How to drill into brick motar when drill bit will only go in 1/4"?

Question

My garage wall is brick mortar. I am hanging the rubbermaid Fasttrack rail (organizer). I was able to put one up but now when I drill the bit only goes in about 1/4inch. I am using a drill and bit designed for this material. It's like I am hitting something. I thought it might be rebar but doesn't that run vertically through the brick? I have tried hanging another rail a few feet below the one already up and same problem I can only get about 1/4" into the wall. If I was hitting rebar I should not have been able to place on directly above it. Suggestions would be great! As I am stuck with what to do next.

Answer 1

There should not be rebar in the mortar joints of brick. Small rebar is 3/8", the mortar joints in brick are usually not much thicker. There may be some other metal reinforcement there, but it should be rather thin. Your drill may hesitate a bit, but should go right on through.

You have a masonry bit, are you using the right drill? You should have a rotary hammer drill. A standard rotary drill will do the job, but you will have to pull it out to clean debris from the hole then go back in. It will be quite a bit slower than it would with a hammer drill.

Is the bit in good condition? Have the carbide points broken off?

Finally, are you sure the drill is turning the correct direction? Drilling backwards will make a dent, but not really do any major drilling. Probably will ruin the bit as well, so you may need a new one.

Answer 2

are you using a hammer drill with a masonry bit ?
Re-bar could be a problem but if you moved to another area and did the same thing take a pen light and look into the hole if its re-bar at only a 1/4 inch you should be able to see it but thats really shallow for re-bar its usually at least half the depth of the wall or at least wire mesh

I was drilling a hole in a slab 1 inch about 10 inches thick and hit a re-bar and it stuck like super glue had to leave the bit there that was about 20 years ago and far as I know its still stuck in there

Answer 3

Get another drill bit. A masonry bit is all you need and when you drill through the concrete press on the drill for a 1/2" and then pull the drill bit out of the hole then repeat until you get the proper depth. Some Masonry is harder than others and may damge the drill bit quicker. Also make sure the drill is in forward position

Answer 4

As a telephone installer, we were directed to never drill into the brick. We always drilled into the cement, inserted a metal anchor into the hole and used a screw. I would suggest that if I was mounting something very heavy that would create a severe load on the brick and mortar that I would try to locate a stud in the wall and drill my hole in the cement and put a lag bolt through the brick and into the stud. Brick walls are not made to carry any load other than their own weight. The bricks work well in compression but the cement is not as good in compression nor in shear, so it may cause problems, if the load away from the wall is too great.

Answer 5

Are you using a cement drill and are you using a hammer drill. If you answered "no" to either of these question s then your not doing it right.

If you tried with a common drill bit, you may have gotten one hole drilled before the bit went to heck, and you need a hammer drill for drilling in cement.

Sometimes, if you have the right equipment, you may hit a hard spot, like a Stone, it takes quite a bit to get through these places, it was for fill I'm guessing, then continue.

Your drill bit may be shot.

Answer 6

you're either hitting ladder wire, or the carbide tip broke off your masonry bit - get a new one. use a hammer drill with this bit.