Wall mounting hose reels and wall cracks

Question

I am considering getting some hose reels mounted onto our brick veneer home. However have been advised by family that the bricks might fracture etc and that it is better to just leave it on a trolley. Has anyone ever had such trouble? Thank you.

Answer 1

Veneer bricks crack easily even using a masonry bit but the real question is what is behind the brick? A hose reel could easily weigh fifty pounds, particularly if there was still water in the hose when you hung it up. In this case you should not rely on the brick veneer to carry the load.

Possible solutions depend on what is behind the brick.

• If it is concrete then a hammer drill with a masonry bit and Tapcon screws should do the job. An overkill solution would be attach the hose reel to a one or two foot length of two by four and then attach the wood to what is behind the brick. By using a larger attachment point you spread out the stress and can use more fasteners.
• if the brick veneer is mortared onto some tar paper with plywood sheathing behind that then you need to find where the joists are. Use a hammer drill with a masonry bit to drill through the brick and attach the hose reel to one or more joists using outdoor grade screws. You could also use a two by four as mentioned above.

I will grant that this is more work and effort than might be required by some. My motto is "What I put up,stays up".