# Forum Home Renovation Brickwork  Fixing wall mounted clothesline to brick veneer wall

## BaysideNana

The builder didn't attach the clothesline to the exterior wall as promised so now I'm going to have to do it myself but need some clarification please?   
It's just a regular wall-mounted clothesline and I was going to attach the end brackets first, then insert the centre front bar after taking measurements (of course).  I've bought heavy duty, zinc plated, dynabolts 10 x 72mm but my question is...the bricks are the extruded type, so what happens to the dynabolt if the drilled hole is into one of the extruded sections?  Will the bolt expand enough to hold the clothesline secure or should I fill the extrusion with liquid nails?  would it be a better idea to attach the dyna's into the mortar?  There's not a whole lot of solid brick around the extrusions and I know Murphy will make sure the attachment points will involve the extrusions...he's usually around when I'm doing something new!!!  hahaha!!   
Maybe someone else has a better idea?  I need to get this done before I put the year-old house on the market.   
Any suggestions?  ...please don't suggest getting the builder to come back because that just won't happen, he's an arrogant pig...well that's the most polite name I could call him in a family-friendly forum!!  LOL  :Rolleyes:   
Thanks in advance 
B :Biggrin: 
 drill
Ps....should have mentioned I have a 240v variable speed, hammer drill and masonry bits, also have cordless drills but don't expect they'd be very successful drilling bricks...mainly use them as driver/drills and light work.

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## PeteV

use a 10mm masonry bit and drill into the mortar. set the drill to hammer.  hope this helps!

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## Godzilla73

G'day, 
The brackets usually have a few holes in them to allow for variances in brick work and mortar spacing. So going into the mortar is the best bet.

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## BaysideNana

Thanks so much....my original plan was to drill into the mortar but the bloke at The Big Green Shed said to drill into the bricks, which didn't seem like a good idea hence my question.   
Thanks again, appreciate your help ;-)

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## Black Cat

The big green shed advice would be vaguely right if it was lime mortar. With modern mortar it is harder and tougher than the bricks, so go with what they said up there ... 
If it was lime mortar, then the house would be sufficiently old for the bricks to be pretty soft too, so drilling in would be a bad idea all around.

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## BaysideNana

The house is just a year old...bricks would have been laid approx 16 months ago.   
I don't ask advice at the BGS unless I know the person has some trade experience, but this bloke came along while I was choosing the dynabolts and asked how they would be used, then proceeded with the advice.   Funnily enough he told me dynabolts were overkill as a clothesline isn't heavy....well on it's own that's probably right, but if it's full of wet sheets and bath towels on a windy day, there is a lot of weight moving around.  He couldn't see my reasoning, but that's OK as I'd rather have it stay on the wall than fall down when full of wet washing.   
Btw, he was suggesting 45mm wood screws into softwood dowels, not hard to see why he thought my idea was overkill but that's when he said drilling into the mortar was wrong and drilling into the brick was a better idea.  He didn't instill too much confidence, hence why I asked here!! 
Thanks ;-)

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## PeteV

with all due respect, you don't really get trade experience from bunnies. for any tradie worth their salt, $18/hour is rediculous. i once got caught out on a sunday and was chasing some brightonlite/off-white cement. i went into bunnies and asked, where the sales assistant told me they only sold proper cement there. he then directed me to a half pallet of australian choice cement... (commonly referred to as crap!) i would estimate that i use brightonlite up to 40% of the time... i guess that's just an example of the expert advice you can get from the pimply faced know alls at bunnies... hope this helps!

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## Godzilla73

> with all due respect, you don't really get trade experience from bunnies.

  True, but you can get a few hours of eye rolling'ly good entertainment on a rainy Sunday arvo listening to the "Advice" being offered... :Shock:

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## Master Splinter

I've found many a mortar bed to be so soft I can scratch it away with my fingernails, so I'm leery of putting things in it - I prefer to drill the brick and use either one of the hardened 'cuts its own thread' screws, old fashioned nylon plugs or an epoxy anchor for heavier things.

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## Handyjack

Without knowing the exact type of brick I will offer my 20cents worth.
As Master Splinter said "I prefer to drill the brick...", You may find that the most solid parts of the brick are the ends so that is where I would drill. If the mortar joins are less than the diameter of the dyna bolt it will be easy to drill the mortar and the dyna bolt will hold. 
Having said that, not all hammer drills will drill into bricks also you may find that a 10mm hole blows out to 12mm and you dyna bolts will not tighten up. Start with a smaller drill bit and then up size if required.

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## Master Splinter

Be aware that the larger expanding fittings in mortar/brick can also pop the brick off the mortar bed or crack the brick if it is at a corner.

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## mugatu

I just did this and it was doing my head in. My bricks which I'm quite sure yours are like, aren't the old 3 hole bricks....they were kind of like a wafer inside. I went through about 6 or 7 dynabolts before I figured this out with an left over brick. Once the bit cut through the middle layer the DB really didn't have anything to hold on to. 
Soon as I went in the mortar I managed to fix straight away and used 10mm coach screws (the thread seem to hold into some of the brick also).  
The washing line if it's like mine from memory the holes have to be fairly spot on so trying to get to ends of bricks to match and hold your dynabolts may be a challenge. I was off by about 10mm in distance and the line wouldn't stay up either.

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## stevoh741

I agree with splinter to drill the the brick but dont use dyna bolts. You need anka screws (like coach bolts mugatu but specifically made for masonry), as they will screw into the hole whilst not exerting any "blowout" type pressure on the block. Also as it is external I wouldn't be using zinc plated, you need to use gal or SS. My motto: Do it once, do it right. 
ps. If they are hollow bricks and the anka screw doesnt look like holding, then I would move onto chemset. Dyna blots aren't worth a lick of chit IMHO.

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## PeteV

i say drill into mortar. in a wire cut day and age, you are more likely to blow the guts out of the brick by going into clay. if anka screws were to be used, you would definately have to use chemset to give the bolt a fixing. anka bolts are typically designed for fixing into concrete where it can get a purchase the entire length of the bolt. i agree dyna bolts are crap, but i believe true bolts would be the fixing of choice for the mortar. hope this helps!

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## BaysideNana

Thanks for all the suggestions!!   The bricks are PGH current style with 3 x holes.  They are quite a hard brick which I found when trying to drill a hole to hang a stag on the wall...ended up drilling into the mortar as it was much easier and also the stag is only small and therefore nowhere near as heavy as a clothesline full of wet clothes etc.   
Will report back when I've bought some anka screws and chemset unfortunately the local hardware doesn't have much stock so I'll have to wait until next shopping trip to a larger store.  Whatever I get it will be gal or SS as I live on the coast.    
As Mugatu said, there is not much sideways adjustment on the brackets...top hole is a one-position and the bottom is elongated (widthways).    
Will measure up today and see where the holes need to be drilled and fingers crossed they will fall into mortar gaps...can always live in hope???  LOL

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## nww1969

Just done this myself and drilled into I think brick as it was rendered smooth.
Plastic wall plugs and some gal roofing screws.

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## mugatu

> I agree with splinter to drill the the brick but dont use dyna bolts. You need anka screws (like coach bolts mugatu but specifically made for masonry), as they will screw into the hole whilst not exerting any "blowout" type pressure on the block. Also as it is external I wouldn't be using zinc plated, you need to use gal or SS. My motto: Do it once, do it right. 
> ps. If they are hollow bricks and the anka screw doesnt look like holding, then I would move onto chemset. Dyna blots aren't worth a lick of chit IMHO.

  Ah you are right I also used anka screws for this. Coach screws were for my deck.

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## Handyjack

What I do now for mounting clothes lines is I have a piece of 70*35 timber with two holes 2.2 metres apart. I can drill the first hole and hang the timber off a bolt in the hole and then use a spirit level to get the second hole in the right place. The vertical holes are worked off the brackets. One client required 3 clothes lines on the one wall and the timber saved a lot of time.

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## BaysideNana

Thanks heaps for all the suggestions!!   I hope to get to the hardware store next week and once this hot spell is over this job is top of the list...well top of 'my' list, just wish the concrete driveway was top of the concretors list so this house can be put on the market.   
Thanks again ;-)

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## stevoh741

> i say drill into mortar. in a wire cut day and age, you are more likely to blow the guts out of the brick by going into clay.

  
ankascrews etal dont put lateral pressure on fixing like a dynabolt so it would be highly unlikly to blow the guts out of it.

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## PeteV

i was suggesting that while drilling into a wire cut you would blow the guts out of the brick, not the anka screw itself. also, anka screws are designed to have fixing along the entire length of the thread, you won't get this from a wire cut brick... hope this helps!

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