Please Note: Do not use this procedure if you are not certain that you can complete it safely, or if it does not seem accurate. Skippity Whistles provides this information as advice, and cannot accept any liability from your usage of it.
This is a great place to hand a plant, but it’s a brick wall. How do you attach something to that?
Good news! It’s not hard, and you can do it.
First, visit your local home improvement center and pick up something called a masonry bit. This one came from Harbor Freight, but you can get one at Lowes, Home Depot, or any hardware store. While you’re there, pick up some concrete screws – they’ll be over with the other screws.
This is a regular drill bit, and this is a masonry bit. See those flanges there? Those break through the concrete to drill the hole.
This is a regular drywall screw, and this is a concrete screw. These thick, deep threads help it hang onto the concrete.
You’ll need a power drill. If you’ve never used one, check out our video called How to Use a Power Drill.
Mark the brick where you want to drill the hole. If it’s your wall, you can drill directly into the brick. If you’re renting the wall, you might want to drill into the grout between the bricks. Just saying.
If you’re drilling into the brick, put a piece of masking tape over the place you’re drilling – it will control the chips.
Speaking of chips, you’ll want to wear eye protection. If you wear glasses, you’re fine, but otherwise, you don’t want chips of hot masonry getting into unprotected eyes.
Fit the masonry bit into the drill – make sure the collet is super tight.
Put the tip of the bit against the surface. Point the drill straight at the wall – you don’t want to drill at an angle.
Now, gently squeeze the trigger. Gently, now. You don’t want to go fast. The drill will buck and kick – don’t push too hard. Just enough to grind the bit against the surface.
If you go too fast or push too hard you’ll burn the flanges right off the bit and it will stop cutting. It will look fine, but will just turn and turn and do nothing but get annoying. So, slowly and gently.
It will take awhile, but eventually you’ll get a hole that’s the right depth to accept the screw. Reverse the direction of the drill and back the bit straight out. That’s all there is to it.
Now you can drive your concrete screw straight in. Pass it through your plant hanger and drive it in with the power driill. Done!
One caveat: you can’t use a masonry bit on stone: it won’t work, will damage the stone and the bit, and will frustrate you no end. No, you can’t drill into stone, but you CAN drill into the grout between the stones.
That’s it – you’re a masonry drill master. you did it.
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