Author Topic: Can I drill through my exterior wall?  (Read 1934 times)

reverend

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Can I drill through my exterior wall?
« on: March 02, 2018, 05:04:07 PM »
If so, how do I determine where I can drill, safely?
I'm thinking of mounting eye loops in the wall about 4 inches deep, to hold the one side of a shade sail, 13' along the wall and about 7' out from the wall.
The other side is mounted to a very convenient tree, which allows me to use any fastening method I like.

I have two fears;
1, I don't want to drill into wiring or piping - if there any of that in the wall.
2, I don't want moisture intrusion (alleviated by squiring silicone in the hole before inserting the eye loops and gooping silicone around it when it's seated)

Another concern is wind shear if I'm not home and the wind kicks up. I was thinking that I could use some relatively thin zip ties on the other end to hold the sail to the tree. That way if the wind is strong enough, it would shear the zip tie.  Or am I on crack here?

Anyway, here's a picture of where I'd want to mount the eye loops, on each end of the red line along the wall.


BudgetSlasher

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Re: Can I drill through my exterior wall?
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2018, 09:48:27 AM »
One consideration, to sink 4 inches into wood you will need to hit a stud; where you have indicated is likely to be the rim joist/band joist which is only 1.5 inches thick (plus the thickness of you sheathing). If it is the rim/band joist that caps the ends of the joists you *might* be able to sink the screws through the band joist and into the end of a joist; but, I have no idea how to detect a joist end through a rim/band joist and even then it wouldn't have as much holding and it would be into end grain.

reverend

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Re: Can I drill through my exterior wall?
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2018, 10:11:05 AM »
Yeah, the problem is that I don't know how to detect what's behind the siding and how far I really need to go.  I really need to be in something sturdy (stud) because of possible wind shear on the sail. It needs to be sturdy.

I wonder how people installing motorized awnings and stuff do it!

lthenderson

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Re: Can I drill through my exterior wall?
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2018, 07:37:25 AM »
You may be able to determine the location of a joist behind a rim joist from your second floor depending on the flooring type. If there is carpet on the second floor, I have taken a long thin drill bit and drilled holes spaced an inch apart through the carpet until I hit a joist. From there, it is transferring that location to a location that is the same on both the inside and outside and measuring. For example, you find a joist and measure up and over to a particular corner of your window. You then have to measure the same distance down and back over to the plane you want to attach your hooks. I would probably at that point use the same long thin drill bit to assure that you are still on the joist and later fill it in with caulking. Once you know where a joist is on the outside, it is simply a matter of measuring over multiples of 16 inches to get to where you want to attach an anchor.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Can I drill through my exterior wall?
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2018, 08:03:09 AM »
lets assume you can sink the hole and not hit anything important. (I'm not convinced of that yet, btw).

what is your rock solids, A+, plan for re-sealing and making it huuugley water/weather tight?

Evildunk99

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Re: Can I drill through my exterior wall?
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2018, 02:59:19 PM »
Just looking at your pictures, you can likely tell where the wiring goes by following the existing fixtures (and other electrical components not pictured).  It looks like there's a conduit next to the door that the lamp post connects to.  It probably connects elsewhere.