How to Drill Into Bricks [Complete Guide]

Do you want to hang something on your brick wall? Maybe you want to install a wall anchor to hang the paintings you bought from the furniture store? Then you’re in the right place because today, we’re talking about drilling into bricks.

Bricks are hard surfaces, and you would need stronger drill bits to make sure you can pierce through the concrete-like surface. However, you can drill into bricks on your own! All you need is a drill, a reliable drill bit, and a brick wall to start drilling.

The bricks also add some decorative beauty to your home, establishment, or buildings in general. Its warmth and cozy feeling will improve the surrounding’s aesthetic look. However, its tough surface shouldn’t stop you from adding more designs to your home.

What do I need Before Drilling into Bricks?

So, now that you know what drill bits you need, the specific length, and their width, now it’s time to know what you need to prepare before starting to drill into bricks. To make sure that you make quality holes, you need to prepare the following items:

According to Construction Fasteners & Tools, here are the things you need to prepare before your start drilling into bricks.

What You Need Why You Need Them
Compressed Air You need compressed air to clean out the hole you make after drilling into bricks since there will be dust around when you drill a hole into concrete.
Cool Water Cool water can also be an excellent way to reduce dust particles that are floating around after you drill into bricks.
Dustpan Dustpan is a great way to keep your drilling space clean, especially if you’re going to drill into bricks indoors.
Tape Tape can also be an excellent tool for marking the spots properly, and it provides a better initial grip on the drill bit tip, which can give an even better accuracy when drilling.
Pencil or a Marker After putting tape on your desired space to drill into, you can also use a pencil or a marker for better drilling accuracy. You don’t necessarily need a tape for this to work.
Vacuum A vacuum cleaner is just one of the convenient tools you can use after drilling into bricks. Considering that the air will be incredibly dusty, a vacuum cleaner will minimize the dust particles flying around.
Putty Putty is also an important material used to stabilize the holes better you drill into your brick walls.
Tape Measure/Measuring Tools Measuring tools are essential to know the distance between the holes you are drilling. Make sure you have a marking tool such as a pen or pencil to mark the drilling holes.
Wall Anchors Even though you can directly screw into the brick wall, it’s better, safer, and more cost-efficient if you invest in wall anchors since they provide extra stability to the things you will hang on your wall.
Power Drill Having a power drill is a necessary tool when drilling into bricks if it has a hammer drill feature, the better (it’s not essential to have the hammer drill feature) since it drills into bricks much better and faster.

How To Drill Into Bricks – Complete Guide

Now that you know the things needed to drill into bricks, we’re going to guide you through the step-by-step process of drilling into the brick itself. After preparing all the items you need before drilling, you need to do the following steps to make sure you drill accurate and perfect holes:

Read More:  Best Power Tool Brands You Can Trust [In America, Japan, Europe]

These steps are needed to make sure you drill into bricks efficiently and effectively. These steps also make sure that you reduce accidents and mistakes while drilling. You can watch Do You Drill Into the Brick Or Mortar video for better understanding.

YouTube video

Step 1 – Mark the Holes you Want to Drill On

This step is crucial. This is a part of the preparation process you need to do when drilling into bricks. You don’t want to mark and drill on the go as this may cause problems later when drilling.

You need to make sure that you know where you are going to drill holes. That’s the whole point of this step to ensure that all you have to do later is to load your drill bit in your power drill and drill the marked holes.

Step 2 – Set Up a Stop on Your Drill Corresponding to the Hole Depth

If you’re not an avid fan of drilling, you may need some guides when drilling into bricks. Since concrete is a hard surface with a typical tungsten carbide drill bit, it will take a bit of time for the bit to drill a 1-inch hole.

Try drilling into spare bricks in your home (if you have one) to get the right feel of how deep you need your hole. However, if spare bricks aren’t available, estimate the drilling depth but not go too deep.

Try fitting in the wall anchor after drilling, and you think you have reached your desired hole depth. If it fits perfectly, then you have reached your desired hole depth. If there’s still an excess portion sticking out, then you need to drill deeper.

Read More:  Impact Wrench: Hog Ring (Friction Ring) vs Detent Pin

Step 3 – Put on your Protective Gear

There’s going to be a lot of dust that’s going to be flying around while you’re drilling into bricks, putting a mask on will lessen the risk of you getting sneezes while working.

Protection is not limited to wearing masks. If you want to go all out on your protective gear, you can wear:

  • Protective Goggles
  • Hearing Protection
  • Leather Gloves
  • Mask

That way, you can cover most parts of your body and keep yourself safe while you’re drilling and might even make it easier for you to drill the next time you want to drill into bricks.

Step 4 – Position the Pilot Drill Bit on the Marked Holes with Low Speed

According to HowStuffWorks, starting your drill bit with a low speed will provide better control and accuracy since a low speed will not mess up your drill handling.

Pilot drill bits are vital since it makes drilling into bricks easier for the more significant bit. Using pilot drill bits will give a better initial grip for the masonry drill bits to grasp when you’re going to start the primary drilling process.

Step 5 – Mount the Masonry Drill Bit and Drill on the Marked Hole

Swap the more significant drill bit for the actual size of the wall anchor you’re going to install on your brick wall. Since you already drilled it with a pilot drill bit, you should be guided on where to drill and how deep it should be.

Step 6 – Installing the Wall Anchor

When installing the wall anchor, you need to ensure that the drilling depth is perfect for the anchor to sit on. If the hole is too shallow, then the wall anchor will not fit perfectly and will extend away from the hole. You can use a compressed air bottle to remove dust when installing.

Read More:  Makita 9903 vs 9403 vs 9404 Belt Sander (Full Comparison 2020)

Step 7 – Cleaning the Area

After you’re finished, you can use a damp cloth to gather all the dust around the area quickly. After that, you can clean the floor with a vacuum cleaner (if you have one) or sweep it away with a broom. Make sure you wear your face mask, so it blocks dust from your nose.

Common Things That Are Hung on Walls

Other than frames, there are many things you can hang on the wall. Pictures of your families and friends aren’t the only aesthetic things that can be hung on your wall. Here are some of the typical decorative items that you can hang on your wall:

  • Carpets & Blankets– Some carpets with a furry design are aesthetically pleasing. That’s why people hang some of their well-designed carpets on their walls to add some personality to the interior part of their homes.
  • Mirrors– Mirrors are not only decorative, but they also serve a purpose, so hanging one of these on your walls will benefit you if you constantly want to check your face daily or simply just want mirrors on your wall.
  • Tapestries– These wall decors may leave an impression on your visitors as they look kind of old school, but they also give an aesthetic design if that’s what you’re searching for.

According to Spruce, these are some of the 10 things you can hang on the wall that isn’t framed (picture and photo frames). Since the most common things to hang are framed objects, you might as well add some of the items listed above to add more color to your home.

Since most bricks are made out of brick pieces and cement, it’s no doubt that it’s a tough surface to drill into. However, you can drill into bricks with the right tools and equipment and even add some of the things you can find on the list above to serve as your decorations.

Best Drill Bits for Drilling into Bricks

Best Drill Bits for Drilling into Bricks

It would be best if you prepared many things before trying to drill into bricks since the hard surface needs ample preparation of various marking tools, drilling tools, and even some safety equipment to make sure that you drill into bricks flawlessly.

While there are many things to consider before drilling into bricks, the main thing you should prepare is the power drill and the drill bit you’ll use when starting the drilling process.

Read More:  7/16 Drill Bit Equivalent [The Ultimate Guide]

To drill through hard surfaces like brick and concrete, mason drill bits are commonly used and combined with a power drill. You can pretty much drill into bricks and use drywall anchors & anchors screws so you can hang things on your wall later on.

Mason Drill Bits – These drill bits are suitable for concrete since they’re made from tungsten carbide material designed for low-speed drilling that’s best for tough materials such as bricks and concrete.

Tungsten carbide steel is perfect for drilling into hard rocks like bricks. Because of their accurate drilling, tungsten carbide is also used for making core bits as they have better stability on concrete and brick surfaces.

Before determining the best drill bit to use for drilling into bricks and other surfaces such as mortar and concrete, there are some factors you need to consider to get the right hole drilling size by knowing the proper specifications and measurements.

Drilling into Bricks and Mortar – Deciding the Drilling Point

There are many things to take note of when knowing where to drill into bricks and mortars. It mainly depends on the weight that the wall anchors need to withstand. Typically, a deeper hole would mean better stability for heavy items that will be hung on your wall.

Deep holes enable wall anchors to hold on tightly to the wall while supporting the heavyweight it is carrying. Drilling deeper holes into a brick wall will be beneficial if you hang a medium to heavy items such as mirrors and paintings.

Shallow holes can be used for lighter objects such as posters that generally don’t need deep drilling. All you need is a wall anchor that can fit a 1-inch anchor screw to hold wall decors in place.

Choosing the Right Drill Bit Size

Choosing the Right Drill Bit SizeThe drill bit size is also a significant factor that determines what kind of drill bit to use. Knowing the right length and width of the hole you want to make on your brick wall will help you choose the drill bit size.

Standard screws are the ones that come with plastic drywall expansion anchors. They come in different lengths, from 1-inch screws to 1.5-inches screws since most screws can perform better with deeper holes in the wall, especially on brick and concrete.

Tips You Need to Know While Drilling into Bricks

Now that you know the entire drilling process into bricks, we also have a few tips and tricks that you don’t want to miss out on, just in case you’re preparing for a brick/concrete wall sooner or later.

Read More:  Breaker Bar VS Torque Wrench [What Are The Differences]

Use Compressed Air After Drilling

Using compressed air on the areas you are drilling on is a plus because it makes the wall anchors more stable when installed on the brick wall.

A Damp Cloth is Better than Dry Cloth

A damp cloth is better at dealing with dust and dirt because all the debris from bricks and concrete will attach better to water, and having a wet cloth will reduce air particles compared to using a dry cloth.

Using a Pilot Drill Bit

Even though we mentioned using a pilot drill bit in our step-by-step process, some people still disregard using a pilot bit. Using a pilot drill bit will essentially help the masonry drill bit and provide better guidance.

Drilling Into Bricks – Frequently Asked Questions

Is it possible to drill through bricks?

Yes, with the proper knowledge and equipment, you can drill into & through bricks. Generally, you would need a drill and protective equipment to start drilling into bricks.

What is the most common drill bit for bricks?

Masonry drill bits are the most common bits used for bricks, concrete, and mortar since they work well with low-speed drilling (which is best for drilling into hard surfaces such as bricks for better control) and because most of them are made out of tungsten carbide which is excellent with bricks.

Can I drill into bricks on my own?

Yes! It is easy as well. As long as you have a power drill, a suitable drill bit, a wall anchor, and a brick wall, then you’re good to go! Make sure to read the entire article to help you guide through the process.

Leave a Comment