How to add French cleats to a brick wall?

[kelso101]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of making french cleats of some sort on my garage brick wall. Question though, would placing plywood first then the cleats help secure it more or would it load the bricks and cause some sort of issue?  Would the fastening the cleats on the brick wall itself be more safe?

Thanks in advance

[MitchellMc]

I think it would be a far easier process, @kelso101, to fix a plywood sheet to the wall, which can be glued and screwed at multiple locations, than to try and install the cleats individually to the bricks. If they are solid bricks, then installation directly onto them shouldn't be an issue, but if they are hollow-core bricks, it can be quite difficult to get fixings to hold. 

By using glue over the rear of the board and screws in multiple locations around the board perimeter and middle, you'll be distributing the load over a large portion of the wall. What sort of weight are you looking for this system to hold?

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[kelso101]

Hi Mitch,

Thanks for the reply. 

Im pretty sure the bricks I have are hollow core I believe image attached below.

Im thinking of like power and hand tool type of weight, probably my circular saw being the heaviest. Maybe a small cabinet for small cabinet or something along those lines.

Thanks

 

[EricL]

Hi @kelso101 

Just to add to the suggestions made, I recommend using Ramset 300ml Chemset UltraFix Plus along with Ramset M10 x 130mm Galvanised Chemset Stud in combination with Ramset Multifit Sieve in the corners of the plywood. This type of fixing does not put any pre-stress on the brick's interior unlike Dynabolts. This means that once the adhesive cures it acts like it's part of the brick and the only stress on it would be the load of the plywood sheet and tools. 

You can then use wall plugs or Dynabolts for the centre part of the plywood. Using a combined fixing strategy of screws and adhesive it should be strong enough to hold your tools and a small cabinet. I strongly suggest drawing it on paper first so that you can estimate the size of the panel and number of screws you'll be needing for the project.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

[kelso101]

Cheers for the suggestions. will post on here if/when i have more questions and assistance.

Thank you

[kelso101]

Question,

Would having a framing timber attached to the brick wall, then plywood attached to the framing timber be another option for French cleats?

[EricL]

Hi @kelso101 

Setting up a timber frame behind the plywood can be done. Is there a reason you're wanting to do this? The only drawback I see is that the the entire assembly would be heavier, and it will be higher than the level of the wall. 

Eric

[kelso101]

Sorry, could you please explain this a bit more so that I can understand it more fully.

It's more so that if I ever want to replace the plywood and do something different  once I have more experience in DIYing and woodworking

[EricL]

Hi @kelso101 

I've placed a sample image below to give you an idea of how you could mount it with a timber frame. If yo wish to have it in another configuration, please let me know. I'll be more than happy to redraw it for you.

 Eric

[kelso101]

Yea I was thinking of something like that maybe add 2 vertical frames for more security. Would that work? Once the plywood is attached it should be able to hold a decent amount of weight right?

 Thanks for the drawing