 24mm drill bit. I think it lasted 40 holes and burnt out after installing only one. I should of known better but hey Ho.
just a quick question, you mention at 0:52 about using masonry drill bit but you were using normal bits did you swap them out when we were not looking?
Stronger when fixed to the brick, some claim it weakens the brick and causes water penetration and possible future cracking, been drilling brickwork for years and never occurred once. It would depend I suppose on the depth and the video shows very clearly that you drill just slightly more than the plug, your not drilling right through the brick. Obviously many have pointed out the downpipe and the fixing in the mortar, however that's not I assume fixed by the chap doing the demonstration. If you are afraid you might cause some problem with water drill slightly deeper and back fill with some silicone from a mastic gun. Always use a good quality brick sealer regardless of drilling to protect brickwork for water penetration prevention. Good informative and educational video!
For small holes that is fine. However when I used to install heavy LTE antennas with thick bolts we always try to drill into the mortar for several reasons. -Here you will find a lot of hollow bricks so you only have about a cm of stone to work with. -Older bricks(100 -200 years) can shatter when you tighten them up. Those hollow ones can too. -Easier to repair the holes if the bolts are removed. -The plugs we used were as wide as the mortar so it would grip nicely between the bricks. Only when you would install them on top of a chimney or a wall without weight on top we would drill in the bricks(if there were less than 4-5 layers above it) as otherwise when you tighten them you would lift the brick layers of their mortar and the top of the chimney would come off.
@@deadmanswife3625 You say that, unrelated to the video I once had to install one at the house of a BMW dealer(in other words they had money) who placed a radio tower in their backyard. I had to max out my trucks aerial work platform (30M) and still had to lower part of the mast so that thing was hanging at aprox 35m. Our mast was located maybe 300m away, could have placed that antenna on the ground facing the wrong way and still get max speed xD. Would have been cheaper to get fiber to the property... But yeah, if you are able to have a separate structure for things like that, do it. I always appreciated customers who made arrangements like that. ( And if you are nice to the technician he might "forget" to limit your SIM card or something like that ;) )
You should never drill into the brick especially if its historic. You cant replace the brick, if it breaks you are screwed. You can always replace the mortar or strengthen the hole you make
I would recommend wearing safety glasses when using any power tool. I had a friend who was drilling on a drill press, and the drill bit broke and hit him right in the eye. After a few surgeries, he can see out of that eye again. Safety glasses are much better than eye surgery.
Sadly, where I live, we have stupid sandstone bricks rather than clay bricks. So the bricks tend to crumble if you drill into them much more than the mortar. I've done both, and in my situation, the stuff set into the bricks is all coming loose while the things tied to the mortar are holding fast.
I mostly agree with your approach. In theory the bricks are more consistent but most brick these days have large voids where the plug/anchor will be unsupported for much of its length. If you get the right, full thickness, spot in the brick that's the best. The bed joints are also somewhat inconsistent in depth as well. The cross joints are probably the most consistent as the bricklayer/mason will usually apply a full thickness of mortar to the end of each brick. If I'm not sure of the brick I'm drilling, I use a cross joint if I can. It's what I do . . . I could be wrong.
The reason this is the wrong approach wasn't well explained in the video. Mortar is a mixture of sand, lime, and portland cement. (Older buildings may have been built with mortar made from just sand and lime.) While mortar serves well as a bed for brick and block, it's not very strong compared to brick or block. A screw anchor works by exerting a lot of outward force as the screw is driven in, wedging the sides of the anchor tightly against the sides of the hole. These forces will, over time, if not immediately, cause the mortar to crumble. Yes, it's best to not drill into a void in the brick. But, the hold provided by 1/2" of brick is much more durable than the hold provided by 2" of mortar.
I thought I knew it all because I’ve done it for years. Not so! Tapping the the screw to set the plastic anchor head flush or below the surface was new to me! I find at least a tiny morsel of Knowledge in every RUclips video, even at 79 years old. Thanks
The brick's got holes through it as made, also if there are is any reworking to be done now or in the future, mortar is easily repaired and the brick can't be!
Most definitely into the mortar joint unless there's absolutely no other option. I'm a stonemason working in conservation and we're not allowed to fix anywhere else without specific agreement. Rawlplugs are basically a compression fixing, even more so with a ferrous screw. It's often hard to always drill the hole in the centre of the stone or brick so you risk splitting them over time and matching pointing is easier than stone or brick. Where we absolutely have to EH want something that can't become compressive over time like a stainless resin socket. I like the lead roll method mentioned in another comment here. That was certainly done historically and seems to last quite well. Or if it's internal you could maybe discover what a plugging chisel is originally for!
As a fellow stonemason I totally agree, this video is so infuriating. Also, when inserting the plug make sure that it'll split up/down and not along the joint (except when drilling in a head joint).
Is it wrong to use a traditional wooden plug externally? I used that technique recently to re-fix my mother's gatepost (but, being my first time, I wasn't sure HOW snug the tapered plug should be and I split a soft-red...). Still, with three timber plugs, the post held, unlike other people's attempts which had resulted in a number of torn-out holes over the years.
@@johnbull5394I'm not sure I would say it was wrong per se but there are situations where it would be inadvisable. It was certainly done historically but in a wall that is inherently damp or gets a lot of weather I might think twice. The snugness issue is more a judgement call than anything else, how resilient the stone or brick surrounding the plug is being the main factor. If it was a good hard stone or engineering brick I'd be tempted to make the plug really tight and predrill the wood for the fixing. If the surrounding fabric is softer then just tight enough to grip and have the fixing provide the rest of the tension as it splits the plug. The shape of the plug is important too. If you're going into a round hole the plug shouldn't be too round. Like a trenail in timber frame work an irregular hexagon type shape will drive in easier and hold just as tight. If I was using a joint then I'd cut fairly long slot with my plugging chisel and use as wide a plug as possible with it still being hidden. The trad shape for these was barely wedge shaped if not nearly parallel with the leading edge sharpened and two of the corners, diagonally opposite, cut down to produce a twist as the plug drives in. The wider plug reduces the point loading effect and is more likely to shift a whole brick than snap it. As to your Mum's gatepost. If three of the four held you're probably not doing much wrong.
@@rorychisholm8863 Thanks for the detailed explanation on traditional plugging. My knowledge of it is based entirely on a wartime DIY book so my reasonably successful attempt was very much finger in the air - good to have some additional tips and much appreciated.
@rorychisholm8863 you defo seem to know what you're talking about so I hope you don't mind me asking you for a bit of advice. We live in a new build, well about 10 years old now, and I've just bought some Flexson wall mounts for our Sonos speakers. They're going to get fixed on an internal brick wall, no plaster just bricks and mortar. The speakers weigh around 10lb each, so 5 kilos ish, and I believe the wall mounts have 4 or 5 wall fixings per bracket. So in your opinion, do you reckon brick or mortar or don't it matter?
Those bits are not for masonry, they're for wood and metal. Masonry bits have ceramic tips. It even illustrates that on the box. Steel gets eaten up by rocks/bricks quick.
@@davealmighty9638 They are not masonry bits, Masonry bits have have tungsten carbide insert at the top not a coating, those bits have no insert. Also tungsten carbide is a ceramic
@@gillo100 and masonry bits do not have "inserts". They have fused carbide bits. That is possible because of the tungsten. You are trying to argue with someone who works at a company that makes masonry bits as one of our many products. And there are actually masonry bits made of HSS steel that are often included with packages of small concrete anchors. They are designed to last for the amount of anchors in the package.
@@davealmighty9638 ok fair enough maybe insert is the wrong term. They have tungsten carbide "tips". Can you link to where those dewalt masonry bits are available? And explain why the box they are coming out of has a picture of wood and metal, not stone?
Thanks for taking the time to clearly explain why you should go through the brick and not the mortar. My friend was telling me to do it the other way around. Good thing I watched your video first. I found this video very helpful!
One of my first jobs out of high school involved installing electronics behind the line at fast food restaurants. The control box had to be mounted in a specific location on the wall. Oftentimes that meant I had one fastener in brick, another in mortar, one in a stud, and the last in drywall. So the answer to the question posed in the thumbnail for me has always been “yes.”
I have mounted thousands of devices on all types of surfaces, you cannot always choose where the mounting holes will be, bricks have holes inside, and longer anchors will pop through sometimes, hitting them in farther with a hammer will cause that.
@@tlaf-yh2px there’s an echo in here, I guess.
Good comment!
I love the honesty
😂😂😂😂
as someone without a dad to show them how to do these basic things, i find videos like this so helpful. Thank you
My pleasure!
@@buildingsheriff Most men don't know to do construction.
@@markflierl1624 Most of our customers didn't have any knowledge of the technology or the tools to do the job.. Let me tell this young one, " Never grab the wrong end of a soldering iron when it's hot.
Thank you for this video. My dad never knew how to do these things so now, at age 52, I learn from You Tube.
My dad was a wonderful man, but he didn't know much about DIY construction. RUclips and friends/family are my best bet for these things. Cheers!
I always fit temporary/moveable stuff to mortar as to not damage a brick, hangin baskets , light, plaque, side tv aerial.
Downpipe, fence dividing timber, front door canopy etc bricks.
In architecture the specifications for mortar were that it must always be weaker than the brick or block it was bonding. This was done on the premise that if there was movement that would result in a crack, the crack would follow the mortar joint which is much easier to repair compared to a brick or block.
I was taught to anchor to the mortar just for this because the mortar is easier to repair than the bricks.
Spot on, first thing to deteriorate on a wall is the mortar.
Now you just need to convince the crack to "follow the mortar", instead of the force actually being applied (which tends to not follow a 90 degree zig-zag pattern). 😄
@@RFC-3514 The force is being applied to the whole surface. Hence the crack will gladly zig zag if that's the easiest way to relief the tension.
@@sigi9669 - If the force was being applied to the whole surface, *it wouldn't crack in the first place.* What causes walls to crack is precisely localised (and / or highly directional) forces that _aren't_ being applied to the whole surface.
Mortar can certainly crack (due to multiple reasons), but shearing forces that cause one side of a wall to slide up or down can't really follow the mortar lines, because that would require bending or compressing the bricks themselves (two things bricks are notorious for not doing).
Also, note that a lot of "brick walls" aren't really brick walls, they're concrete walls with brick veneers just for looks.
Personally I’d use a 6.5mm bit for brown plugs, 5.5mm for red. Generally speaking. All is situational on the type of plugs your using of which there are numerous, and the thickness of screws being used. So often bricks/walls just crumble, better to start with smaller hole and use bigger bit if necessary.
I agree. Oftentimes the chattering of the masory bit in the substrate will make a bigegr hole than the number size it's been given. I always use the half size down and often find it's perfect, nice and tight.
Okay, I'm knew on this channel but... it depends on what you are trying to secure on a wall. Yes, securing to brick is stronger. However, it is less expensive to replace motar than it is to replace brick. Since 1983 I've been working in the telecommunications industry an for the past ten years I have been installing copper and fiber service. A light plastic copper or transition box and conduit is secured to the mortar to avoid any costly damage to a customer's house.
1:32 - Always drill into the brick not into the mortar.
2:45 - A shiny screw clearly drilled into the mortar for the pipe bracket
LOL
I almost always drill in the mortar because most things I attach are not heavy duty and more or less temporary
Yeah common for a comms guy to have no idea.
@@champ8605 Explain that to the home owner when you start drilling onto their historic home. Replacement bricks are not always available.
@@flyonwall360 agreed. Easy to fill mortar. Alarm guy here and cams weigh nothing so no need to go into brick. Depends on the application
Excellent video! This gentleman knows a lot more about it than me. But I wanted to offer a small tip that may be helpful. Sometimes I find the drill wants to bounce around a bit at the start and it's hard to get the hole started exactly where I want it. So I use a much smaller bit, like a 3 or 4, NOT on the hammer setting, just to create a small starter hole, not even 1/8" deep. Then I'll switch to the larger bit. Takes more time, of course, but it's a handy tip to have in the back pocket when needed.
The simple answer would be to start slowly. ie a slower speed.
Yup, it's called a 'pilot hole' and you really should do it whenever you want to make a larger hole.
That's what a punch is for.
That is exactly what I do, except I do not use a smaller bit. If I am using these plastic anchors you are most likely making a 1/4" hd bit.
A lot of brands give you the bit with the jar of anchors. I just use the 1/4" on drill setting. It grinds away a small dimple. Then throw the drill on hammer and drill in.
If I am drilling into tile I never turn it to hammer. Just use the hd bit on drill setting and it works wonders.
on many surfaces you can also start your bit in reverse - that tends to wander much less and will also leave a small depression right where you want to drill.
If, however you are using Lag and Shield fasteners for larger attachments, it is preferable to place them along the mortarline where possible. Because they expand more than plastic plugs they are apt to crack the brick. When placed in the mortar they will expand up to the brick giving a tight solid hold.
Drill- Packedge in typical box, came with a tool bag (added bonus), two batteries, one charger, drill, and driver. Two words "plenty of Torque" ruclips.net/user/postUgkxW1vOBRCMrgTCDEijzpVzDWsgI-Jm2iQv well I guess that's three. Nice upgrade from current setup. Has belt clips, I don't think I will be using those. Driver and drill were bigger than what I expected but it is an upgrade from the current setup. For the money I would say that this is a great setup for Professionals and DIY/Weekend warriors.
Protect your eyes while drilling, especially into masonry, so that you can carryon with your excellent advice.
I always use lead shields in the mortar, wedged between 2 bricks, never had a problem. You can remove them from the mortar when changing things around and just patch the mortar. I have seen many cracked bricks and brick walls full of defunct plugs over the years though. Bricks also have a lot of voids in them, not the best place for anchoring.
I agree.
Drilling into the brick totally wrecks the look of the house.
The mortar may crumble, but a brown plug won't pull out with a no.10 screw.
It will be wedged between the bricks, to a depth of 50mm.
I've got thousands of down pipes hanging from the mortar, throughout the Greater Toronto Area for 43 years and cannot remember one failing ever.
For a long time we'd anchor the straps with a wood wedge.
Bricks have open spaces inside and are quite brittle, they don't take plug expansion very well, in my humble opinion.
I'd much rather have a mortar problem, than a customer with a cracked or broken brick on their home.
Cheers
@@moondawg3693 Agreed. Nothing is permanent and people change their minds. What they want there today will need to me moved later. It's much easier to patch the mortar.
@@grantrichards4950 Totally agree. Not only is it easier to patch the mortar, quite often it's impossible to replace bricks. Sand and Cement are both going to be with us for a very long time. Brick designs come and go, as do their manufacturers. So if you ever want to replace a brick because it's riddled with redundant holes, you may find it's no longer available in that pattern.
I usually do the mortar easier to drill and level and generally holds well enough and it's easy to repair if needed
Never had to fix something to brick before, did a You tube search, this pops up.. Straight Forward Clear and Concise instruction, saved me a lot of time and unnecessary blue language. Great Job, deserves the multi-million views
Love the down pipe bracket secured into the Mortar 🤣
Ryk That’s hilarious 🤣🤣👏👏
Luckily that wasn’t my work!
😂😂😂😂
Takes no weight tho.
Why not.... Not weight what so ever... Hanging a gate etc the brick... Also new bricks as shite anyway... Not like the old accrington bricks.... They are quality!!!
My dad's black and decker hammer drill is still going strong after 20+ years! Amazing engineering! Obviously it's not as powerful as current drills, but for DIY projects at home, it's perfect and reliable.
"My dad's black" my dad is white
I have B+D older than that, in the day there was diy drills together with a professional range, but the beauty of B + D is that back then they had service centres in most towns and it was easy & cheap to get all of their power tools serviced and maintained.
My dad's black and decker was bought before I was born (in the 1950s). It now has a plaster mixing paddle installed in the chuck permanently as that's the only thing I use it for. That paddle is now over 40 years old but still works fine and even still has some of it's original orange paint on it. I daresay I could find another chuck key for it but I haven't seen the original in over 50 years. (Yes it was a bit of a devil tightening the chuck onto that paddle which is why it has never been out since)
I remember my Father mixing mortar, he would use the proper amount of sand to mortar ratio, and then he would toss in about a quarter of a shovel of concrete mix too. We've never had to go back and fix loose mortar between bricks or blocks ever. I'm talking about jobs we did together when I was a kid, some 40-45 years ago and the mortar looks like it was just put in a month ago, no crumbling, or cracking and no repairs needed.
I was a bricklayer for 20 years. You father taught you correctly. Good job Dad!
Concrete mix? You mean he threw some sharp sand in or used actual concrete mix with pea shingle (or larger) aggregate?
Concrete has stones in it, so you are not correct. I think you meant to say cement, not concrete.
@@johnbull5394 Cement is what I meant to say. Dry powder cement mix in with the mortar.
@@beemikeme 56 Thumbs up and one 20 yr vet of bricklaying knew what I meant and so did you obviously. Technically I did mean cement and the word concrete was wrong, but the message was understood and correct.
Door swings open "why have you drilled a random hole in the front of my house!!!!!"
😂😂😂
@@colvingenealogy wheres that from lol? I can't remember
Mary Cooper (Sheldon's mom from Young Sheldon) steps out the door: "What did you DO?"
(With that "if you lie to me I will know and there will be hell to pay" stare). 😁
The world is now full of unneeded DIY RUclips holes.
Depending on what it is you're trying to hang / mount on the brick-faced wall, the weight bearing down on the screw, as well as the force pulling on the screw, will have to be considered. Drilling entirely through the brick, or even the mortared joint, anchoring a screw or lag bolt into the wall behind the brick face will provide a stronger anchor point. Just be sure not to crush the brick / mortar when snugging the screw / lag. In addition, find out what type of wall is behind the brick face. Concrete or block walls will require plugs or shields as well.
On more modern brick walls there could even be a space behind the walls to prevent thermal bridging. Maybe that's more for commercial but still should be considered.
Thank you! While looking at installing a patio light which charges with the sun, I did not know whether to drill into the brick or mortar. Your ideas are clear and accessible to my non-skillful sides. Thank you!
0:46 We're going to use a 6mm Masonry bit, shows image of HSS drill bits !
Those are not masonary bits, neither is the one he actually drills into the brick, with
@@DrGrafenberg Yes I know, that was my point.
@@DrGrafenberg Genius.
@2:31 Love the safety squint!
LOL, you have to meet OSHA regulation.
Great tip. Never knew about drilling into the brick, I always did so in the mortar. Thanks.
Thank you - I appreciate the little details of how to use equipment etc - when you haven't grown up learning these things, all the details count!
I always drill the mortar. I did this for over 40 years and never had a problem. I kept many of my clients for the whole time so if there were any problems I would have been contacted.
i think the climate matters i live in the far north and water gets in the hole and freezes same reason are roads are terrible
That works well on new houses I live in a ex council house built in 1947 when materials were in short supply and mortar was like sand they must have used a mixture of six sand or more to one cement.
Thanks m8. I notice the screw on the black bracket for the rain spout is in the mortar. 4:27
A screw for a 10 gram clip.
Never had to do any DIY so total novice but my husband passed away so just looking at hints and tips on RUclips. Come across this. It is so helpful. Very simple and clear. Thank you so much
There is very little an average homeowner can't learn to do in terms of repair. From toilets to capacitors on an air conditioning compressor units. RUclips is a great resource! Just always use caution if working with electrical and thinking about the worst that can happen. Whenever turning a wrench think about what your knuckles might run into if it slips!
Just make sure to wear eye and ear protection…
@@Eagles_Eye EAR protection!!!!!!! Hahaha
@@SonnyGTA ?
OMG - I love the tip about tapping the plug head in BEFORE turning the screw. AWESOME tip. I always seem to get a splurge of wall plug sticking out my hole that gets in the way of a flush finish. Embarrassingly, I got to 57 yrs of age and didn't know this gem! One is always learning. Thanks. Simon / Adelaide
Simon Trangmar Thanks. Pass it on! That tip is now your knowledge
That's because the hole is not deep enough
MR NOBODY 🤣🤣🤣
Me too
As a union mason I was taught to never ever drill into the brick, unless you're going to be replacing it. Drilling into the brick permanently damages the building, and risks cracking the brick. It's a terrible practice. You should always put anchors in the mortar joint. We usually use lead sleeve anchors (or lead hammer drives for light duty). The best spot is usually where the bed joint meets the head joint. When the job is over, unless they're staying, the anchors are removed, and the mortar is repaired. If your mortar is so deteriorated that it won't hold an anchor, then it's time to grind and tuckpoint.
Totally agree bro. I'd I had crumbling mortar I'd just widen the hole and ram a tapered wood dowl or wedge home and use a coach screw type thread. Hung many heat pumps etc like that
I don't believe there's anything wrong with this practice at all. I probably would've used shorter screws myself but it all depends on what you're trying to hang. Screws that small usually won't damage the brick. Also, if he were to drill into the mortar in this particular video, it would be harder for him to hang something to the wall, you may not be able to drill your screw all the way in as well since the mortar caves inward. For me, this practice is fine considering the size of the screws. There's always a chance of brick being damaged regardless of tiny screws being drilled into them and they can always be repaired as well. Just my two cents.
@@georgebush6002 yes I have seen old Fred Dibnah doing that gotta say I'd be hammering those " iron dogs" in a couple more inches than what he appears to lol. However I learned it from my old boss doing plumbing and general contracting. He used to have a steel drum full of old roof nails we would use them with the wood wedges to mount all manner of things, mostly galvanized piping brackets though
For general cooperate work, into the brick would be fine. Historically preserved properties, everything should be handled much differently.
Nothing worse than a rusty dynobolt swelling and cracking the brick. Always mortar
A couple of points:
1. Why not show masonry bits in the introduction. The Dewalt bits were for wood and steel. This would help the novice understand and save confusion.
2. I disagree that you should ‘always’ drill into mortar. It depends on many factors such as, the age of the house and the type of brick (older bricks tend to be much harder, and modern bricks have holes in them to grab the mortar and are easily cracked), quality of the mortar, age of the mortar, what it is you are fixing as most items will be relatively light weight and the mortar would be fine, is the item needing to be removed in the future?
3. Mortar is designed to be repaired whereas bricks are not. Can be a benefit in both options. If you are hanging something, but it will need to be removed, then put it in the mortar. If it’s permanent and heavy go in the brickwork.
4. Position depends on what you are fixing. Brackets with many fixings will unlikely allow you to fix every point in the centre of the brick.
5. You didn’t mention where to drill in the brick to minimise the risk of cracking the brick.
Glad the video has had a lot of views, but not sure how helpful it is in the real world and improve the novices understanding.
Old bricks can be soft too. A couple of times I have drilled a 6mm hole and put in a 12mm plug.
Some blocks are so hollow, that they either fall apart, or the plug goes right through.
I once tried to drill into a 150-year-old brick, one of many thousands of locally made bricks that made up an old loco shed (75F UK)
The brick was so hard it melted the masonry bit . . .
I have found some brick hard enough that I bought a heavy duty hammer drill to hang TVs above fireplaces. Some of the firebrick is like iron.
if you are working on an old or listed building, you probably want the job to be reversible, so you would drill into the mortar
I was pretty shocked he didn't mention to avoid drilling near the edge. The risk of cracking can be significant. Using a concrete anchor Bolt in a brick at the end of a wall was a mistake I'll only make once.
Depends what brick it is where your drilling as you can split the brick .... and what fixing your using and what your drilling in to the the brick for
Hopefully your masonry skills exceed that of your writing capabilities?
@@elliottalderssohn2751 yes I’m more maths and science factual subjects manly subjects not man made language
@@elliottalderssohn2751 but the grammar police are out in force today lol 😂
David,I fully understood your writing and agree with your comment on splitting bricks.
@@josephstratti52 My house was originally built with solid bricks, no frog or other voids. Then when I had an extension the bricks were made with three large holes in the middle. Drilling a hole the depth shown in the example in the centre of a brick would hit the hole in the brick where there is neither brick or mortar. The house next door had someone drilling into the solid bricks too close to the corner of the wall. Large chunks of brick have split off. Putting a wire through the wall, drill the mortar makes more sense. You need to take into account a number of things when deciding where to drill holes in walls. SAFETY GLASSES and EAR PROTECTION. A modern SDS drill throws bits away from the hole very rapidly and the noise from some drills is very loud. This work was being done close to both eyes and ears. Safety and PPE should be the first thing mentioned in any of these DIY videos.
Mortar fine, for small loads, but brick gives five to ten times the load ability. Mortar if you are doing a temporary install as it is easier to patch. So pictures mortar, speakers and other heavy stuff - brick. Good stuff, cheers Neil
good, because it looks like the black pipe is drilled into the mortar.
Yep, except when the brick breaks
I would think it would depend on the weight of the attached item . A small mail box use the mortar , heavy sign , use the brick .
replay the vid, you mist the point
Just never drill into the mortar😩
I brought one of the first 18" tv dish systems to my fathers to install on a red brick house and I tried the brick first with a newer masonry bit on a hammer drill and it murdered the bit fast. Pulled out a new bit and went for the mortar with no issues. I was extremely experienced in drilling slabs ,block walls, and poured headers but that red brick was rough.
the masonry drill bit you used was trash. i'm reusing masonry bits for weeks even months
Probably old brick. I remodeled a high school recently and the bricks were impossible to drill. Getting holes for conduit took forever
Being a former cable and satellite installer, I have ran across everything including this. It is not the equipment. Trust me. There are brick compositions out there that will absolutely murder a common masonry bit.
Thank you. Very helpful. I am not super handy, so I appreciate the step-by-step instructions.
@@jione8722 my pleasure
Wow. I never thought to sink the plug head. Thank you.
When sinking the plug head in, you run the risk of the plug spinning in the hole. Don't do it!
I normally drill into the mortar because it`s much easier . Also , as a 71 year old , I reckon I`m ` crumbling ` faster than the mortar so the fitting is likely to outlast me anyway. Cheers.
Brilliant! Let's hope not though!
Respect to you Mr Carter
@@kf5541 Thank you. Kindest regards.
Love your humor old man. Lol
@@Cardoza0727 Thank you , son . Best wishes from east Yorkshire .
Man a professional doing the best DIY video. Learned a lot in a few minutes. Great video.
The answer depends on the composition of the brick, the composition of the mortar, and the flexibility of the mounting options. Flimsy brick is no stronger the typical mortar and flimsy mortar is a disaster. I've got both flimsy brick and flimsy mortar on my home. It has held up for years, but is a pain to mount objects on.
Totally agreed to this answer. I've worked for 12 years in a college. The building is on the historic registry. There are times I can "drill into the brick" and it might as well have been sand.
The mortar? Yeah right.
When I did my apprenticeship 45 years ago we were taught always to drill into the mortar, never ever failed me yet
You must only work on new houses !
New bricks have holes throw the middle, I wouldn’t like to be drilling into them for anything heavy duty.
@@neilrobinson2385 Look at a brick, measure where the holes are, don’t drill there, or drill through and use a longer plug ?
You know whenever I used to see holes being drilled into a brick building they always seem to be put into the mortar and I always got good results from going right into the mortar but I'm going to keep watching this video and see what's going on
@@neilrobinson2385 agree
Thanks soooo much ❗I have literally done this wrong for years. Now since I have a new cordless drill I'm definitely looking forward to drilling vs screwing. Great simplified content.
Delighted to find this channel. Simple answers to questions I’ve been pondering for years
Almond Grove yes 👌🏼👏🏼
"The bricks don't crumble."
I guess you haven't seen the front of my house.
Don’t let the sprinklers or roof drain hit it
Neither does the mortar-if it's the correct guage laid in the proper range of conditions suitable for laying.
Hahaha
Clear, succinct, told me exactly what I needed. Thanks for the good video!
Sometimes I'm mounting something light or something I'll need to replace in a few years, like a sign, which I'll always mount in mortar. Holes in mortar are easy to patch and make disappear. When I need strength and a permanent mount, I drill into brick and use an epoxy anchor.
Awesome video, thank you. I learnt many things from this one video but the two key things: 1) drill into the brick, not the mortar. 2) hammer the screw a little so the wall plug goes into the hole and not visible from outside. Wish I knew this years ago :-)
As others have pointed out, drilling into the mortar might be preferable in certain scenarios.
Straightforward, informative, and accurate. Thank you for sharing this.
This info can be controversial. I've worked in masonry for 30 years. It all depends on situation, load, etc... most often the mortar is preferred to drill and mount. Many bricks have holes too. Some bricks are very hard like terracotta and can crack or break easily or just difficult to drill into.. Finding and matching replacement bricks is nearly impossible, usually resort to "close enough". If you discover the mortar is in a weak condition like he pointed out, you can replace mortar, adding your fastener while wet, wait until dry, ready for use.
I remember when we didn’t have these tools and would use a star drill and hammer to make the hole, the push in a bit of roughly shaped wood plug. Some joiners could, using hammer and cold chisel, start a hole on one side of a brick wall then (to prevent spalling) go around to the other side which could be in another room, lightly tap the wall find the hole and finish the hole.
My dad taught me how to make a chopped, twisted plug often used to hold door frames, a number of mortar joints were cleared and the flat, timber plug was hammered in; as it went in it twisted and was very secure. the plug is long enough so that when finished all the plugs could be sawn to length to take the door frame. To make the plug a piece of flat softwood which was joint thickness was chopped with an axe so that it remained the same thickness throughout but resembled the twist of an aeroplane propeller. This sounds confusing so google it.
The days of Tradesmen who worked with their hands - and their brains :)
You say: "I remember when we didn’t have these tools and would use a star drill and hammer to make the hole" I don't say you're lying, but I'm 75 years old and all I remember is the use of an electric drill or a big hand drill, but never the use of a hammer and a star drill!!
Have still got bruised hands from using a star drill bit and hammer 40 years ago, putting up lights in a canal tunnel. No battery drills then and not allowed generator near to water.
You have good memories and heritage.
@@Guillaume2606 I remember stardrills I'm 61 !
Another of his very helpful videos. His channel is clearly worth a subscription.
'Safety squint' in full effect! Good lad👍🏻
Quote 1 "I keep this one at home for my own DIY", quote 2 "I haven't had this drill out for years and years and years" Priceless 😂
1:32 - Always drill into the brick not into the mortar.
2:45 - A shiny screw clearly drilled into the mortar for the pipe bracket
LOL
haha, well picked up.
@@PrideDefiler he didn’t do that though. That was already there.
I’m a lady and I thank you the training . Im glad your video came to me, Ive been wondering what’s the right process and materials needed to drill into brick. I now I can say, “oh I got it”!
Depends on where you want the hole.
Your fancy red tape depth gauge. When i was a boy we had none of that fancy shenanigans, we stacked our free fingers on top of each other until we marked the right depth then drilled through them. Blood and bone everywhere there was but we got the job done. Ah, them were the days. (written by ' too much time on my hands ' on a Sunday evening ).
Brilliant! Them WERE the days…!
Awesome description of how to do it. And what to use. Thanks a lot!
Use a rubber bulb or similar to blow out masonry dust prior to inserting anchor. You lose a lot of holding power as the dust acts like a lubricant.
Great tip.
I use an impact drill with a dust extraction adaptor. Removes a lot of the dust and prevents a dust trail that can be hard to clean off the wall.
Wear eye protection if blowing out the dust.
Yes - finally a comment that addresses the importance of removing loosened debris from the hole before inserting the wall plug. I use compressed air from a small canister sold at computer and camera shops.
I alway drill my holes where it needs to go.
The _only_ time I ever drill through the mortar, is if I'm running a wire/cable (typically ethernet for POE usually for a doorbell camera). This helps reduce snags, and I backfill the hole with silicone anyway, mostly to keep bugs from getting behind the brick.
As someone who drills based off blueprints we drill brick and mortar. Depending on what we are hanging we may scoot 1/4in to miss the mortar for a heavier load. If it's light we will run in the mortar for speed.
Side note we do commercial construction all over the US and mortar is very inconsistent. If its important I would probably skip hanging it in the mortar.
Commercal electrician, we skip mortar whenever possible as the screws don’t hold as tight and it always seems like the tapcons strip the mortar instead of creating rivets to screw into
@@allenshamon442 tapcons are the worst. I don't understand why they are so popular.
how can I attach hasp hinges into brick when I want it to be as resistant as possible against brute force attack with crowbar?
@@adrianakuzmikova1697 the problem with a hasp hinge in concrete is most don't allow for a bolt head ,which is what you really need for concrete.
There are some styles of hasp hinges that don't fold back on themselves and leave the anchor head exposed. If you are trying to prevent strictly a crowbar attack you could do that style hinge with some red heads or cobras but then you could just take it off with a wrench.
@@MadebyKourmoulis I made hasp myself. I just need a good way to fix it to hollow brick wall. I need to find a way for screws to stay firmly in hollow bricks when hasp will be attacked by a thief.
A lot of modern bricks are hollow and do not lend themselves for face fixing and will usually disintegrate under the second attempt of trying to get a secure fixing. Personally I would never advise face fixing as the permanent damage to brick face. You can repoint a bed of Mortar easily but trying to replacing a damaged brick that is discontinued... good luck
with that.
good point. So continues the argument of morter or brick....
Stan Skaggs suck it n see...
Not everyone is a Mason and can repoint. I am I would probably make an integral support structure worked right through the wall and lagged with pressure dispersion plates and blah blah blah but usually mounting anything to a brick wall depends all on the load.
You are correct
@@aaronmackay6123 Pointing is a piece of piss ,even the unskilled labourers could do it ,& often did .
I drill the hole where I want it to be and use good plugs.
I hate to sound like an idiot but this was extremely helpful! I wasn’t sure if there was other things that needed to be done for the brick drilling! I’m ready to do it myself! THANK YOU!
I always drill into the mortar. Most bricks have hollow voids to grip the mortar. If you drill into the void you only have about an inch (2.5 cm) to drill into. As well, bricks are brittle and can crack and mortar is easier to patch if you want to remove the plug. I've seen too many older brick houses littered with holes in the bricks from this.
I also tend to use lead shields instead of plastic plugs when hanging heavier objects like clothes lines.
Hue Janus do you go to work on a horse like the other cowboys 🤣😂
Keith Robinson he’s right though 🤷♂️
mortar is designed to be weaker than the brick so that any movement in the building cracks the mortar as it's easier to repair
25 years in the trades and at no point have ever used mortar over brick
Hue I agree and I also know alot depends on the bit size you use and the fixing you use and the length of the fixing and the lay of the mortar all these make a difference.
You might always do this, however its 100% wrong and much weaker than drilling into the bricks. Hopefully anyone coming across this video won't read your comment as gospel.
If you consider bricks brittle I'm curious as to how you'd describe mortar...
Great video! Learned 2 new things today: always drill into the brick, and tap the screw to hide the plug to make it flush with the wall. You Sir, are awesome! Thank you.
Can I just say here? I love seeing the use of the good old reliable tools. Proof that they just don't make them like they used to.
Yup, I have a 30 year old Black and Decker drill that's still going strong. It could do with having the brushes replaced, but it's outlasted two cordless "replacements".
Nice. Thank you for posting 👍
And great zooming for close-in work. So many don’t bother but it really helps.
This is something that I’ve wondered for a while now as I saw a few properties with screws into mortar.
They now make hardened screws that cut their own threads in masonry.
@@damnhandy yeah?!?
@@SonnyGTAAre you asking about salmon brick? It's a softer cheaper brick that's fired at a lower temperature, soft enough that kids used it like chalk to write and draw on the streets and pavements. It is used as the interior layer in two-brick walls. It holds cut nails and a horse well as loud as it's not been exposed to weather. It was used a lot during the 1800 and early 1900s.
Thank you my good man answered all of my concerns.
Nice to see the 'safety squint' in full operation
Had to fix a whole bunch of decks a couple years ago because whoever built them decided to lag the ledger boards into the mortor joint's instead of brick. Managed to make it through a few Canadian winters before the deck's started falling from the house. Point being, always fasten into brick or stone if it's a structural job. Going in mortor is fine for cable tie clips and stuff like that. Also idealy hit the center of the brick, especially if using large lag bolt/screws( 3/8",1/2").
Deck ledgers should be lagged into the framing or foundation to pass a building inspection.
@@hagarthehonorable8133 that's if it is brick veneer. My engineered plans called for lagging into the structural brick wall, and they have been inspected and passed so I think I'm good. But very good point if it's brick or stone veneer you should be lagging into solid framing.
You are a very thorough instructor. Ty.
This is actually a bit of a trick question because I'd say it depends on the brick. Some bricks are porous (improved insulation) or have huge hollow insides so you'd need to supplement with anchor mass as well to actually have something that the plug or screw can support against or it will be like trying to hang something in brittle styrofoam.
I did have to use three cartridges of anchor mass for just two screws in a brick wall hanging a computer networking enclosure on a wall to be sure it was staying put.
But that brick...
@@buzzcrushtrendkill You never know what brick you are drilling into until you discover that the plug won't stick.
Good tip when you drilling: use an eye protection. You don’t want all kind of dust ending up in your eye.
always good practice to wear eye protection but dust in your eyes is the least of your worries when goofing around with masonry, you will breathe in silica and will lodge itself in the lungs and will never leave, too much of it and you get silicosis, too severe of a case and its a death sentence.
I was going to say the same thing.
Absolutely wear eye protection. It is not for the reasons we can think of, it is always for the reasons we don't think of.
Squinting is actually the safest
Thanks Karen
Really clear and easy to follow. Great video
And if you've got lime mortar (which you should) you don't want to use any kind of hammer function on the drill. You're just going to crack the mortar. You won't see the damage, but if you live where it freezes, winter will show you where it is. Hint: If you see spalling (edges of the brick chipping away) that means the wrong mortar was used.
I am certainly a fan of lime mortar, though I suspect more spalling occurs due to hygroscopic salt contamination than due to cement mortars.
In fact, my own house has soft reds and inappropriate cement pointing and, while I keep meaning to repoint it, I have yet to see any evidence of damage on the main building. On the chimney, however, there are a few spalled bricks, but here the pointing is in poor state and there is probable contamination from coal and wood smoke.
I can't see that cracking lime is likely to be a problem in terms of water entrapment as it would tend to 'breathe', so I guess your concern is that the lime would fall out where cracked. Am I right?
I love how I've watched so many videos and never knew the reason for 1 and 2 on a power drill until this video. Very informative and succinct. Great video and awesome job explaining!
Thanks, James!
I AGREE, NO ONE SPEAKS OF IT
IMO.. The reason to use 1 is for more control and also you get more torque (force). For large drills bits (think hole saws and forstner bits) you'll want the lower speed with more torque as speed 2 is a risk you'll burn the drill out.
His description was rather vague. "1" is low speed/high torque. Use it for drilling tough materials (brick/mortar), mixing materials with a mixing paddle (paint/mortar mix) or drilling with large bits in wood (larger than 1/2"). If I use a drill for driving screws I always use speed "1" for driving screws. I prefer a separate impact driver for driving screws.
"2" is high speed/low torque for drilling in light materials, such as wood or sheet metal with regular twist drill bits up to 1/2" in size.
Murkin diesel powered drills go to 11
I just now searched for "drill brick or between bricks?" and this came up the #1 result. Most information packed four minutes I ever spent on RUclips. Good job.
Thank you Jeffrey!
Kept staring at the downspout that is drilled into the mortar. You were saying…
😆😆🤣
I was wondering who else noticed that... lol
Hahahaha. I was going to say the same thing!
3:23 tap for screw in mortar lol.
I’d also add that depending how good the brick bed is you’re creating a bridge with the screws that water can penetrate in over time. I think folks drill into mortar ad they don’t own a SDS drill.
Don't need SDS drill. Ordinary Hammer drill (as shown) is all it needs
@@JohnColgan. You’ve obviously never drilled into black brick with a hammer drill no chance. SDS do a far cleaner hole with ease. Joe public have weak drill drivers that only go into mortar easily. Like a £30 Boch from Aldi.
@@MrSmid888 We had to demo an old building and it would take us 40 minutes to drill a 100mm hole through just 2 bricks using a Hilti 450 SDS with 2 of us leaning on the drill pushing it into the bricks. Going through the mortar joints were no easier that mortar was like stone. I can't imagine how many batteries and drill bits it would take to get through that type of brick with a 18V hammer drill.
@@evzevz06 Yes those old bricks and mortar absolutely solid stuff, You start with a 8mm diameter drill bit and end up with a 6mm 😂😂 If you use a normal drill driver on masonry you end up with a bigger hole than need as it takes so long. I’ve burnt out an SDS drilling holes for anchors on those rubber speed humps for car parks. Fitted 3.
I was using a 24mm drill bit. I think it lasted 40 holes and burnt out after installing only one. I should of known better but hey Ho.
Excellent demonstration, Thank you.
just a quick question, you mention at 0:52 about using masonry drill bit but you were using normal bits did you swap them out when we were not looking?
he must've done. normal metal/wood drill bits won't work in masonry.
Stronger when fixed to the brick, some claim it weakens the brick and causes water penetration and possible future cracking, been drilling brickwork for years and never occurred once. It would depend I suppose on the depth and the video shows very clearly that you drill just slightly more than the plug, your not drilling right through the brick. Obviously many have pointed out the downpipe and the fixing in the mortar, however that's not I assume fixed by the chap doing the demonstration. If you are afraid you might cause some problem with water drill slightly deeper and back fill with some silicone from a mastic gun. Always use a good quality brick sealer regardless of drilling to protect brickwork for water penetration prevention. Good informative and educational video!
You can always drill SLIGHTLY uphill
You can always use a 2 part epoxy as well that will hold up very well once it sets and is moisture resistant
For small holes that is fine.
However when I used to install heavy LTE antennas with thick bolts we always try to drill into the mortar for several reasons.
-Here you will find a lot of hollow bricks so you only have about a cm of stone to work with.
-Older bricks(100 -200 years) can shatter when you tighten them up. Those hollow ones can too.
-Easier to repair the holes if the bolts are removed.
-The plugs we used were as wide as the mortar so it would grip nicely between the bricks.
Only when you would install them on top of a chimney or a wall without weight on top we would drill in the bricks(if there were less than 4-5 layers above it) as otherwise when you tighten them you would lift the brick layers of their mortar and the top of the chimney would come off.
Forget the antenna in my bricks separate structure for the antenna
Ah good tip. So it depends on the brick type.
@@deadmanswife3625 You say that, unrelated to the video I once had to install one at the house of a BMW dealer(in other words they had money) who placed a radio tower in their backyard. I had to max out my trucks aerial work platform (30M) and still had to lower part of the mast so that thing was hanging at aprox 35m. Our mast was located maybe 300m away, could have placed that antenna on the ground facing the wrong way and still get max speed xD.
Would have been cheaper to get fiber to the property...
But yeah, if you are able to have a separate structure for things like that, do it. I always appreciated customers who made arrangements like that. ( And if you are nice to the technician he might "forget" to limit your SIM card or something like that ;) )
@@david6054 🤗
Simple, easy, and to the point. Thank you for the concise video.
Thank You Sooo Much....66 yrs old...didn't know that.....esp the tap w/ hammer...very nice
always, drill into the brick, meanwhile gutter bracket is anchored into the mortar
My wife used to be on function 1 permanently. Ah, those were the days!
:D
Maybe she needs a better drill
My wife is more like my demolition drill set on hammer mode.
My wife’s battery no longer holds a charge.
You should never drill into the brick especially if its historic. You cant replace the brick, if it breaks you are screwed. You can always replace the mortar or strengthen the hole you make
I would recommend wearing safety glasses when using any power tool. I had a friend who was drilling on a drill press, and the drill bit broke and hit him right in the eye. After a few surgeries, he can see out of that eye again. Safety glasses are much better than eye surgery.
Sadly, where I live, we have stupid sandstone bricks rather than clay bricks. So the bricks tend to crumble if you drill into them much more than the mortar. I've done both, and in my situation, the stuff set into the bricks is all coming loose while the things tied to the mortar are holding fast.
Drill into the mortar using rawlplugs
I mostly agree with your approach. In theory the bricks are more consistent but most brick these days have large voids where the plug/anchor will be unsupported for much of its length. If you get the right, full thickness, spot in the brick that's the best. The bed joints are also somewhat inconsistent in depth as well. The cross joints are probably the most consistent as the bricklayer/mason will usually apply a full thickness of mortar to the end of each brick. If I'm not sure of the brick I'm drilling, I use a cross joint if I can. It's what I do . . . I could be wrong.
Yeah you are wrong
The reason this is the wrong approach wasn't well explained in the video. Mortar is a mixture of sand, lime, and portland cement. (Older buildings may have been built with mortar made from just sand and lime.) While mortar serves well as a bed for brick and block, it's not very strong compared to brick or block. A screw anchor works by exerting a lot of outward force as the screw is driven in, wedging the sides of the anchor tightly against the sides of the hole. These forces will, over time, if not immediately, cause the mortar to crumble.
Yes, it's best to not drill into a void in the brick. But, the hold provided by 1/2" of brick is much more durable than the hold provided by 2" of mortar.
I thought I knew it all because I’ve done it for years. Not so! Tapping the the screw to set the plastic anchor head flush or below the surface was new to me! I find at least a tiny morsel of Knowledge in every RUclips video, even at 79 years old. Thanks
We are all still, and always learning, Gary. Let the journey continue…
The brick's got holes through it as made, also if there are is any reworking to be done now or in the future, mortar is easily repaired and the brick can't be!
Most British bricks don't have holes in
@@Bitofastupidbrit Bricks used in my garage are more hole than brick.
Why don't you think a brick can't be repaired??
Most definitely into the mortar joint unless there's absolutely no other option. I'm a stonemason working in conservation and we're not allowed to fix anywhere else without specific agreement.
Rawlplugs are basically a compression fixing, even more so with a ferrous screw. It's often hard to always drill the hole in the centre of the stone or brick so you risk splitting them over time and matching pointing is easier than stone or brick. Where we absolutely have to EH want something that can't become compressive over time like a stainless resin socket.
I like the lead roll method mentioned in another comment here. That was certainly done historically and seems to last quite well. Or if it's internal you could maybe discover what a plugging chisel is originally for!
As a fellow stonemason I totally agree, this video is so infuriating. Also, when inserting the plug make sure that it'll split up/down and not along the joint (except when drilling in a head joint).
Is it wrong to use a traditional wooden plug externally? I used that technique recently to re-fix my mother's gatepost (but, being my first time, I wasn't sure HOW snug the tapered plug should be and I split a soft-red...). Still, with three timber plugs, the post held, unlike other people's attempts which had resulted in a number of torn-out holes over the years.
@@johnbull5394I'm not sure I would say it was wrong per se but there are situations where it would be inadvisable. It was certainly done historically but in a wall that is inherently damp or gets a lot of weather I might think twice. The snugness issue is more a judgement call than anything else, how resilient the stone or brick surrounding the plug is being the main factor. If it was a good hard stone or engineering brick I'd be tempted to make the plug really tight and predrill the wood for the fixing. If the surrounding fabric is softer then just tight enough to grip and have the fixing provide the rest of the tension as it splits the plug.
The shape of the plug is important too. If you're going into a round hole the plug shouldn't be too round. Like a trenail in timber frame work an irregular hexagon type shape will drive in easier and hold just as tight.
If I was using a joint then I'd cut fairly long slot with my plugging chisel and use as wide a plug as possible with it still being hidden. The trad shape for these was barely wedge shaped if not nearly parallel with the leading edge sharpened and two of the corners, diagonally opposite, cut down to produce a twist as the plug drives in. The wider plug reduces the point loading effect and is more likely to shift a whole brick than snap it.
As to your Mum's gatepost. If three of the four held you're probably not doing much wrong.
@@rorychisholm8863 Thanks for the detailed explanation on traditional plugging. My knowledge of it is based entirely on a wartime DIY book so my reasonably successful attempt was very much finger in the air - good to have some additional tips and much appreciated.
@rorychisholm8863 you defo seem to know what you're talking about so I hope you don't mind me asking you for a bit of advice.
We live in a new build, well about 10 years old now, and I've just bought some Flexson wall mounts for our Sonos speakers.
They're going to get fixed on an internal brick wall, no plaster just bricks and mortar. The speakers weigh around 10lb each, so 5 kilos ish, and I believe the wall mounts have 4 or 5 wall fixings per bracket.
So in your opinion, do you reckon brick or mortar or don't it matter?
Demo done next to a drain pipe that had the anchor into the mortar
Those bits are not for masonry, they're for wood and metal. Masonry bits have ceramic tips. It even illustrates that on the box. Steel gets eaten up by rocks/bricks quick.
Those are in fact masonry bits, and no, masonry bits do not have ceramic tips. They have tungsten carbide tips, or are all tungsten carbide.
@@davealmighty9638 They are not masonry bits, Masonry bits have have tungsten carbide insert at the top not a coating, those bits have no insert. Also tungsten carbide is a ceramic
@@gillo100 they are in fact masonry bits. That dewalt set of metric bits has been sold for atleast ten years.
@@gillo100 and masonry bits do not have "inserts". They have fused carbide bits. That is possible because of the tungsten. You are trying to argue with someone who works at a company that makes masonry bits as one of our many products. And there are actually masonry bits made of HSS steel that are often included with packages of small concrete anchors. They are designed to last for the amount of anchors in the package.
@@davealmighty9638 ok fair enough maybe insert is the wrong term. They have tungsten carbide "tips".
Can you link to where those dewalt masonry bits are available?
And explain why the box they are coming out of has a picture of wood and metal, not stone?
Just found your channel, good stuff. Amazing how much you sound like Alan Rickman. 🤗🤗🤗
That’s a first!
A simple operation but valuable information for me the homeowner.
If the bricks have Holes it depends on the drill position you mark on the brick ? Solid bricks your ok .
My concern is that the bricks in my home has holes running vertically (not solid like you have).
Raw plug would work even better
Thanks for taking the time to clearly explain why you should go through the brick and not the mortar. My friend was telling me to do it the other way around. Good thing I watched your video first. I found this video very helpful!
My invisible friend tells me a lot that wrong all the time... He is also living inside my head, Rent Free while I work on this place.
Depends what your fixing, if it's temporary, into the mortar, if it's permanent, into the brick.
*you're. That's the contraction of you are, not your.