I need to reattach a piece of wood to a brick wall. (The piece of wood
was nailed to the wall but somehow came loose.) What is the proper way
to do it? Should I try to nail it back to the original holes or do I
need to avoid them? If the latter, do I need to drill pilot holes before
nailing? Is there a special kind of nail for this application? Thanks.

All Thumbs wrote:
I need to reattach a piece of wood to a brick wall. (The piece of wood
was nailed to the wall but somehow came loose.) What is the proper way
to do it? Should I try to nail it back to the original holes or do I
need to avoid them? If the latter, do I need to drill pilot holes before
nailing? Is there a special kind of nail for this application? Thanks.
Hi,
How about packing original hole with epoxy and drive nail before it drys up.

Why not drill a pilot hole and screw it into an anchor? Seems to me
this might be more stable and give you less trouble in the long run.

If you must use nails, I'd suggest avoiding the original holes. Less
chance for coming loose again.

Depends on the use for the wood. You can use construction adhesive like
Liquid Nails, you can anchor it using masonry/concrete anchors or you
can screw it in using tapcon concrete screws.

All Thumbs wrote:
I need to reattach a piece of wood to a brick wall. (The piece of wood
was nailed to the wall but somehow came loose.) What is the proper way
to do it? Should I try to nail it back to the original holes or do I
need to avoid them? If the latter, do I need to drill pilot holes
before nailing? Is there a special kind of nail for this application?
Thanks.

It also depends on the brick and mortar. Some bricks do not hold well
and you will need to secure things to the mortar joints some times the other
way around. Given the choice, I go for the mortar as it is easier to
repair.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Yes, I learned many many years ago that its best to go into the mortar
than the bricks....the mortar "gives" a little more allowing you anchor
to expand and grip better...

RicodJour wrote:

More information, please. What exactly are you attaching? How much
does it weigh fully loaded?

The thing that's ultimately being attached is window trim. Not sure
about the weight, but I suspect not much. The trim was attached to three
approximately 4"x6" wood blocks nailed to an exterior brick wall.

I've never installed something like that before and don't know what is
the usual/proper way to do it. I just assumed that whoever originally
put that in place knew what they were doing.

All Thumbs wrote:
I need to reattach a piece of wood to a brick wall. (The piece of wood
was nailed to the wall but somehow came loose.) What is the proper way
to do it? Should I try to nail it back to the original holes or do I
need to avoid them? If the latter, do I need to drill pilot holes before
nailing? Is there a special kind of nail for this application? Thanks.

Keep in mind that you can drill out a hole in the brick or mortar just
large enough to insert a piece of wooden doll rod. The piece of doll
rod then can accept a nail or screw. When the screw or nail is
inserted, the doll rod will expand and tighten inside the drilled hole.

Tony Hwang wrote:

Hi,
How about packing original hole with epoxy and drive nail before it drys
up.

Thanks for the suggestion. I provided some additional info in another
message. The thing being attached is 1 of 3 small wood blocks on which
window trim will hang. It's a repair job and I'm trying to reattach it
like it was originally done.

I think epoxy will hold the nails very securely, but before I try that I
need to figure out whether nails were used because they were *meant to
be* easily removable.

the dowel plan works best...
find a sliver or pc of dowel wood that fits into the holes, same depth,
hammer it in , cut off excess with a chisel, insert a screw into the
new wood. It will hold. Joe.