We have a couple of those hanging flower basket things, one either side of the front door, on metal brackets. It is now my fifth attempt to make the left-hand one's bracket, stay fixed. I try to avoid drilling bricks, where possible, using the mortar joints, for fixings - they are easier to restore with a bit of mortar. Problem is, the left one is near the corner, adjoining the drive, and we get some terrific winds blowing up the drive. The soil laden, heavy baskets, then start swinging, tearing the bracket sideways.
My first attempt, pulled a chunk of mortar out, then I hammered a timber wedge in, with a 2.5 inch #12 screw, that ripped out, I then tried an even bigger wedge, when that ripped out, I welded a bit of horizontal steel to the bracket. That managed to survive longest, but even that, came down in the last gale.
Earlier in the week, we did some cementing, so a bit of it was used to repoint the hole, pushed well in. Today, I drilled it, refixed it, and gave some thought to how to control the swinging in the strong winds. I thought of perhaps tieing the left-hand one, to the right-hand one, with fishing line, but ended up tieing them down to some trellis below, either side of the door.
