on topic(!): finding mortar course

Half the time when I fix something to a rendered/plastered block or brick wall the fixing holes find the blasted mortar course rather than the block or brick - it's just happened again when trying to fix the backing board for a row of Victorian coat hooks. A short time ago someone suggested that an IR camera might show the wall structure - does this *really* work on a plastered cavity wall?

Use a tiny screwdriver to probe the wall in a vertical line. Make good with polyfilla.

Bill

It's okay to fix into the mortar, especially for something as trivial as coat hooks. If it really mattered, if it was a structural fixing or it was holding up a ming vase you would want to use some more serious fixings, resin or chemical or something.

TW

Better still, a bradawl

I've been fixing things to walls for 45 years or so. In this case it's a substantial piece of oak, 1.5m long, and mortar is lime mortar. Hence my specific question about using an IR camera.

In fact I've moved it down by just less than half its width (to hide the original holes). The question was really intended as a follow-up to an earlier discussion about using an IR camera - I'll edit the subject to make that obvious

And in answer to the original. It does not work, at least it depends on the heat conduction but many things affect that. A ground penetrating radar might be more useful! Brian

My thoughts too, but I think someone said that it *did* work, hence the question when I'd just put a row of concrete screws into lime mortar :-(

No because with a little screwdriver you can twist it round and tell by the scraping what it's pressing on.

Bill

The same things? Maybe there's a problem. You've come to the right place.

Bill

:-)