How To Drill Screws Into Brick Without Cracking It | Steady-Speed Method

Drilling into brick without cracking it means working the brick face slowly with a carbide masonry bit, clearing dust, and tightening the anchor only to spec.

Cracks in brick are almost always self-inflicted: too much speed, too much force, or a screw driven in like it’s going into pine. Brick is brittle, so the hole has to be cut, not punched. The low-crack method uses the tools you already own, run differently.

Where Should You Put The Hole?

Drill into the brick face itself for anything carrying real weight, and steer clear of mortar joints and edges. Mortar is the weakest part of the wall and crumbles under load; brick is the structural unit you want to bite into. Drilling too close to an edge is one of the fastest ways to crack a brick.

Before the bit touches the wall, check what’s behind it — hidden wiring and pipes won’t warn you. A stud finder with metal and AC scan is the quick check. Eye and ear protection are not optional: the dust is fine and the rotary hammer is loud.

How Do You Drill The Hole Without Splitting The Brick?

Use a carbide-tipped masonry bit in a hammer drill or rotary hammer, run at slow speed with light, steady pressure, and keep the bit perpendicular to the wall. Bosch’s guidance makes the same point: masonry needs a masonry bit, not a general-purpose twist bit. The technical reports reviewed here specify carbide-tipped bits complying with ANSI B212.15-1994, run in electro-pneumatic rotary hammers in rotation-and-hammering or rotation-only mode.

1. Mark the spot with a pencil or small punch mark so the bit doesn’t skate.
2. Fit the correct bit diameter — the size the anchor’s instructions call for, not the closest in the case.
3. Start in rotation-only mode to score the surface, then switch to rotation-and-hammering.
4. Drill at slow speed with steady pressure. Let the bit cut — never lean on the drill.
5. Withdraw the bit briefly to clear dust. A depth stop or masking tape marks target depth.
6. Stop if the bit overheats. Heat means friction, and friction means pressure is too high.
7. Clear the hole completely with compressed air, a vacuum, or a nylon brush. The hole must be dry before the anchor goes in.

Pine Hall Brick’s guidance puts the same priorities in order: the right bit, controlled speed, a clean hole. A masonry screw can be driven directly for light-duty jobs. For a real anchor, seat it to the manufacturer’s embedment depth and tighten with a torque wrench to the stated installation torque — no more. Overtightening is the second-most-common way to crack brick, right behind drilling into mortar.

Which Brick And Which Anchor Change The Approach?

Solid brick and concrete masonry take a standard masonry anchor cleanly, but perforated brick is different — the holes can swallow a standard anchor, so you need a model designed to bridge or fill the cavity. Match hole diameter and depth to the specific anchor’s published instructions.

If you’re weighing fastening options before committing to a hole, this roundup of the best brick screws for masonry walls covers the screw and anchor types that hold in solid and perforated brick.

What Are The Mistakes That Crack Brick?

• Drilling into mortar when the load needs brick. Mortar is for looks, not holding weight.
• Using an oversized bit. The anchor should need light force to seat, not fall in.
• Running the drill too fast. Speed glazes the bit and heats the brick.
• Forcing the drill. Pressure cracks the face; the bit should cut its own way.
• Skipping dust removal. Debris stops the anchor from seating at depth.
• Overtightening the screw or anchor. Stop at the torque spec.
• Drilling too near edges or joints. Move the hole toward the brick’s center.

Clear dust from the brick face and hole, then install the anchor dry — a hole full of grit won’t hold. For a deeper look, the proper technique for drilling into brick from Pine Hall Brick walks through the slow-speed, low-pressure approach on real masonry.