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I have a data cabinet I want to mount in my garage, all the walls are brick.
Some people have said it's ok to use the expansion bolts that the cabinet came with, others say bolt some ply onto the brick.
I am confused on how to mount it.
Any advice appreciated, I want it up high near the ceiling/cornice
Was going to put it in the corner, but the alarm sensor is located
Hi @Booki,
I'd recommend bolting it directly to the wall.
I’m not really sure what the benefit of mounting plywood would be in this situation. The ply would still need to be bolted to the brick with expansion bolts, and then the cabinet screwed into it. Since you could only use screws when fixing to the ply, you’re limited by the ply’s thickness (usually around 18mm), which isn’t going to be as strong. You'll also only be able to use 18mm long timber screws, which can potentially be ripped out.
Bolting the cabinet directly into the brick with longer expansion bolts will be much more secure. If you’re worried about them holding, you can squeeze a little Ramset 300ml Chemset UltraFix Plus into the holes before inserting and tightening your expansion bolts. That way, they’ll be glued in as well as gripping mechanically.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Could you show us the expansion bolts the cabinet came with, @Booki? They would likely be the correct kind for mounting the unit.
If the cabinet is going onto brick, you'd use Dynabolts (expansion bolts). Four Dynabolts will be more than adequate for the weight of the cabinet and contents. The fixing method would only change if, say, you were attaching to a plasterboard wall with timber studs.
Mitchell
These are the bolts it came with.
I am planning to run a Poe switch, ups, Nas, I would estimate about 35kg of equipment in the cabinet.
That's a considerable amount of weight, @Booki. You should check the specifications from the manufacturer to ensure the cabinet and fixings are capable of supporting it. Personally, I'd also pop a couple of stay brackets under it to ensure it holds.
Four Dynabolts fixed into brickwork correctly are capable of holding the weight. However, you also need to take into account anything else. Say you're up a ladder accessing it and lean on the front lip for support. All of a sudden, you've just added 40kg of force to the top Dynabolts, which could cause them to fail. Additionally, the 35kg of equipment in the cabinet does not represent 35kg of force on the fixings, as it won't be concentrated at the back of the cabinet against the wall; instead, it will be distributed across the cabinet's footprint. Any of that weight towards the front of the cabinet is exponentially more force on the fixings.
Mitchell
I'd be using similar-sized expansion bolts to those that came with the unit, @Booki. Something like 60mm Dynabolts should be fine.
Mitchell
