How to Mount a Flag on Your Old Brick Home

In the historic neighborhoods of Washington, DC and Alexandria VA homeowners mount flagpoles to their brick homes. Whether displaying the "Stars and Stripes" to celebrate holidays like Memorial Day, Flag Day and the 4th of July or a decorative garden flag, a flagpole adds character to a DC brick home. To make sure that it remains stable in weather conditions, it must be attached correctly.  

A flagpole is placed in a wall-mounted bracket. Brackets installed on brick require some special hardware. You first need to mount special masonry or cement anchors into the brick to give the flagpole fitting a firm grip. The anchors are easily found at any home improvement center or hardware store.

Here's What You Will Need:

• Flag pole bracket
• Flag pole
• Pencil
• Hammer drill
• Masonry bit
• Cement or masonry anchors
• Hammer
• Socket set or phillips-head screwdriver

Here's How to Mount a Flag on Brick:

1. Place the flagpole bracket on the brick structure in the desired location. Center the bracket on a single brick, or on two bricks with one brick above the other. Keep the bracket away from the individual brick ends to avoid cracking or splintering the bricks.
2. Hold the bracket in place with one hand. Draw a circle in each of the bracket's screw holes with a carpenter pencil or marking pen. Set the bracket aside.
3. Drill a hole on the marks with a masonry bit that's the same diameter as the masonry anchors. Check the anchor package for the drill bit size. Drill the hole slightly deeper than the anchor. Using a small brush or compressed air, clean the brick debris out of the hole.
4. Tap the concrete or masonry anchors into the holes in the brick with a hammer until they are flush with the brick.
5. Position the flag bracket pole over the anchors and secure with the anchor screws. You will need to use a socket wrench or a screwdriver to tighten the mounting screws, depending upon the type of fasteners supplied.
6. Loosen the thumbscrew on the flag pole holder and insert the flag pole. Tighten the thumb screw to secure the flag pole into position.

The BIGGEST TRICK if you are drilling into brick is to make sure you use a HAMMER DRILL versus a regular drill. This will save you over two hours of headaches and broken drill bits....Please wear ear plugs and glasses too. Here's a video that demonstrates how to mount a flag on brick:

Renaissance Development, a leader in brick restoration and historic preservation, specializes in the restoration of a historic brick building’s mortar joints using traditional methods (tuckpointing) and materials. Contact us for a free site visit and project quote.