Installing skirting boards to a brick wall

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Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

What screws did you use? If you’re using deep thread timber screws from Bunnings then the central wire is too skinny to expand the plug walls into the hole and you have to up at least one size.

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And conversely with wall plugs into mortar, I drill the hole one bit size smaller than recommended to get a good purchase on the flutes. The recommended drill bit size can result in the plug spinning because you don't know how soft the mortar is.

Also, depending upon how things are going, sometimes it's much better to take a bit of extra time installing the screw into the plug by hand as power drivers can apply too much torque and spin the plug.

I always install Wall Mates into plasterboard by hand for the same reason, and the same with the screws going into them despite them generally having stupidly fine threads. Most of the time I could get away with a power driver on the lowest torque setting and low speed, but occasionally it strips the plasterboad. Experience taught me that this invariably will be for a fixture that isn't big enough to cover a new hole.

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Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn

Whenever I've used rawlplugs I've used the drill size noted by the manufacturer.

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That's usually the starting point unless experience tells you something different.

One of the things experience tells me is that impact drills tend to bounce around on a narrow rotating axis for a long time to make a hole so that you can end up with a less accurate hole with a coned entry than a rotary hammer. Something else experience tells me is that a cheap rotary hammer like an Ozito is much better than an impact drill in concrete but it can be too aggressive in mortar and brick because it has less fine control than a better quality one.

So, the accuracy of the hole and the fit of the plug isn't guaranteed just by faithfully following the plug manufacturer's instructions.

When fitting rawlplugs (eg. to hang a painting) at a location where I can get close to the hole I’ve blown into it. (I used to play the bagpipes, so I have a good set of lungs.) And where the hole size is crucial I’ve started with a tiny drill size and built it up in dia using progressively larger drill bits. I find that bricks are a delight to work with compared with mortar.

I take your point on drill size and making holes in mortar. I generally try to avoid mortar when possible. Mortar also has the problem that there can be air pockets left by the brickie when laying the bricks. Holes in bricks can be a problem too, but generally not toward the edge.

Love your idea of a bike pump. I must try that myself.

With the skirtings, I used a vacuum cleaner after drilling each hole. It was pointless. I know this because when I removed the skirtings, as noted above, I spotted a neat little pile of brick dust on the ground below each hole. I needn’t have bothered using the vacuum. Though, your idea of the bike pump gives me an idea. An attachment to the vacuum cleaner (eg. a funnel and plastic tubing) that is small enough to be inserted into the hole might work well.

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Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn

With the skirtings, I used a vacuum cleaner after drilling each hole. It was pointless. I know this because when I removed the skirtings, as noted above, I spotted a neat little pile of brick dust on the ground below each hole. I needn’t have bothered using the vacuum. Though, your idea of the bike pump gives me an idea. An attachment to the vacuum cleaner (eg. a funnel and plastic tubing) that is small enough to be inserted into the hole might work well.

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Not sure if we're on the same page, but if you use a vacuum cleaner just attach the hose to the exhaust and by all means improve its efficiency by reducing the hose to a size that can fit in the drilled hole but leave space around the hose to blow out dust. Easier to blow dust out than suck it out because there's not much scope for necessary sucking airflow in a blind hole largely filled with the hose.

I've made devices like this for other purposes where I needed a narrow hose to get into an opening, like an oil filler hole on a small engine, with progressively smaller short lengths of clear (so I can see if it's working) vinyl tubing from scrap or Bunnings and wound with plumbing Teflon tape and maybe hose clamps where necessary to get a good seal. Works fine for sucking oil out and should work fine for blowing air in.

And here's a fun fact. Vacuum cleaners in normal operation don't suck. The fan creates an area of low pressure (a vacuum) and the higher external air pressure pushes air into the low pressure / vacuum area and dust etc along with it. Won't work well if the hole in the brick etc is plugged at the entry by the tube.

Discovering this scientific reality will be a major disappointment for a vacuum cleaner seller in Ballarat whose slogan is "Everything I sell sucks!".

I'll just leave this here...

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Originally Posted by r3nov8or

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I'm just suggesting there are variables

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Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn

Not so sure about the nail size, but that may be wrong too.

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I just did a reinstall of a jarrah skirting board on a (fixed) rising damp brick wall.

I can confirm that 75 x 3.75mm bullet head galvanized nails work perfectly with the spaghetti in the 5.5mm masonry hole.

I used a Bunnings Full Boar 5.5 x 160 4 cut SDS drill bit using just an ordinary hammer drill. This was because the traditional 5.5mm bits were too short to cut a hole for a 75mm nail. The SDS bit base fits easily into domestic grade hammer drills.

The instructions to insert the spaghetti full depth then cut slightly shorter are spot on. Not mentioned was blowing out the hole. I found it wasn't necessary to blow it out. The spaghetti seems more tolerant of dust than rawlplugs

The only variation I did was predrill the skirting board with a 5.5mm HSS bit as the masonry bit made a mess and smoke on the jarrah.

For punching I used a 5.5mm pin driver but it was unsatisfactory as it slid all over the place. I couldn't find anything at Bunnings that would be better though

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Originally Posted by florry

I couldn't find anything at Bunnings that would be better though

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If I ever do skirtings again I might try these. The head size is amazingly small compared to other screws. Probably more expensive.