Fixings in hollow brick walls

[LICY]

Yep me again. We have to fix up curtain poles etc. I know we have to drill into the hollow bricks which is a potential problem, unlike our solid bricks here. Has anyone got experience of the type of raw plugs to use so that the item stays up? None of you bodgers though. here it is most likely we would use plasterboard type raw plugs rather than standard ones. HELP PKEASE!

[laserblazer]

Dunno, our walls are made of reinforced concrete and we had to use dynamite! If your plugs are loose when fitted, then this is the answer http://www.wetnfix.co.uk/ I would recommend getting a pack to take out with you.

[Michael Crane]

Butterfly Bolts

[sam]

Butterfly Bolts

..and usually a few muttered oaths along the way

[Bruce Wallis]

Ask your builder what fittings he recommends, and where best to obtain them.

All our walls have a very hard cement plaster, and it takes a hammer drill to penetrate them.

The problem with butterfly fixings is that you have to drill too big a hole to fit them.

[EMM]

Ensure that you use a good quality masonary drill and have a spacer on the drill as well so that you do not damage your plaster and then you can use conventional plastic plugs.
Portuguese walls are nothing like the rubbish plasterboard now used in the UK .

[joeysoap]

we only moved in last year and had to do a fair bit of drilling. curtain poles, pictures etc and the walls are tough enough. if you hit a hollow bit its easier but and if you hit a solid bit its much harder, those red bricks they use are strong enough for curtain poles.

last week we did however have to remove the wall plugs the builder used to hang the gates on as they were starting to get loose, but our handyman just took off the gate, pulled out the original wall plugs and put in those bolts which expand when you tighten them. he said the wall was not the problem, the wall plugs were not suitable for holding up the gate.

[Michael Crane]

..... but our handyman just took off the gate, pulled out the original wall plugs and put in those bolts which expand when you tighten them. ....

Rawl Bolts

[Mike Banks]

We have always found standard plastic wallplugs (6mm or 8mm) to be sufficient in that type of wall, for carrying the weight of curtain poles, shelves etc.

[LICY]

Dunno, our walls are made of reinforced concrete and we had to use dynamite! If your plugs are loose when fitted, then this is the answer http://www.wetnfix.co.uk/ I would recommend getting a pack to take out with you.

Thanks for that. Would prefer not to send out dynamite. I thought all bricks were normal size with hollow circles. I have no idea if cement goes into those. We have lots of insulation and the walls are very thick. (yer I know, like me).

[LICY]

Ask your builder what fittings he recommends, and where best to obtain them.

All our walls have a very hard cement plaster, and it takes a hammer drill to penetrate them.

The problem with butterfly fixings is that you have to drill too big a hole to fit them.

I will do next month, but my baby brother wants to buy bits now. Anyway waiting for a response so we can meet up next month etc, hope you got my PM.

[LICY]

Ensure that you use a good quality masonary drill and have a spacer on the drill as well so that you do not damage your plaster and then you can use conventional plastic plugs.
Portuguese walls are nothing like the rubbish plasterboard now used in the UK .

De walt is the name of the game according to my baby brother. Thanks for the advice.

[LICY]

..... but our handyman just took off the gate, pulled out the original wall plugs and put in those bolts which expand when you tighten them. ....

Rawl Bolts

I will show baby brother all the pretty pictures.

[steve]

Over 23 years I never have had any real problem drilling into villa walls and using the mormal plastic bushes and screws. If the actual brick is hollow or crumbly the thickness of topcoat cement rendering (or cement plus plaster finish in modern houses9 will provide a strong enough grip for most applications.

I dont think anyone bolts gates to walls anymore. You drill a hole and bond the bolt in with stuff you buy in a tube like the silicon products for about 15 euros. There are two components which mix on delivery via a nozzle with two channels. I bought some from Sulcave- brilliant stuff which sets rock hard in about 10 minutes depending on temperature. I used it to fix a window grill into the wall.

[joeysoap]

I dont think anyone bolts gates to walls anymore. You drill a hole and bond the bolt in with stuff you buy in a tube like the silicon products for about 15 euros. There are two components which mix on delivery via a nozzle with two channels. I bought some from Sulcave- brilliant stuff which sets rock hard in about 10 minutes depending on temperature. I used it to fix a window grill into the wall.

that actually sounds a much better idea. this gate was installed by the developer (hence the wall plugs). it is only about 4' high. the other 3 apt owners have extended their gates to approx 7' high to close off any possability of anyone climbing over it, but in our case this would have been a pointless exercise as we are at the end and anyone who was determined enough could just get in behind it, so we had to add a 2nd gate of our own higher up the stairwell (external) which goes from floor to ceiling. there are no bolts showing on this gate anywhere so perhaps the gate manufacturer did use some method like that. don't know as we weren't there but its very neat, bedded flush into the walls on either side and is one extra obstacle for any would be scally (to borrow from Pato).