Does a brick sleeve anchor need to go all the way in?

Question

I want to hang a heavy piece of art (~8 lbs) over the bed, so I want to make sure that it is very securely attached. I was going to use a toggle bolt, but after drilling the hole in the wall, it seems to be about an inch of plaster attached directly to the brick of the building.

I read that there is something called a sleeve anchor for brick, but after watching a few videos, I'm not sure if the anchor would hold if it is not flush against the brick, due to the layer of plaster.

Does the entire sleeve anchor need to be in the brick, or could it be half in brick and half in plaster?

The building is a medium sized apartment building, around 100 years old in a major city in the USA.

Answer 1

Standard anchor will work fine for non hollow brick:

Make sure the anchor and screw are long enough to go at least 1" into the brick itself and not just the plaster. So if you have 1" plaster, get a 2" anchor and 2" or 2.5" screw depending on how thick the stuff you want to fasten is.

I'd use 5x50mm screw and 8mm anchor for that weight. It's overkill. Don't worry, it won't come off.

Around here old houses often have interior walls build with 3cm thick bricks. It's easy to go all the way through if you're a bit over-enthusiastic with the drill.

Note the anchors pictured work for brick, concrete, plaster, and just as well for hollow materials (hollow brick, drywall, etc). That's convenient, less stuff to keep in the tool box.