Cutting/shaving house brick

[gsr121]

Hi all
To install a EV charger, we need to run the cable behind a gutter pipe. The installer have advised they will need to shave a little bit of the brick away to fit the 16mm cable.

Are there any drawbacks in doing this e.g. will it weaken the brick or make it at risk of ‘absorbing’ the elements? I have read that I can buy some brick sealant.

Advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
G.

[LHRFlightman]

Or a couple of these fitted to the pipe to take it away from the wall and make the gap?

[Mr Pointy]

Run the cable along one of the widest horizontal mortar lines & just chisel a bit of the mortar out behind the downpipe to sink the cable slightly into the mortar line.

[wolfracesonic]

How much extra clearance do you need? You can buy spacers that go behind the rwp brackets to give a bit more stand off.

[bennno]

Mr Pointy said:

Run the cable along one of the widest horizontal mortar lines & just chisel a bit of the mortar out behind the downpipe to sink the cable slightly into the mortar line.

thats the easiest answer.

[gsr121]

Thanks all, some good suggestions.

[Fatboy]

16mm SWA is only about 25mm diameter - I would just loosen the screws holding the downpipe in place, put a bit of 25-30mm wood where you want to run the cable behind the pipe and then heat the down pipe on the wall side with a heat gun to soften it then tighten the downpipe bracket screws back against the wall so the downpipee moulds round the wood. It won't be much of a dent so is very unlikely to impact the flow in the downpipe...
Remove the wood and you have clearance for the cable without hacking into the brickwork...

[119]

We have a hefty cable running similarly and the guys used their long drill to shave some out of the horizontal mortar line.

Wished I’d thought of that tbh.