Getting a fixing into very hard hollow bricks

[Stevekane]

Hi, Im doing a job at the moment where I need to get a fix onto the internal brick walls, however the bricks are extreamly hard and have a series of holes down through them, drilling into them is imposible without the hammer and then you break through into the holes which have a bit of 100yrs old mortar in them and maybe even breaking up the brick a bit too,,so getting a fixing is very hit and miss. Ive started to think about raking out the hole and backfilling with maybe a bit of hardwall or mortar followed by a plug,,or resin type fixings,,what do people think, any ideas?
Steve.

 

[Eric Roy]

In a similar situation I went for resin fixings and was very satisfied with the result.

 

[user 35906]

My son was using a rapid resin fixing system last week for sticking two 8mm lengths of threaded bar into the wall for a wall hung toilet system, he filled the 2 holes, got the first bar in and 20 seconds later tied to put the second one in but the resin has started to set and had to be drilled out and re done. Amazing stuff but I think he will go back to regular resin in future.

 

[Ozi]

I haven't seen it for years but there used to be a filler called Tetrian which worked very well in these circumstances.

 

[Stigmorgan]

We used to use this stuff when I was out on building sites, works really well
https://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug...boDHd6S9u-oXUEHWBKBoC14gQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I haven't seen it for years but there used to be a filler called Tetrian which worked very well in these circumstances.

Tetrion? Bloody awful stuff.

 

[DBC]

You’ll probably end up with resin but I would try Fischer brand plugs first combined with slow drilling so you don’t burst out into the voids in the brick. It is amazing what those plugs will grip to.

 

[Shaun92]

What is it that you are getting a fixing for?
Anything of a medium weight I would use the fischer duo plug.
https://amzn.to/3xT4gsWAnything heavy, I would either knock out a hole bigger than I needed and then fill with plasterboard adhesive, leave to set and then re drill.
Or
Resinfix a threaded bar into the wall which will give you the strongest fixing by far and is very easy to do.
https://amzn.to/3MxoMTE

 

[niall Y]

Frame- fixings with a squirt of 5 minute PU glue in the hole, before inserting the fixing, and wait a while before screwing fixing home. Also works on lime-plastered, rough-stone walls.

 

[Stevekane]

Many thanks everyone, plenty of ideas to mull over, Ive been building a stud wall so had to get some wall plates on, its for a shower that sits in a very out of square corner so a stud wall to bring it square, that will give me a nice bit of timber on one side to fix the enclosure to, but on the other side we will be back to fixing onto the wall which Im not looking forward to. Ive tried a new bosch carbide drill plus a couple of new makita sds ones, and nothing drills the bricks without hammer action, and you end up with a rather ragged hole, not ideal for something like a shower frame…
Steve.

 

[Spectric]

When it comes to covering your stud wall don't use ply or such but use cement board because it may save you a lot of issues in the future. I can recomend a product called "No More Ply" https://nomoreply.co.uk/

Also having seen so many places where showers have leaked and caused a lot of damage I tend to be really cautious when it comes to fitting them and even with cement board I still use a tanking kit as an extra barrier, for the small price and a bit of time they could save you a lot of money.

Sounds like you are working with engineering bricks, can be really hard and they have voids which should be full of mortar. Chemi fixings are good, but for hollow bricks and blocks you want to use these: R-PLS Plastic Mesh Sleeves - Rawlplug United Kingdom with your fixings.

 

[Stevekane]

Hello Roy, the sleeves look really interesting and are a clever idea but might be too large for fitting a shower screen, M8 stud size is the smallest listed which is too big for most screws. They would have been perfect for the plates onto brick though.
Were using cement boards from Wicks, I think they are branded STS and they do a special adhesive to go with them as well as big oblong stainless washers which are thin enough to tile over, the price per 1200x600 panel was an offer price of £10, so equates to £40 a full sheet. They are very light and cut like plasterboard.
One thing Im going to try is I do have a very small masonsry bit and I wonder how that might perform in my regular cordless hammer drill, the big makita SDS hammer drill can be a real beast and does the damage,,maybe start off very small and work up,,
Once again many thanks ti you all for giving it your thoughts, I will report back.
Steve.

 

[Stevekane]

Just a quick followup, my son turned up with a “Bosch Blue” tct masonery bit, said he had been told these were the best,,,anyway tried it in my regular Makita cordless drill and it just drilled the brick,,so I tried another hole and so on, and this bit drills the bricks that none of my other bits would touch, not even necessary to use the hammer. When you look at the tip its a proper ground profile and I beleive they are describded as being multi material, looking at it it looks like it would drill wood good enough for pushing plugs through. I honestly would not have believed the bit could make so much difference.
Steve.