Zinc plated sleeve anchors should be used in indoor dry areas, stainless steel sleeve anchors should be considered for use in outside applications. All sleeve anchors come pre-assembled and ready to use. The hole that is required to be drilled into the brick is the same diameter as the sleeve anchor being used.
Sleeve anchors work well in brick. Wedge anchors don't work very well as the brick is too soft. Sometimes Tapcons will work. It depends on the brick and with Tapcons you need to get the exact diameter hole which can be slightly different for different density materials.
Yes you definitely need masonry bits and anchors. Regular bits for wood or metal will just spin without making a hole, damaging the bit. Drill the holes in between the bricks like you said, hammer in the anchors, then mount the bracket. I'd put 6-8 holes airing on the side of caution.
Installing Tapcon Screws into Brick
Drill a hole into the brick or the mortar joint using a hammer drill with a carbide drill bit that meets ANSI standards and is the correct diameter of the tapcon being installed. Drill hole a minimum of 1/2” deeper into the brick or mortar joint than the tapcon screw will penetrate.
Base material: Sleeve anchors work well in a variety of base materials, including drywall, brick, and block. Wedge anchors, on the other hand, are best used in solid concrete.
Wedge anchors can only be used in solid concrete.
They cannot be used in brick, block, and mortar joints. While natural base materials such as stone and granite may be solid, they are inconsistent and their holding values have not been tested.
The hole was not drilled deep enough and the masonry screw is bottoming out in the hole. Make sure that the hole is a minimum of 1/2” deeper than the screw will penetrate the base material. In some cases, using a generic imported masonry screw may be inferior to using the American made Tapcon brand masonry screw.
Concrete screws or a masonry screw as they're also commonly known as, are specially designed to fix materials to masonry surfaces such as concrete or brick. They feature a full thread from head to tip, which is deeper than a normal screw thread to ensure a high pull out resistance.
For this reason, sleeve anchors are recommended by their manufacturers for use in brick masonry more often than wedge anchors. Drop-in and self-drilling anchors (see Fig. 8) are two other types of expansion anchors available, but are typi- cally not recommended by their manufacturers for use in masonry.
You can try beginning your hole in non-hammer drilling mode to stop your drill from skipping across the surface. Place your drill bit in the right location, and with pressure on the drill, start drilling slowly.
Types of Brick Anchors. Sleeve Anchors- are male type anchors that are manufactured in diameters from 1/4” to 3/4” and are available in many lengths to accommodate different material thickness. Sleeve anchors are versatile and can be used in solid brick, brick with holes or the mortar joint.
Drywall Anchor Types for Heavier Items
Expansion anchors can hold up to 100 pounds per pair on concrete, brick and masonry walls.
Wedge anchors are one of the strongest anchors available. They come in nine different diameters and several different lengths. The larger the anchor, the more holding power it has. They also come in several different materials, so you can use them in areas with or without the possibility of corrosion.
Both concrete anchors work for heavy-duty and lighter-duty applications where strength and stability are paramount. However, for instances where fasteners may need to be removed, concrete screws are the preferred choice. Both their versatility and ease of installation makes them great for these instances.
Tapcons can be installed in concrete, brick, block and in the mortar joints between the brick and block. The harder the base material, the less embedment is required to attain sufficient holding values. The minimum embedment for a Tapcon® concrete screw is 1” and the maximum embedment is 1-3/4”.
Firmness: Brick is generally harder and denser than mortar, which means that it requires more force and a stronger drill bit to drill into it. Porosity: It is far easier to drill into mortar as it is much more porous and therefore may require less force.
Tapcons can be installed in concrete, brick, block and in the mortar joints between the brick and block. The harder the base material, the less embedment is required to attain sufficient holding values. The minimum embedment for a Tapcon® concrete screw is 1” and the maximum embedment is 1-3/4”.
The sleeve anchor is the most common male expansion type anchor for brick walls. It provides the most consistent holding values. By design the sleeve anchor expands over a greater surface area than other types of expansion anchor.
A drop-in anchor is designed for solid concrete, while a machine screw anchor is designed for use in brick, block, and concrete.