Expanding bolts in brick wall to attach pergola?

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I always drill at least 10 mm deeper than needed (more if theres the depth available) then keep the drill spinning as I pull and push the bit a few times, this pulls the majority of the dust out, and the remainder falls into the bottom of the hole..
 
El Barto":lpl4kwud said:
Using epoxy to fix bolts/threaded bar into brick is also a handy solution.

Trickey to do with one person though as ideally you preplace the threaded rod into the holes in the wall plate and prop it in place, then push the threaded rod through into the already applied epoxy - and you need to be pretty quick about it.

otherwise you run the risk of the threaded rod being all at an angle and the plate not going on at all.

Regardless of what you use - ALWAYS blow out the dust in the holes - not doing so can lower the mechanical grip as the fine dust acts almost as a lubricant.

using a straw works to not get it in your face - I've got some tubing from and old airbrush I use for this purpose.
 
Before I order - are these the right things? Unlike many which say for use in solid brick, these say they're for 'installation into a wide range of materials including both hollow and substrates which include a polymide PA6 Plug body'. (I'm assuming that fletton bricks don't count as solid, but have potentially crumbly mortar in the cavity.)
https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-univ ... ors/p77904
The sleeve remains right through the timber and brick, correct?
Thanks, and sorry to ask for so much help.
 
The DeWalt fixings are well made Chris, you won't be disappointed.
Sizes stated for frame and hammer fix are always full length of the plastic plug as it remains in the timber and always the drill size / dia of the hole. I.e, an 80 x 10 is 80mm length x 10mm dia fixing hole.

Make sure the hole is deep enough and as said blow out the dust or preferably use a vac or there'll be a few swear words uttered. :lol:
 
Chris152":dcz2wlui said:
Woody2Shoes":dcz2wlui said:
I agree about the frame fixings - most of them are relatively thin, and pullout strength increases markedly as the diameter of a fixing goes up, all things being equal - also I quite often shear the head off as I do them up.
According to this link, you hammer rather than screw them in?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NIUfORnK8g (about 4'40" in)
That's the theory! In practice, for me anyway, I hammer the sleeve in first and then screw in the metal bit. Hammering the whole thing often makes the metal part slide too far into the sleeve too early in the process.
 
Yes, Lons put me straight on that one W2S, it was me getting confused.
Speaking of which, I wrote that the piece of wood running above the windows was 2.6m, it's actually 3.6m. Should I aim for more than the 5 screws I originally intended? Maybe 7?
Delivery was due yesterday and they've still not arrived. With nowt else to be getting on with I'm like a child on their birthday, sat looking out of the window waiting for the postie to arrive.
 
Chris152":36s04c9v said:
Yes, Lons put me straight on that one W2S, it was me getting confused.
Speaking of which, I wrote that the piece of wood running above the windows was 2.6m, it's actually 3.6m. Should I aim for more than the 5 screws I originally intended? Maybe 7?
Delivery was due yesterday and they've still not arrived. With nowt else to be getting on with I'm like a child on their birthday, sat looking out of the window waiting for the postie to arrive.
Why not do them at 400 or 450 spacing - actual figure not really important here - but accurate/regular spacing looks good if the end results will be visible.
 
Woody2Shoes":2kxujz3j said:
Why not do them at 400 or 450 spacing - actual figure not really important here - but accurate/regular spacing looks good if the end results will be visible.
I'll do that - the cross pieces will be at approx 46cm spaces so I'll do the same for the fixings. Thanks!
 
I've no doubt it looks to most of you like it's waiting for the next thing to be done, but that's it!
IMG_20200506_103648.jpg

The framing screws worked a treat, tho it'd have taken a 1/4 of the time if I'd had decent masonry bits. They weren't old but seemed to blunt after a few holes, so i found myself having to start with really small diameter first and working up to 10mm. Would an SDS drill help with that in future, it's something that I've always struggled with drilling into brick. Or maybe they were just poor quality bits.

As for the vine - it's just starting to come into leaf and if this year's growth is as quick as last year, it should get some decent cover by Autumn. We'll be ready and waiting for the flies, SB. :)
Does anyone know about pruning and shaping them (vines)? I can train growth from the bottom so it goes up, but can I prune growth at the bottom so the energy goes into growth at the top?

Anyway, thanks for the great help, I really appreciate it.

ps Not sure what to do with the lead at the top, it's left over from a conservatory I took down years ago. I expect I'll stop noticing it again soon enough.
 

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Modern masonry bits are usually made of chineseium. :roll: I've just installed 10 mm thick ceramic tiles in a bathroom and averaged barely a couple holes per drill bit. I even went out and bought 2 blue spiral specialist bits. The 10 mm blue spiral managed a HALF of one hole before rounding over, The 8mm managed 2 holes.

I dug deep into my considerable stock of masonry bits and found a few that must have been handed down from my dad. They were obviously steel rather than alloy, and were far and away the best performers. I binned 12 drill bits by the time I had finished the room.

Dont worry about the spaces above your head, the vine will grow remarkably quickly. My brother has the whole front of his house covered in a vine, and gets huge bunches of nice looking grapes.
This is an old picture of his.
https://pbase.com/john_cooper/image/169773617

The funny thing is, he lives in London. Me in Cyprus I have to wander the streets picking off overhangs from other peoples gardens. But then I'm not fond of grapes. I'll ask him for a better picture.
 
I've not seen any sign of grapes yet - do they have to reach a certain age before they fruit? I can't remember what grape this one is, but I think it's supposed to produce some (guessing some don't?).
 
I know nothing about gardening, but have just emailed my bruv. Will let you know if I get a reply.
 
sunnybob":1uiuttd2 said:
Modern masonry bits are usually made of chineseium. :roll: I've just installed 10 mm thick ceramic tiles in a bathroom and averaged barely a couple holes per drill bit. .

we used tile cement for ours rather than plugging and screwing them on.
 
=D> =D> (hammer)

Its the last time I use floor tiles on the walls. 600 mm square dont half cover a wall fast though.

I had to cut 2 x 30 mm holes for the towel rail CH pipes. After wearing out three drills and breaking one tile, I managed to borrow a carbide hole cutter set from a builder friend. What a toy! Big rubber suction cup attached to a large V metal shape, stick the cup in the right place and the hole cutter sits in the V and bores its way through.

Back to the grapes though, my brother has no technical advice to offer, he just "trims off the straggly bits at the end of the year", and doesnt even water it regularly. Its many years old and completely covers the whole front of his terrace house.
 
Thanks anyway SB. I found this
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=286
turns out i should have done it in winter, and it's all rather complex. I'll keep tying it up til next winter. Apparently they should produce grapes by a few years old - which hasn't happened with mine (i think it's 4 or 5 years old now). But you never know, with its new framework/ pergola thing it might develop a new outlook this year.
 
I liked Cardiff. I went there a lot for work between 95 and 08. Even stayed over several times for xmas shopping before the old department stores went. I can vouch for the fact that it often did not rain for hours at a time.
 
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