Tried a new wireless sensor adhesive on a brick wall and it held for a month

I was installing a system in a converted warehouse loft last month and the owner didn't want any new holes in the brick. I used a new high-strength outdoor mounting tape instead of my usual anchors. To my surprise, the sensor stayed put through a bunch of rain and wind for a full 30 days before I came back for the final check. I'm still a bit nervous about long-term reliability, but it worked better than I expected. Has anyone else found a tape or adhesive that actually holds up for a year or more on rough surfaces?

3 comments

3 Comments

harris.uma2d ago

Hold on, I gotta push back a little here. I get where you’re coming from with the bandaid joke, but a month on a rough, porous surface through actual rain and wind is pretty solid for tape. A lot of adhesives just peel off brick in a week because the texture gives them nothing to grab onto. And that cold weather brittleness thing is a real factor, sure, but not all tape is created equal. The new high-strength stuff uses acrylic foam that stays flexible in freezing temps instead of turning into glass. I’ve had a client’s mailbox flag held on with a similar product for two years now, through snow and sun, and it’s still tight. So I think write off tape completely because of one bad experience. The tech is genuinely getting better.

thompson.brian2mo ago

Seriously, a month? That's your big win? I've had bandaids stick longer than that. You're talking about a sensor on an outside wall, through seasons. What about when it gets really cold and the adhesive turns brittle, or a hot week makes it gooey? One good storm and that thing is in the neighbor's yard.

the_sean2mo ago

My uncle tried to mount a security camera with that heavy duty outdoor tape back in 2019. Made it almost to Thanksgiving before a sleet storm slid the whole unit down the siding, cable and all. It was hanging by the wires like a weird tech piñata. You're right to be skeptical, thompson.brian, because that adhesive promise never seems to hold up to a real winter.