Feedline through wall question

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commscanaus

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Melbourne VK
Has anyone had any experience in removing a single house brick from an outer wall?

My current setup has feedline entering the house through a pair of 3/4" holes drilled through a single house brick. My walls are brick veneer- that is a layer of single brick over the timber frame.

Is there any harm in chipping away the mortar/cement and carefully removing a single brick?

Instead of making swiss cheese when I want to expand the number of feedlines- I would rather remove the brick entirely and install a weather proof feedthrough that can accomodate more cables and allow for much easier installation.

Having said that- I would imagine that putting the brick back when I one day sell the house could be fun!

Are there any possible problems with such an idea? Such as weakening the wall etc...

The brick is fairly low down and in the centre of the wall near the mast base.

Thanks, Commscanaus
 

OceanaRadio

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Dec 19, 2002
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Virginia Beach, VA
There is no harm at all from removing a brick by chiseling-away the surrounding mortar. You are going to put something in its place, and you should attempt to weatherproof the opening. Water migrates through brick all the time but not thru mortar so much. Water intrusion inside mortar joints causes spalling during cold temps, so your goal is to prevent water intrusion into exposed inner-joints of the adjoining bricks that you may have damaged when you chisel one out. That being said, it is usually more practical to go under a house and up through the floor with a cable run. That presumes you have crawlspace and are not sitting on a slab, in which case your plan in is the only option. Homes with crawlspace also have vents that make an easy entry-point. Anyway, when you're done, paint the bulkhead device you install to roughly match the surrounding bricks and few will ever notice its there. I recommend you make the bulkhead device a copper grounding plate that can provide a bonded connection to a nearby copper ground rod. Lightning arrestors, if used, should attach directly to the bulkhead entry plate. Shield-ground all coax somewhere prior to the bulkhead entry plate if possible.

Good luck,
Jack
 
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kb0nly

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Since this is a brick veneer you don't have to worry about structural complications in this case. Since you have already drilled holes in the brick i would remove that brick, i have done work like this before. Go get a masonry chisel and hammer and work slow, work from the holes you have now and just pick away at it until the brick is removed. Put your entrance panel over the hole and use some good quality sealant around it. Or if you do it slow and careful you can remove the brick and leave the existing mortar around the brick your removing, then make a panel the size of a brick and inset it a bit and then go around it with some sealant.

Then if it ever comes time to move or changed the setup you buy a brick and butter it up and fill the hole in one shot. As is right now you have a brick with holes in it that would need to be replaced anyway if you moved the feedlines somewhere else.
 

commscanaus

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Joined
Jan 27, 2006
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524
Location
Melbourne VK
Thanks very much for the informative replies!

Greatly appreciated!

I should have mentioned that the house is on a slab- no crawlspace.
Other homes I have lived in have all had timber floors on pilings so that was the installion I was used to.
In Australia we get the dreaded Red Back spider (miniature version of the Black Widow) which is very dangerous and lives in abundance under houses. Happy I am not to have to get under the house!

Given the thumbs up from both replies- I am happy to go ahead and chisel away carefully.
The idea to use a bulkhead for grounding is one I will definetely go ahead with. Maybe a nice piece of stainless steel plate- painted once the connections are made.

True- that brick is pretty much ruined anyway!

Regards, Commscanaus.
 
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kb0nly

Guest
Ahh yes, i have seen that spider on the discovery channel.. Yikes! Or Crikey in your case!!

I have actually seen a Black Widow, once, face to face in an attic. That was enough excitement for me that entire year.

Sounds like a good plan, a piece of stainless plate, put a piece of threaded brass rod through it with a nut on each side and then use another nut to hold down a ring terminal on each side and you have a nice earth ground bonding point, of course you need a ground rod outside to attach to as well.

Use some SO-239 bulkheads, basically a SO-239 barrel with nuts on each side, and then you can just drill holes in the plate and put them in and connect the coax on either side. Makes it easy to replace the coax outside, change antennas around, etc..

I have a plate i made like that in my shack, go to my website with the link below in my signature and go to the shack page and scroll down, you will find the picture of it.
 
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