How-to
How to Drill Into a Stucco Wall
The wall surface is really hard. Well, this is probably because the wall is covered by a stucco layer. It’s very durable and if you don’t do it right, the nails won’t have a good grip. Luckily, this article can show you how to drill into a stucco wall on your own.
Introduction
Everyone desires tough and durable walls that can last a long time. But if the wall happens to be too strong, this may be an issue. From mounting a clock to hanging a flower pot, you need to have nails as support. When the wall surface is under a stucco layer, you will have a hard time hammering in the nails.
There is still an easy way to do it and that is to drill holes for the nails. Yet as if you can simply push the drill in, you need to know how to drill into stucco wall. And you can learn just that right below.
Stucco is a special plaster mixture with portland cement as the base. What comes out of it is a thick and tough protective layer for households use. Stucco is mostly used on the exterior wall to preserve them from the weather. You can say stucco is the ultimate construction material. It’s affordable, fire – resistant and cost effective.
To drill a hole through it is quite challenging as well. But with the right tools and skills, nothing is impossible. So let’s see what you will need to do this right.
Tools and gears
Of course, the first thing you are going to need is a drill. A good power drill will save you some serious times and efforts here. In addition to that, you need to have a proper head. In this case, masonry bit is the recommended type. It’s specialized at punching through tough surface so get one that fit the size of your nails.
Next is to prepare a tape measure and pencil to help you drill accurately. Hammer and nail are also necessary. And get a bucket and towels to deal with the debris when you are done.
Flying dirt and splinters are what you may encounter here so protect yourself at all time. Put on a pair of gloves, goggles and face mask to ensure your safety. If you don’t familiar with the drill loud noise, get sear plugs as well.Also re – check our house insurance terms and conditions. You don’t want it to be voided by mistake here. And make sure that there is no pipe or cable run behind the wall you intend to drill. When everything is in order, let’s go forward with the drilling.
•Step 1: Locate and mark
Swiftly use the tape measure to calculate the spot of each hole. This will decide if your decorative is in a good position or not hence affect their aesthetic value. When the measuring is done, mark the holes with your pencil to assist the drilling later on.
Be careful not to let the holes too close to each other. They may crack when you drill or hammer in the nails. Try to keep a suitable and equal distance between the holes.
•Step 2: Insert the masonry bit
Put the masonry bit into the power drill and tighten it. You must take into account the size of the nails before you do this. An appropriate masonry bit will give your nails a better fit into the wall. If the bit is too small then you may have to force the nails in which may crack the wall.
If the bit is too big then the nails will be loosed and fall out easily. So it’s vital that you select the suitable bit. Use a caliper if you have one to determine the correct option.
•Step 3: Start drilling
Put the drill against your mark on the wall and get ready. Hold the drill as tight as possible and firmly push it forward. Now slowly squeeze the drill trigger. Next thing to do here is to gently and steadily push the drill forward.
Remember not to push the drill in too hard or the wall mat crack. Only push in the drill after you feel that there is no longer any resistance. Repeat till you reach the desired depth.
While you are drilling, you should stop after every 3 – 5 seconds to inspect the hole. This will help you determine the hole depth and check if there are any unusual things in there. In certain case, you may run into wire meshes.
These may stumble your drill around and crack the wall interior so be careful. When you see any wire mesh, stop drilling and pull them out completely before continue drilling.
•Step 4: Process the holes
When the holes are in place, you can just hammer in the nail yet, you must clean the holes first. Blow out any remain dirt and debris in there.
After that, apply a thin layer of stucco caulk into the hole interior. Wait for one or two hours then push in a nail anchor. The caulk will hold the anchor tightly in place so you can casually punch the nails in them later.
•Step 5: Hammer the nails in
Now, simply hammer in the nails you and that would be it. Still, pay utmost attention and don’t use too much force here. You may break open the recently added caulk and that won’t be pretty. So just use the right amount and punch the nail in.
When the nail fits into the anchor, you should stop right away. Now all you have to is to hang the decorative onto the nail and wrap up. Clean up the scene and put all the dirt and debris into the bucket then throw them out.
Conclusion
End of the guide, fairly simple to follow, right? Stucco is a wonderful choice to protect your wall from the weather. But when you need to nail something into the wall, it’s quite an obstacle.
However, if you possess the right tools and follow the procedures above, it’s really not that hard at all. You can do this entirely on your own. Just focus on what you are doing and everything can be done before you know it.
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