Drilling brick

[Gregor 4,846]

A friend would like to strip out his brick building a cover it with steel, but first has to find a way to drill this extremely hard brick. Can anyone share any secrets about drilling hard brick?

 

Thanks  Greg

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

A good drillbit and a hammerdrill should do the trick.

Also pictures of said brick would be helpfull aswell as the anchors you're wanting to put into the brick wall.

[JCM 9,132]

11 minutes ago, sjoemie himself said:

A good drillbit and a hammerdrill should do the trick.

Also pictures of said brick would be helpfull aswell as the anchors you're wanting to put into the brick wall.

[rjg854 11,361]

The difference between a hammer drill and a SDS hammer drill and bits, is night and day. It's worth the cost if you've got a lot to do. Not to mention the ease in doing so.

[Gregor 4,846]

This is one of the bricks. Some of them sat "RistokraT". The building is 2 bricks thick, so drilling the mortar lines is out of the question. I did manage to drill into this brick on my drill press, with carbide bits, and water, but it's slow going, and not practical for a building.

I would just as soon use tapcons if possible

Edited August 9, 2022 by Gregor

[SPINJIM 1,981]

A masonry bit on a hammer-drill should do it.   What diameter hole do you need to drill?   Will probably be slow going if you need a large diameter.

[WHX?? 48,815]

41 minutes ago, rjg854 said:

The difference between a hammer drill and a SDS hammer drill and bits, is night and day. 

100% agree Randy...Horror Fright has them cheap and should be good enough for homeowner use.

[wallfish 16,994]

SDS plus or splined hammer drill and concrete bits.

Big holes can be done with core drill wet or dry but the wet core is faster.

Assume you just need to add anchors. Are they requiring ALL of the holes to pass through both walls? I'd assume most could be blind hole anchors since it's just for covering and not structure or holding heavy weight.

These bolt type are faster than wedge type anchors and rated for a lot of weight. Many different sizes available.

https://www.toolup.com/Simpson-Anchors-THD50500H-100-1-2-x-5-Titen-HD-Heavy-Duty-Screw-Anchors?msclkid=6f3ed14832e0113ace67b3bafed976e7&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Standard Shopping | Tier 2&utm_term=4581664968187818&utm_content=Ad group %231

 

[Beap52 810]

Harbor Freight SDS has worked for me about 10 years. I have spent a lot more on the drill bits than I did the drill motor. I was introduced to the Harbor Freight SDS while rebuilding a Octagon stone barn several years ago and decided I needed one in my tool kit.  I also like the suggestion of using Tapcon.  I see there are Tapcon with torx flat head--wished local lumber offered them!

 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

1 hour ago, rjg854 said:

SDS hammer drill

Yeah that.. kinda got lost in translation.

 

We have 'klop-boormachines' (knocking-drill) and 'hamer-boormachines' (hammer-drill).

People like to mix those up unfortunately.

 

@Gregor drilling bricks on a drillpress is no good. The machine lacks the hammer function you desperately need when drilling brick, or concrete for that matter. Also adding water does probably more harm than good.

Only with diamond tipped coring-drills (for large holes 1" and up) as @wallfish mentioned water is your friend.

[oliver2-44 9,739]

2 hours ago, Gregor said:

A friend would like to strip out his brick building a cover it with steel, but first has to find a way to drill this extremely hard brick. Can anyone share any secrets about drilling hard brick?

 

Thanks  Greg

Why does he need to "drill the brick" if he's wanting to remove it.

I learned from a very experienced brick layer to use an air chisel with a flat bit. I removed a 3 ft high x 40 ft long brick wall on a house with it.

[953 nut 55,197]

2 hours ago, Gregor said:

would just as soon use tapcons if possible

Have you ever used deck screws in concrete and brick?  I have a Milwaukee SDS hammer drill and drill a 3/16" pilot hole and run # 10 deck screws right in with an impact driver. Works great and costs a whole lot less.

[EB-80/8inPA 1,641]

Steel for brick?  Why?

[Pullstart 62,838]

Any thoughts on a Ramset and furring it out?

[tunahead72 2,412]

6 hours ago, Beap52 said:

... while rebuilding a Octagon stone barn several years ago ...

 

Any chance you can share photos with us at some point?

 

[Gregor 4,846]

11 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

Why does he need to "drill the brick" if he's wanting to remove it.

Maybe I should have said, "Fur out his brick building....." instead of strip. He wants to attach furring strips to his building so he can screw steel to it.

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

@Gregor Lots of advice has been given. If I were you I would ask a neighbour to lone you a SDS-hammerdrill or go to a local hardwarestore and buy or rent on and try it out. I think you'll find out it's not all that complicated once ya' get going.

Oh.. might want to wear some safety goggles and ear protection, dust mask might also not be a bad idea. Good luck! 

[Handy Don 12,215]

For the record, I'd not encountered the "SDS" acronym since it was used for a political movement in the 70's. As @ebinmaine is fond of saying, you folks got me into looking it up and learning something new!

[Pullstart 62,838]

16 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Any thoughts on a Ramset and furring it out?

 

6 hours ago, Gregor said:

Maybe I should have said, "Fur out his brick building....." instead of strip. He wants to attach furring strips to his building so he can screw steel to it.

 

In that case, a Ramset gun should do the trick!

[rjg854 11,361]

From experience, with a ramset and very hard brick, the brick will have a tendency to crack and not hold the fastener. Besides the fact that pins and shot can get pretty expensive. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by rjg854
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