Affixing Fence Post to House.

[Nico G]

Morning All.

I need to erect (snigger) a new fence in the back garden, and due to the "foundations" of the house / Concrete path / slab sticking out about 8 inches form the wall itself, I cannot drive a fence post into the ground close enough not to leave a large gap.

basically I need to fix trhe first post to the brickwork, and I don't have a drill aside from my trusty De Walt cordless.

I suspect it won't be up to the job, but the question is, what is the job I suppose !!

I need to drill into the brick, but what fittings do I need to fix the post to the house through the post itself ?
Guessing I need to fix @ three or four points?.

So do I need to go and buy and SDS Drilling machine or will a decent grunty 240V Hammer suffice?

Thanks in advance - Nick.

[Ilovejapcrap]

Do you have a proper house or a new build ?

[andy43]

If bricks are drillable with your cordless drill then the biggest rawl plugs you can drill a hole for, or rapier bolts (window fitters use them) only need a 6 - 6.5mm hole.
Or OTT and use stainless fixings - 'through bolts' - but they'll need an 8 or 10mm hole as a minimum and you might need to countersink holes in post to clear panels..
All depends on what bricks they are/how tuss enuff ('tuss enuff' - copyright Ed) your drill is!

[andy43]

Ilovejapcrap said:

Do you have a proper house or a new build ?

Good point well made - clay bricks or cheese?

[Nico G]

andy43 said:

Good point well made - clay bricks or cheese?

The bricks are proper, a quick try with the cordless and a 6mm masonary drill basically resulted in a cone-shaped mark on the brick and nothing more.

Thanks

[BlackZeD]

You could try using "Thunder bolts", they are the equivalent of a woodscrew for concrete or bricks.
Basically drill correct size hole in brick (in the right places) and screw in using a spanner or ratchet.
Think they would need to be sunk level to be able to mount panel.
I have bought from Homebase and Wickes before.


http://www.tradefixdirect.com/anchor-bolts/thunder...

Edited by BlackZeD on Wednesday 6th May 09:28

[Nico G]

BlackZeD said:

You could try using "Thunder bolts", they are the equivalent of a woodscrew for concrete or bricks.
Basically drill correct size hole in brick (in the right places) and screw in using a spanner or ratchet.
Think they would need to be sunk level to be able to mount panel.
I have bought from Homebase and Wickes before.


http://www.tradefixdirect.com/anchor-bolts/thunder...

Edited by BlackZeD on Wednesday 6th May 09:28

Thanks - They look like they might work and I have various drives for the cordless I might be able to wind them in with.

So if I have a 100mm / 4 inch post I guess I need at least another 50mm actually in the wall? or more even..

[sparkythecat]

Why not just bolt some sturdy gavanised angle to your house then screw or bolt your post to that?

[northwest monkey]

It's time you bought yourself a corded SDS drill and some Fischer bolts. Screwfix will sell you one for under £100 and you'll find plenty of jobs to do with it.

[geeks]

No one you could borrow a proper drill from?

[dmitsi]

Where abouts in Sussex are you? I have an SDS and will use any excuse to not do work on my own projects. In fact I'll fix your fence post for a simple trade. I need 50m2 of York stone moved from my front garden to the back garden. Fair swap I reckon.

[Nico G]

northwest monkey said:

It's time you bought yourself a corded SDS drill and some Fischer bolts. Screwfix will sell you one for under £100 and you'll find plenty of jobs to do with it.

I think you're right, they have a De Walt 3 function item for £90 at present...


http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d25013n-gb-2kg-sd...

[andy43]

Nico G said:

andy43 said:

Good point well made - clay bricks or cheese?

The bricks are proper, a quick try with the cordless and a 6mm masonary drill basically resulted in a cone-shaped mark on the brick and nothing more.

Thanks

Unless you're confident with No-Nails I think you need a bigger drill.

[stuart313]

Will it not bridge the damp course?

[TA14]

stuart313 said:

Will it not bridge the damp course?

keep it above the dpc

[TA14]

Nico G said:

So if I have a 100mm / 4 inch post I guess I need at least another 50mm actually in the wall? or more even..

you want to have more length of screw in the wall than out. For example if you had 5" screws then 3" in the wall and 2" in your post which means a 2" deep coutersink.

[TA14]

Nico G said:

Guessing I need to fix @ three or four points?

depends on the fence and the fixings but it could well be five or six.

[Mr GrimNasty]

Nico G said:

So if I have a 100mm / 4 inch post I guess I need at least another 50mm actually in the wall? or more even..

Normally you use a thinner piece of timber on the wall, but the same width, i.e. 2x4 if posts are 4x4, you can fix a dpc behind it if you like but it's a waste of effort.

[Slagathore]

Cordless should be fine. Decent/new drill bit will go through brick easily. Just make sure the battery is well charged. Mine done a succession of about 20 holes with a new drill bit. Drained the battery, but could easily manage it. SDS would have been a lot easier, but not strictly needed.

Mark 3 or 4 points on the post and drill through with a wood bit, then position on the wall where you want it. Drill through to mark wall, take post away and drill the holes.

Don't know if you'll get a frame fixing long enough to get a decent amount in the brick, though.

So maybe some angle bracket instead and fix to that as mentioned above.

[Mr GrimNasty]

Slagathore said:

Don't know if you'll get a frame fixing long enough to get a decent amount in the brick, though.

In the unlikely event that is ever really an issue, you simply sink the fixing hole half way into the post!