Do You Drill into the Brick or the Mortar? 

Love the down pipe bracket secured into the Mortar 🤣

as someone without a dad to show them how to do these basic things, i find videos like this so helpful. Thank you

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.”

Drill- Packedge in typical box, came with a tool bag (added bonus), two batteries, one charger, drill, and driver. Two words "plenty of Torque" ru-vid.comUgkxW1vOBRCMrgTCDEijzpVzDWsgI-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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Door swings open "why have you drilled a random hole in the front of my house!!!!!"

0:46 We're going to use a 6mm Masonry bit, shows image of HSS drill bits !

Who else is watching this at 3am?

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.

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.

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.

Good tip when you drilling: use an eye protection. You don’t want all kind of dust ending up in your eye.

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

Delighted to find this channel. Simple answers to questions I’ve been pondering for years

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.

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.

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

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.

"The bricks don't crumble." I guess you haven't seen the front of my house.

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!

When I did my apprenticeship 45 years ago we were taught always to drill into the mortar, never ever failed me yet

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.

@2:31 Love the safety squint!

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 would think it would depend on the weight of the attached item . A small mail box use the mortar , heavy sign , use the brick .

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.

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

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!

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 😂

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.

Thank you. As someone who wasn't really taught this stuff it's great to have something to fall back on

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.

Clear, succinct, told me exactly what I needed. Thanks for the good video!

'Safety squint' in full effect! Good lad👍🏻

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!

Straightforward, informative, and accurate. Thank you for sharing this.

Awesome description of how to do it. And what to use. Thanks a lot!

I alway drill my holes where it needs to go.

1st year of apprenticeship: Always the mortar. Don't disfigure the brick. Pretty much everything put on a building elevation in the last 50 years has been replaced whether its iron downpipes, pipe clips ,satellite dishes, soil pipes, hoppers, hanging basket brackets ,house numbers etc etc etc. If you drill the bricks the house looks like a cullender a 100 years later. As a plumber of 30 years ,most holes you see in masonry walls are drilled into the mortar -it was always good practice. It was always the rough plumbers that drilled the brickwork. You could be lazier with the choice of drill/fixing. The small exceptions would be things like gates and awnings etc. Most stuff on a wall has the load pulling downward and you just don't need the extra strength of fixing you get from drilling the brick. Plastic downpipes weigh nothing .

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 RU-vid. Good job.

Thank you sir. You are a excellent teacher. I understand the use of drill better and drilling into brick not the mortar🙂

I had some questions. Watched video and listened carefully. All my questions were answered. This was a great tutorial Sheriff!🛠

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.

Wow. I never thought to sink the plug head. Thank you.

Thank you for posting this video

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.

Great - really clear and well explained. I scrolled through several other clips before that told me nothing, this was just what I needed. Thanks

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 ).

Thank you building sheriff 🙏

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.

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 :-)

Thanks for the help.

Excellent demonstration, Thank you.

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

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.

thanks Neil, this is exact problem I have and you explained the solution very well. Appreciate it.

Thank you my good man answered all of my concerns.

Depends on where you want the hole.

I always drill into the mortar to avoid disfiguring the brick. You can repair the mortar. The brick is permanently scarred.

Thank You.Appreciate the info .

Perfect video. Answered all my questions. Thanks

Kept staring at the downspout that is drilled into the mortar. You were saying…

Just drilled 470 holes into block, used a pump sprayer to keep bit cool & dust down. Used same bit entire job that way also.

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.

Very helpful. Thank you.

Never had to do any DIY so total novice but my husband passed away so just looking at hints and tips on RU-vid. Come across this. It is so helpful. Very simple and clear. Thank you so much

I have an identical Bosch drill at least 25 years old. Still in perfect condition. I learned at some time in the distant past that we should always make mortar weaker than the brick. Because if there is movement, the mortar will fracture, not the brick and the wall will retain some strength because the break will be an irregular (zig-zag) fracture that spreads the load over a greater width. It follows logically then that we ought to drill the brick for making holes for screws. Because walls are designed to have strong bricks and weak mortar.

thanks building sheriff!

Amazing details thanks man!

My wife used to be on function 1 permanently. Ah, those were the days!

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.

to the point and well said. love it

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.

Depends what your fixing, if it's temporary, into the mortar, if it's permanent, into the brick.

Great and informative video one thing you didn't mention and i have come across alot in my line of work is that the brick you showed us at about 1 min in had holes as do a lot of new build bricks if you were to drill into a hole the strength of the fixing would be compromised so i always try and drill towards the end of the brick. 👍👍

Thanks for the heads up.

Just what I needed, i lost my Dad in 22 he was an expert at these things having being an electrician his whole working life. Thanks again 👍

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!

Don't have many brick structures where I live, but good to know. Helpful tip. 👍👍

Thank You Sooo Much....66 yrs old...didn't know that.....esp the tap w/ hammer...very nice

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.

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.

Glad i found this out,i gotta put up some security cameras in the morning an im gonna hide the cables in some pvc cable raceway...thanks brother

Simple and effective video. Thank you.

Wow. Excellent. Thank you for this. Straight to the point and well explained.

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.

I have a little table top craftsman table saw that's been used and abused do work that I should have used a bigger saw for and after 45 years it's still going strong.

Excellent instructions. Thank you

Excellent information and I like how you present this very thoroughly. Subbed!!

Thank you! What would old lady do without RU-vid?! Was trying to do it all wrong! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Jeez! At 2 mins when you pressed the drill, you nearly blew my head off. Your mic must be right up close. 😱🎧🤣

THanks, simple and loads of info

just what I needed, thanks a lot!!!

Really like the way you explain, could you do a video on building a timber lean to from a brick building ?

Nice to see the 'safety squint' in full operation

Very helpful, thank you!

Thank you SOOO MUCH!