Making dryer vent hole in brick (not cement block)

[Jeff The Drunk]

I suppose I need a hammer drill to outline the hole then knock it out with a hammer and chisel?

This is for an upstairs laundry room I've created. No other way to vent the dryer.

[Paul Franklin]

That will work. Or you could rent a big diamond or carbide grit hole saw. You'll need a big drill motor to drive it too.

Paul F.

[Joe]

Congratulations on picking the ideal location for both laundry and vent. Been there, done that and it's worth all the work for the convenience. Assuming you are going through a brick veneer, an outlet screen or louvers will be used to direct flow, keep out varmints, whatever. Since it will be nominally square, the necessary bricks can be removed with an angle grinder and diamond blade like the $2 Harbor Freight 41743 and also their 32400 diamond hole saw, $6 IIRC. Ought to be less destructive than a hammer drill, likely slower, but neater.

Joe

[HeyBub]

Depends on the brick. I cuts some Mexican-made bricks (colored sand and potato paste) with the HF multifunction tool. They were not much harder than the grout (mortar) used to hold the bricks in place.

Anway, you can also use the HF masonry blades in an angle grinder.

[hrhofmann]

Almost anythting you can do to cut thru the bricks rather than hammer and chisel is preferable. You can't always control where things break when you hammer and chisel, with cutting you at least have better than a 50-50 proposition.

[Clot]

That's what I did for the dryer in our kitchen. In our case the outer layer of brick is decorative with the inner skin being block. I addressed the outside first so that I minimised the number of bricks being cut,( I also have saved some original bricks from when the house was built).

If ever the kitchen gets remodelled, I shall have matching bricks to replace the cut and removed bricks.

Have fun up the ladder!

[Jeff The Drunk]

Thanks. This is a brick ranch with full size bricks. I've got an air hammer and will carefully chisel out the hole. Going to be a lot of work but that's what I've already got and money is tight. I've done some brick and masonary work in the past so that will help. And being a ranch house the vent will be floor level so outside it should be about mid chest working level so no ladder needed thank god.

[Jeff The Drunk]

Thanks for all the good suggestions.

[Clot]

I don't know what size bricks you might have.

I just tried to Google for standard UK size without success. From recollection, I created the hole for our vent almost 30 years ago by effectively removing one brick and nibbling into the corners of two bricks above to fit a 4 inch waste pipe; that way I have only three to replace if necessary, possibly only one as the intrusions into the other two are so minor that additional mortar might not be noticed. To date, replacement machines and minor changes inside have not caused me to have to alter the exterior. Perhaps I have more influence over SWMBO'd than I thought!

Pleased to hear that you don't have a ladder to contend with.

Should be a piece of cake but I still wish you luck.

C.

[Mike rock]

Try to hammer drill from the outside in. If you drill from the inside, the brick will shatter when you reach the outside, making it not look nice. You won't care if it shatters on the inside.

[clare]

Go to your local rent-all and rent a big hammer drill and a 4" core bit. It's about a 20 minute job, and the pipe fits PERFECTLY. hardly need to caulk the hole. About $50 locally to rent. Or $16 - $25 just to rent the core drill if you have access to a Kango or Hilti type hammer drill (electric jack-hammer)

[clare]

BUT - the 4 1'2" blade can only cut less than 2" in, and the brick as about 4"??? You NEED a core drill to do the job right. Nice ROUND hole, the right size, and no patching required.

[Stormin Mormon]

Might want to call for help, on this one. The tooling can get expensive. The one guy I knew did this with what's called a SDS drill (hammer drill variation). I've also heard of a guy who opened up a stove pipe vent with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and a couple box of military ball ammo.

[HeyBub]

I have put round things in oval holes. While I haven't tried a square hole, it shouldn't be much different.

[Beta-B4-]

My only suggestion has to do with locating the hole on the outside. By transferring some measurements from the inside where you want the vent to be to the outside will fairly accurately locate where the outside hole will go in.

But, from there, you may want to drill a small pilot hole from the outside through the mortar between the bricks where you want the center of the hole to go. Then check on the inside to make sure it's right. By choosing exactly where you want the center of the hole to go (by drilling in from the outside), you'll be able to choose exactly which bricks and parts of bricks will need to be removed.