Thread: drilling into besser brick

You could mount a wood board to the wall by elongating one or more holes to match up then attach the fan to that. I have also found that a heavy duty SDS drill is less likely to wander than the normal hammer drill.
Regards
John

1: Use the smallest drill bit you have to initiate the hole; the amount a drill can wander is proportional to it's size
2: Use the drill in normal rotary mode at first until the hole has started; then change to hammer action.
3: Use a "Bullet" type double-point drill bits:

bullet drill.jpg

Also, mark out your locations with a sharpie, then use a centre punch and give it a little whack in the middle. Just a small divot is all you need, and it will help you centre the bit when you start drilling. Sharp drill bits matter, and I was amazed at just how much of a better a proper rotary hammer does the job. A lot faster, which means cleaner hole, less vibration, and all round just better!

My suggestion.
Make up a template. Drill one hole into the wall and mount template. Then using the template drill hole diagonally opposite. Fit fastener into second hole, then drill remaining two holes.
Remove template and mount fan on wall. Just make sure your fasteners are removable when attaching the template, eg plug and screw or ankascrew as opposed to a dynabolt which may not readily be removed and reused for the fan.

No need to make a template. You already have one.

Drill the first hole in one of the top positions, bolt the fan to the wall with that one bolt. Drill thru the base of the fan for another hole, bolt it, then do the other holes.

Good call ankascrews.
I stopped using sleeve anchors (dynabolt) a while ago. They need big holes, the mechanical action can crack blocks/bricks (never happened) and they often end up a bit loosey goosey.

These or similar are awesome
Fixings Anchor Bolts Screw Bolts Contractor Galvanised

And for small stuff, especially timber to masonry, these concrete screws are fantastic.
Raptr Self Tapping Concrete Screws

while i like the idea of using the screw bolts rogerwilco mentions, if for some reason the fan needs to be removed with them I suspect it would be difficult. whereas using the dynabolts bashing them into the wall, if I need to shift fan, simply undo the nut and it can be done or am I missing something..apart from sanity.
There is not a lot of space behind the fan body.

Originally Posted by Tonyz

while i like the idea of using the screw bolts rogerwilco mentions, if for some reason the fan needs to be removed with them I suspect it would be difficult. whereas using the dynabolts bashing them into the wall, if I need to shift fan, simply undo the nut and it can be done or am I missing something..apart from sanity.
There is not a lot of space behind the fan body.

The exact reason those screw bolts are used is a) really easy to put in as they cut their own thread so to speak and b) they are removable. I wouldn’t remove them daily as eventually they will loosen but I haven’t used a dynabolt since I tried those little buggers years ago.

cheers

Ankascrews are the go

Make a template out of ply, hot glue it to the wall, drill hole, use heat gun to remove template.

AnchorScrews and bolts have been my go to for years

If you drill into the hollow part of the besser block (the same applies to hollow bricks) you could find the dyna bolt expands but into the hollow and you run out of thread before it bites. You now have a loose dyna bolt that could be difficult to either tighten or remove.

With Ankascrew - DO NOT OVERTITGHTEN. If you do you can strip the thread in the masonry, you will then need either a larger Ankascrew or a different fastener.

I haven't used Dynabolts or other sleeve anchors for a long time. Same goes for plugs. The Ankascrews, Tapcons, Raptrs or whatever brand are far superior in my opinion.

ok thanks guys i hear what your saying.