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I am mounting some bike racks to a brick wall (basically, a special hook that you hang your bike on). The holes in the metal bike racks are big enough for #8 screws. I purchased some lead plugs which were supposed to accommodate #8 screws, drilled holes for the anchors in the brick and installed the bike racks. It turns out that the anchors were actually mis-labeled at the store, and are for screw sizes #10 - #14, so the anchors don't expand enough in the brick, and the bike racks don't stay on the wall.

My problem is how I can use the existing holes to re-mount the bike racks.

  • If I take out the existing anchors and buy smaller ones to fit the #8 screws, is there some way I can fill the hole so the anchor holds?

  • Is there another kind of anchor that will expand to fill the oversize hole?

  • Is it just easier to buy larger screws and drill a larger hole in the bike racks?

  • Other options?

Thanks.

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3 Answers 3

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Use larger anchors/screws. IMO this is the best option. There are dozens of different types of anchors, so it is possible to find one that will be larger but fit the smaller screw. Myself, I'd drill the rack and use the proper screw for the anchors you have.

Another possibility, since brick is pretty deep, is to use a longer Tap-Con style screw, like 3" say. You can drill past the old anchor point, but still have plenty of meat for the longer screw to bite.

Sure, you can plug the holes with wood but I would not trust a bike rack or similar item hung off such a makeshitft anchor.

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  • If I wad going to try to partly plug the holes I'd be inclined to try old-fashioned malliable lead anchors, or some plastic equivalent, rather than wood.
    – keshlam
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 3:11
  • I have seen guys take wood dowels or wedges and rive them into the holes, then run a screw into the wood. It acts like an anchor. The point was I wouldn't trust this for much more than a picture.
    – Speedy Petey
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 10:30
  • I didn't consider the possibility that there might be anchors that are the same size as the hole, but are used with smaller screws, so that's an idea I'm going to check out first. Thanks!
    – Marc
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 17:25
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Epoxy based anchors are a potential alternative provided the epoxy anchor manufacturer's written requirements are met.

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  • Yeah, I'm going to see if there are anchors I can use with the existing holes, but which accept the smaller screws. I'll check these out as well, if my hardware store has them. Thanks!
    – Marc
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 17:27
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You could use the large anchors to mount a piece of wood on the wall, then mount the bike hooks to the wood with #8 screws. This may be easier than drilling out the bike hook mounting holes.

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  • I'd like to not have the wood there if possible (even if it's something attractive), so I'm going to try something else first, but this is a good idea if need be. Thanks!
    – Marc
    Commented Apr 12, 2015 at 17:26

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