How to drill a hole into masonry or brick walls

When you need to drill a hole into masonry or brick walls you need to make sure you get it right the first time, or you will end up with holes that need to be filled in. Drilling a hole into a masonry or brick wall is easy if you have the right tools and supplies that you need.

 

Drill
Drilling into masonry or brick is easy if you have the right drill. We use the Bosch Compact 500V drill for all our drilling projects. This little baby might be small in size but don't let appearances fool you... it's just as powerful as it's big brother. Designed especially for women, the Bosch Compact drill is lightweight and easy to use. With the right drill in hand, the next item you need will be a masonry bit...

Masonry drill bit
Make the job a whole lot easier by using the right drill bit. If you buy Alpen drill bits, drilling a hole into masonry, brick and concrete is like a hot knife cutting through butter. After all, we ladies don't want to work up a sweat just to hang a shelf...!

Detect before you drill
If you don't yet own an electronic detector you need to invest in one. Even one hole drilled in the wrong place will cost you a fortune to repair. These nifty tools locate metals and cables in the wall, so that you can drill safely. Now that the tool side is sorted, we need a few supplies before we can finish drilling the hole...

Nylon wall plugs
Whatever you are hanging on the wall will need to be secure. Nylon wall plugs, as opposed to plastic wall plugs, are tough and will safely secure anything you hang. Obviously the lighter the item you are hanging - the smaller the wall plug and screws required.

Screws
If you are using Fischer wall plugs you need to use the same diameter screw. EG. A wall plug of 6mm diameter requires a 6mm diameter screw. If you look at the Fischer packaging - and on the wall plug itself - it will tell you exactly what you need to know.

SX6        Ø 4 - 5 (mm diameter of screw required)

SX8      Ø 4,5 - 6 (mm diameter of screw required)

SX10       Ø 6 - 8 (mm diameter of screw required)

Using the length of the wall plug you need a screw that is just slightly longer. Now you know exactly what you need to drill a hole into a masonry or brick wall to hang an item.

Let's drill a hole...

  1. Firstly, make sure you take the correct measurements and mark the exact spot where you need to drill. The last thing you need are holes to fill up because you drilled them in the wrong place.
  2. Pop on a pair of safety glasses.
  3. Set the drill on "hammer' function. If your drill doesn't have a hammer function - throw it away and buy a decent drill.
  4. Hold the drill level. If you hold it skew the hole with be skew as well.