Would anyone be able to suggest how I can bolt a few 4x4 wood posts to hollow brick with a wall thickness of about 1-1/2"?
Although the load on the brick and fasteners would be quite light, I'd like to be reasonably sure that they wouldn't easily pull out or break out of the brick.
I've talked with Hilti about their reddi-rod/tube screen/epoxy system which looks pretty good but is far too costly for a small job like this because I'd have to buy excessive minimum quantities and epoxy-injection equipment.
I know that it may limit my options, but the fasteners also have to be all-stainless steel.
Any helpful suggestions would be much appreciated.
Brick doesn't have much holding power, so you should fasten to the mortar, not to the brick. Drill holes in the mortar and insert lead anchors (available at any hardware store). Then run screws or bolts through the posts and into the anchors.
Look at HD or Lowes for Tapcon connectors which are specifically designed for concrete, brick & cinder block. They're like a cross between lag bolts and screws. You can do it with a drill and their driver set.
- Nehmo - Do you mean hollow concrete block? Sometimes called a Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU)? Or do you mean cored brick? In any case, are you placing the
4x4s against a wall or are you meaning to support the posts from the bottom?
- Darro -
- Nehmo - What's the load? Is this a fence?
- Darro -
- Nehmo - You're not specifying how strongly you want to secure the 4x4s or what your purpose is. So "reaonably sure...easily" isn't clear.
- Darro -
- Nehmo - I don't know about the system you refer to, but you certainly can buy epoxy in small quantities.
- Darro -
- Nehmo - Not really. There's a stainless steel version of almost everything. But why do you require SS? If you're worried about corrosion, Deck-mates or galvanized may be suitable.
BTW, to respond to another post in this thread, don't secure your fasteners to the mortar between the bricks. Mortar is more likely to crumble out and fail than the brick or the concrete.
Since brick doesn't have much holding power and is brittle, expansion anchors are out. They will have a tendency to break or crack the brick. Epoxy is your best solution and you don't have to have the expensive setup that Hilti or Western Fasteners uses. Call around to your area concrete products vendor. They have epoxy in a caulk tube for around $12.00. One tube will do several holes. The only drawback to these tubes are the viscosity only allows you to do vertical holes. It will run out of a horizontal hole.
*Darro* I mean hollow brick (not concrete, and defined as a brick with uniform
1-1/2" walls and a hollow core). The posts will be placed against the wall and will be supported only by the horizontal fasteners.
*Darro* The fence would be about 18" high.
*Darro* This is not a heavy-duty or high-risk installation, just a typical residential fence which should be able to bear the weight of the fence (estimate 40 lbs per bolt) and an adult climbing over it (estimate 50 lbs per bolt).
*Darro* If epoxy is the way to go, I'll look for small quantities.
*Darro* There are non-technical reasons why the fasteners have to be all stainless.
*Darro* The mortar is actually cement, but I'll keep your warning in mind.
- Nehmo - I'm not clear what kind of masonry unit that could be. Your ' 1-1/2" ' apparently means 1.5 inches. That sounds like it could be a concrete block, but you say it's not concrete.
- Darro -
- Nehmo - You could use polyurethane glue alone without any fasteners. There are a few brands out there.
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don't mean the hot-melt kind. Popular Woodworking has an article:
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But if you are decided on using metal fasteners, 1.5" thick brick (if it is brick) may not offer much to grab on to.
You could drill a ½ " hole in the brick to its cavity using a masonry bit (a rotary hammer with an SDS bit would be best, but you probably don't have that), and use long Stainless Steel toggle bolts going all the way though the 4x4, through your hole in the brick, and into the cavity. What makes a toggle bolt toggle is actually the winged anchor part, the nut. The machine screw (bolt part) can be a stock 6"x ¼" SS bolt. (I suggest 6" long because 3 ½" + 1 ½" = 5", the 4x4 + the wall thickness of the outside of the brick to its cavity.)
Another method would be to drill all the way through the masonry wall and use an nut and washer on the opposite side.
If the "brick" is really concrete or slump block, you have more options. Go to the hardware store and have them explain what's available.
But basically...
Pre-drill the 4x4 with all the holes. An 18" high 4x4 could take two or three fasteners. Screw-in a suitable lag screw in each hole so that only perhaps ¼" of the point extends through. Place the 4x4 in position against the wall. Then tap it into the wall using a scrap block between the hammer and the 4x4. You should've made small marks on the wall where the screws protruded. Use these marks to indicate where to drill holes. Drill them with a masonry bit or some other suitable tool. Place plastic or lead anchors in the holes. Put the post up and run your screws in.
*Darro*
- Nehmo - The terminology is confusing: Mortar is the bonding material between bricks or blocks. It is made from fine aggregate (sand), and either regular cement or lime by itself and water.
Cement, an _ingredient_ of concrete and mortar, typically consisting of silica, alumina, lime, iron oxide and magnesia.
Concrete is often incorrectly referred to as cement.
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