Methods for Drilling into Brick Walls

Drill

• The most effective tool to drill into brick walls is a hammer drill. The hand-held drill combines the spinning action of a rotary drill with the up-and-down force of a hammer. It moves the drill bit in and out several thousand times per minute, making a clean hole in dense masonry such as brick. A 12-volt hammer drill should be sufficient for homeowners with light drilling needs. A 14- to 18-volt drill is better for bigger and more frequent brick-drilling projects.

Drill Bit

• A masonry drill bit is designed to bite through mortar and brick without causing cracking. Masonry drill bits are tipped with carbide bonded to stainless steel, giving them strength to penetrate concrete and stone as well as brick ad mortar. They also can withstand the stress from a hammer drill. A masonry drill bit can overheat when rotated too rapidly, however. A slow and steady drill speed produces the best results.

Fasteners

• A few kinds of fasteners are used for brick walls. The correct fastener depends on the amount of weight it can hold. Concrete screws that go directly into the brick walls' mortar are used for light projects, such as setting screws to hold small pictures. Heavier jobs require either concrete anchors that are either plastic or metal; they fit into pre-drilled holes, and their interior threads accept fitted screws. It's important to use the right size drill bit for an anchor because a hole that is too big will not hold the anchor tightly. A sleeve anchor is set in a pre-drilled hole and expands to press against the inside of the hole as a screw is tightened, making a snug fit.

Considerations

• It's simple to burn out a drill's motor when using it on a brick wall. Using sharp drill bits and pausing occasionally to test the bit for overheating helps to preserve a drill. If the body of the drill is too hot, it should be shut off for a while so its motor can cool. Holding a drill so the bit is perpendicular to the wall makes the straightest hole and puts the least stress on the drill. A masonry drill bit creates quite a bit of fine dust when drilling, and so the hole needs to be cleaned out occasionally.