Hanging Shelves on an Interior Brick Wall

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jbzeigler

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Oct 20, 2021
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New Cumberland, PA
I reside in a duplex dating back to 1895. The wall that I share with my next door neighbor is standard brick and mortar. I am interested in installing "L" brackets and 2"x12"s as shelves for storage.
Is it better to screw into the bricks or the mortar? I would think the bricks, but I just wanted to double-check with professionals first.
TIA
 
Welcome.
Use the mortar, or a free standing assembly.
Bricks are renowned for their inability to retain anchors, because, simply put, they are composed of powder, water, formed and baked.
 
I'd add that old bricks especially. Bricks made in the last 75 years are much stronger than ones from the 1800s. Old mortar can be weak as well. So you need to make sure you're brackets are securely fastened into a material that doesn't give way.

I'd look at something like these here: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-70-5-in-Gray-Shelf-Upright/1000069205 You'll note if you rotate the one picture around they have a slot near the top that slides over a bracket mounted to the wall. The bracket allows you to spread the load out across the wall across several anchors. Once you have the spacing the way you want it, you then put in a couple of anchors in each of the uprights. This system gives you a lot of flexibility and I've used in several applications at home and at our church.
 
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