Securing shelf standards to brick wall
I’m trying to secure the basic Ikea shelf standard to our exterior wall. The walls are structural brick (two courses) with a third brick course on the outside and plaster directly over the brick on the inside. My experience with the inside courses of brick is that they tend to be soft. A previous owner installed cabinets in the kitchen with something similar to Tapcon (masonry) screws, and some of the screws have no bite because the brick flakes away as the hole is drilled.
So originally I was thinking either plastic or lead anchor shields, but I realized that these will barely penetrate the plaster unless I drill out the plaster enough to sink the shields back in behind it.
Has anyone done this successfully and can tell me what the best choice is? This is for 44″ long by 8″ deep shelves of 3/4″ plywood. 6 shelves per pair of standards. This is for books, mainly paperbacks, but also some hardbacks.
And speaking of books, is there a “standard” for how much a linear foot of books weighs? Of magazines? I want to make sure I have enough support so that I don’t have any screws pulling out, both here and on some other shelves on interior walls.
Replies
Go to a good hardware and ask for Expandet anchors. These ribbed plastic sleeve anchors work well in soft brick/mortar joints. Size the sleeve for your screw size. I've found them to list an anchor a little on the small side.
http://www.expandet.com/
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
You mean two wythes, not two courses, I believe. Courses are layers counted vertically, wythes are thicknesses counted horizontally.
Epoxy anchors ought to work. You could make your own. Drill clearance holes just big enough for ¼" all-thread and epoxy them in. You'll need to make a little plug of clay to keep the epoxy from running out the end of the hole. Make sure the hole is free of dust.
Yes, of course wythes. I didn't know what the term was, but I should have known it was not courses. Of course, I started to spell it coarse too. I shouldn't be allowed near a computer after 9:00 p.m.Epoxy was the direction I was leaning too. Thanks for the advice about the clay plug.