Whats the best way to secure wood posts on a brick wall?

[mike_g]

I have a bit of a problem. I have a raised garden which has a retaining wall holding it back, this retaining wall shows about 12 inches of brick on the garden side. The other side of this wall is a walkway with a drop of at least 4 foot. I am trying to make the raised garden as safe as possible for our toddler and the only way possible is to surround the garden with a fence.

I have recently finished an extensive decking project and have left over a number of 90 x 90mm Newel posts, spindles, base rail and hand rail. I would like to utilise my leftovers to the best possible way.

The problem is, how do i fix the Newel posts to the wall securely without using them unsightly bolt down post brackets, not to mention they're probably not made for a 90mm post. I want the posts to be mounted dead centre down the wall. I didn't want to attach the posts to either side of the wall as it might look odd because of the handrail and spindle system i want to use.

I have an idea but i'm not sure whether it will work, I'm hoping someone has had a similar problem in the past.

My Idea: I was going to drill 500mm down into the wall with a 16mm masonry bit, I was then going to drill up dead centre of the newel post again 500mm with a 16mm Auger bit. I would then, using chemical resin to fix, drive 16mm rebar down into the wall, which would leave 500mm of rebar sticking vertically out of the wall, then slide my newel down over the rebar and down against the wall. Then i would fix with a couple of small angle brackets to the wall.

I was hoping that the rebar inside the Newel post and wall would be strong enough to take an impact or at least stop a sidewards force from knocking the fence over. Also i want the fence to look as natural as possible, that is no unsightly fixing brackets etc.

Has anyone come across this problem in the past? How did you get around it? Am i missing something? Will my idea work or not? Has anyone got any better ideas?

Please, Please any advice is appreciated, I'm all ears......

 

[Deluks]

Your plan sounds doable but will be very fiddly. As long as its not a single brick wall then give it a go if you feel confident. It might have a slight wobble to it but won't fall over

I'd use a slightly smaller drill bit in the base of the newel post, meaning the stud will need to be banged in hard for a tight fit.

 

[ratm]

Hi there Mike
What you say is a good idea and I've considered a similar project recently. The one thing I would advise is that you don't use rebar because it will corrode and eventually split the posts and stain your wall.
I would be tempted to fit a thick wall plate and then attach the posts to that with dowel screws or something similar.

 

[Thermo]

should work, however most decking newel posts are long enough to give a face fixing and still accept the handrail. that would give you the easy option of face fixing it with rawl bolts etc, which could then be plugged back over.

 

[mike_g]

Many thanks for all the replies, there are already some useful tips for me.

It never crossed my mind that the rebar would eventually rust up and possibly cause the newel to split, good tip. Ratm, you've got me thinking now. You mention thick wall plates, do you mean that you would attach these wall plates to the underside of the newel post first using some hefty screws and then bolt the wall plate to the wall using some type of rawlbolt. hmmm.......

I didnt mention before but my wall is double skinned, whether it makes a difference?

Thermo, good point, and yes, the easiest way to fix would be to the face of the wall, but i've got this idea in my head that this fence will travel dead centre down the wall, but thanks all the same.

Keep those tips and ideas coming...

Thanks in advance

 

[Thermo]

use stainless steel rod, but i cant see the rebar causing that much damage to the newel post.