Max hanging weight on brick siding?

[Flargen]

Hey all,

My garage build is finally (again) underway, and may actually see completion by this weekend or early next week. As part of this, my 15,000 BTU ductless mini-split system (Mitsubishi SLZ-KA15NA & SUZ-KA15NA) arrives on either Friday or Monday.

That being said, my house is 3-sided brick construction, built in 1975. Single-row brick on the front and sides, and standard siding on the rear. The brick siding was presumably tied into the stick frame (2x4 all around).

I intend to mount the condenser (weighing 80 lbs) to one of these exterior brick walls, approximately 6 feet in the air, and 10 feet from the nearest perpendicular brick intersection (decorative 3-row buttresses on the ends of the front fascia), and 4" from the wall itself (meaning a center of mass about 10" from the brick itself).

I'm definitely over-analyzing the situation, but would like input from you guys: think I'll run into any issues provided the correct anchors are used and there's no dynamic load?

Thanks in advance.

 

[kbs2244]

I would not chance it.

The brick is there for looks, not strength
.
Hook it to the wall, but provide legs of some kind to take the weight.
Otherwise you are asking for stress cracks in the brick joints.

 

[ItsNemo]

You'll want to do what you do for a deck...lag or through bolts into the actual structure of the house.

 

[southalabama]

What he said.

It's not a brick wall. It's brick veneer.

Lag into the frame of the building.

 

[Flargen]

Gotcha, that's fair.

Got any tips for locating the studs through the brick? That wall is already sheetrocked (long ago), which may make locating the studs tricky. If I need to cut out a piece to get a precise measurement, so be it.

 

[garagelogician]

Gotcha, that's fair.

Got any tips for locating the studs through the brick? That wall is already sheetrocked (long ago), which may make locating the studs tricky. If I need to cut out a piece to get a precise measurement, so be it.

Maybe try a deep scanning stud finder? Something like this...https://www.tigersupplies.com/Produ...7wljllp4XBTloYPds7bLmV9Zf0sf8EThoC-AQQAvD_BwE

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Gotcha, that's fair.

Got any tips for locating the studs through the brick? That wall is already sheetrocked (long ago), which may make locating the studs tricky. If I need to cut out a piece to get a precise measurement, so be it.

Use a stud finder on the interior wall and then use a 1/8 inch masonry drill bit to drill from the inside of the house to the outside. Hole easily patched on the interior and you can then measure from that point on the exterior to locate additional studs.

 

[ItsNemo]

I'd open the wall and put blocks across between the stud bays personally.

 

[Flargen]

Maybe try a deep scanning stud finder? Something like this...https://www.tigersupplies.com/Produ...7wljllp4XBTloYPds7bLmV9Zf0sf8EThoC-AQQAvD_BwE

Interesting - didn't know about deep scanners. Unfortunately, the brick is 2" thick, plus a gap and then some form of sheathing before the studs. Might not work in this case.

Use a stud finder on the interior wall and then use a 1/8 inch masonry drill bit to drill from the inside of the house to the outside. Hole easily patched on the interior and you can then measure from that point on the exterior to locate additional studs.

That's a clever idea - I'll keep it in mind. I'd definitely need some way to keep the drill perfectly square to the wall, though.

I'd open the wall and put blocks across between the stud bays personally.

I... like this idea. Float and tape hasn't happened yet - I hung about 1/4 of the sheetrock a few years ago (this wall), partially floated/taped it, and had to stop work due to more pressing projects that required the garage immediately. I can't see the all the joints due to hanging shelving I threw up there, but that seems to be by far the safest and most practical approach.

Thanks for hearing me out and talking through it with me!

 

[ItsNemo]

Welcome Good luck!

 

[Flargen]

Thanks again for the tips - ended up anchoring it using 3/8 x 8" lag screws. Drilled a 1/4" hole through the siding, then used a long 1/4" twist bit to hit the stud... Only to find I was off a bit. Adjusted, repeated, hit the stud, and then bored the hole in the brick out to 3/8". Repeated for the next 2 studs.

All is well, and the garage is happy... for now. I had surgery the next day, so now I've gotta wait 5 more weeks before I can really get back to work.

 

[rburke65]

The installation looks real nice to the person that did th work!

 

[Flargen]

Thanks man, that was all me - I have a few friends who do AC work for a living, but not a single one of them has a flaring tool... which led to me buying a nice set and an R410a gauge set (since I already had a vacuum pump and R134a tools).

The rest was just basic electrical stuff.

 

[rtz]

Looks good. I've thought about doing a wall mount myself due to the short line lengths.

 

[Flargen]

Looks good. I've thought about doing a wall mount myself due to the short line lengths.

That's definitely one perk, but the main reason I hung mine was to keep it away from the sprinkler heads in that zone. I also have a bunch of drainage, concrete, and fence work planned on that side of the house, so I figured it'd be wise to get it out of the way immediately.

 

[trim]

Yep, hanging them on the wall is the way to go. Keeps it up away from the water and grass clippings. I can mow right under the edge of mine. Nice to see someone else that takes the time to hide the lines. I installed mine just before the drywall, so I was able to install 2x4 between the studs to strengthen things up. I was really impressed with the wall mounts available from suppliers. I was worried when I got it, but it was very sturdy when it was installed.

 

[Flargen]

I definitely considered tearing out drywall to install reinforcements, but laziness got the better of me. The lag screws have over 2" of thread engagement, so I'm sure they'll be fine

With regard to the mount, my supplier provided a QuickSling, but I think it was designed for much larger units requiring 12" or more of space between the condenser and the wall. Ended up cutting nearly 8" off the supports and drilled new holes to get it back as close to the wall as possible (4" required, but I did about 5"). Those legs were liable to scalp me one of these days - glad I cut them down.

 

[moreover]

First class install there. I just put my 18K pioneer unit in two days ago. 76* in the shop even with 105* Temps outside. I love it.

 

[Fixin'Stuff]

Super clean install. I think that you might have screwed yourself though, if it ever needs service. The inverter/control board require access through the top on my Mr. Cool unit. If the Mitsubishi is the same then access is going to be very tight.

 

[Flargen]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

Regarding service - it's a single-story house, and I fully decked the attic space a few years back - I had to cut some of it out to install it. Servicing it will be a breeze

 

[kelpaso1]

Yep, hanging them on the wall is the way to go. Keeps it up away from the water and grass clippings. I can mow right under the edge of mine. Nice to see someone else that takes the time to hide the lines. I installed mine just before the drywall, so I was able to install 2x4 between the studs to strengthen things up. I was really impressed with the wall mounts available from suppliers. I was worried when I got it, but it was very sturdy when it was installed.

I disagree. When they installed mine they used wall brackets. When running it, it would vibrate the whole wall enough and be completely annoying in a quiet garage. Last year I made a metal stand sitting on concrete pads and now it is completely silent in my garage now.

 

[Flargen]

That was a concern, but this system is so damn quiet it's not an issue. The night I fired it up, I asked my girlfriend to go see if the condenser was running since the air felt cool, but I was so exhausted I couldn't be sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. She comes back and tells me it wasn't, at which point I nearly succumbed to defeat... Until I went out there and confirmed it was indeed running, it was just stupid quiet. Nearly no vibration either.

Turns out she was about 2' too far away to hear it.

 

[kelpaso1]

In the summer, on A/C it would not vibrate the wall, but when we got to winter and heat, it was terrible. The compressor works much harder in the winter and heating. The colder it got the worse the vibrations were. Also depends on construction of the walls I guess. Mine are just basic 2x4 walls. Where are you? Will you be using it for heat also?

 

[Flargen]

I'm in South Texas, so mine will rarely operate in heat pump mode. Might switch it over and see how bad it gets.