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Brick work blasted by aerial installer drilling through brickwork.

Posted by karen morris, on
The installer has drilled from the inside wall to the outside for the aerial cable. He has blown about a third of the outside brick. is this the correct way to drill - should he have gone through the mortar rather than the brick. The fitter tried to disguise this with silicone and cap over the hole. The cap has fallen off as the damage to the brick is too big to cover. Do I have any redress.
Stephen Mitchell

Stephen Mitchell

I assume the damage was not admitted/discussed at the time. It is common to have a little bit of "blow out" on the outside wall which silicone sorts out, but your wall damage sounds quite bad and this should have been addressed properly at the time. If plaster or cement can't remedy this then a go on ebay and search "burst blast brick cable cover" which you can buy for £1.50 and stick on with silicone. You do have redress but by the sounds of the repair already done I wouldn't bother.
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JASON BAILEY

JASON BAILEY

Invariably I have always drilled from the inside to the outside, although there are a few options to consider. I was always told measure twice cut once. This basically means check and check again before doing it. The law of averages tells you that you are playing the numbers game. For every 100 holes you drill, you will always have one that can go wrong. Although before drilling I always look at the options where I am drilling, what potential problems can occur. A good way to judge is to look at the mortar line on the outside, and then if you are drilling from the inside out roughly gauge visually where the mortar line is on the inside, you usually find you are not far away. The brick burst plate that is put over the hole will hide the effect of the brick bursting, although the third of a brick blown will be hard to cover. Realistically the best way to do it is to get a compound and fill it. When we do Installations, we offer 12 months warranty as drilling is part of the Installation technically if this has been done as a result of the aerial Installation it is covered as the damage has been caused during Installation. Speak to the Installer and see if he is prepared to come back and sort it, the materials are not expensive and it can be repaired quickly. If you can't get hold of him, go to B and Q ask a member if staff and tell them you want a compound to fill in/repair damage to a brick and they should point you in the right direction Regards Jason
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Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker

Hello Karen, Always drill from the inside. Any blown brickwork should be repaired properly ie if the bricks damaged take it out and replace it. Mastic around the blown area will not last. Regards Michael
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Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith

Hi Kas this is standard procedure for drilling a hole through external walls, as the risk of drilling from outside to inside is too risky (it could potentially do the same damage to brick and plaster on the inside of your property. There is always a chance brick work will break off. The plate he has installed is known as a brick blaster plate for this reason. It is virtually impossible to estimate drilling through the mortar of a wall as the two skins of brick are usually not lined up etc. In this situation and if they are a responsible installer they should make sure the job is completed to your satisfaction. I would recommend that they silicone and then either screw or nail the blaster plate to the wall so it doesnt fall off should the silicone fail to grip it in the first place. Potentially if the hole is too large it could be patched with some mortar repair then silicone sealed. Many thanks ....Graeme @ insight digital
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