filling a hole in brickwork for shelves General problems, solutions, information and advice on fixing to walls of all kinds

[larney-mel]

Hi there,

my walls are solid brick and i recently put up mid weight shelves. however, one got knocked and the bracket was ripped away from the wall, taking the rawl plug and some of the brick with it.

I put normal filler (unibond) waited a day, then redrilled, rawl plugged etc. only for the bracket to come away from the wall again hours later, with the rawl plug and a big blob of filler this time!

What can i use to fill the hole that will bond to the rest of the brick and is able to be drilled etc? Normal filler just seems to create a plug of material. Someone suggested "Chemfix" but this seems to be a brand name rather than a product?

Many thanks,

Mel

[plumbbob]

There is a product called chemical Metal that will bond and be as hard as the brick, but I still wouldn't trust it to hold any heavy object.

The only answer is to drill deeper into the brick and use longer screws. Seems like you need to anyway because if the bracket pulled out in the way you describe, I doubt if any of them are in far enough.

As a rough guide for medium to heavy objects, drill two inches into the brick so 2.5" overall for plastered walls or 3" for drywall.

[Steve the gas]

Hi Mel,

No nails would do it.

[larney-mel]

thanks guys.
I can't drill any deeper as i am hitting something. I think alot of the walls were reinforced some time ago with metal beams or something. nothing showed up with a sensor and its def not wiring but every so often i can only drill in about an inch or so - and its normally the last hole when everything lines up so i'm not redoing the whole thing! I will end up with swiss cheese walls!
I will try the metal stuff. its the bottom bracket so should hold. thanks.

[chris_on_tour2002]

[quote]i can only drill in about an inch or so [/quote]

what type of wall is it?

what type of drill are you using? could it be that it is not powerful enough to drill into the wall. many 12v cordless drills and even some 18v will struggle to go into red brick even. also are you using the right type of drill bit?

but clearly you always need to exercise caution when drilling into walls to make sure that you aren't hitting pipes and cables. might be worth exposing to see what it is, if practical. might be worth knowing if it's a problem that you have had in other parts of the property.

a one inch hole is nowhere near deep enough to hold up a shelf bracket, even if only supporting the weight of a shelf.