Curtain rail disaster - DIY fail

quad_red

My DIY skills have take a bit of a blow today. Finally bought curtains for the first Christmas in our new house. Had to mount a curtain rail - and made a prize balls of it.

I thought it was plasterboard on brick.

But what it is is plasterboard (around 1.5cm), cavity (maybe 2.5cm) and then brick.

I used a masonry drill with drill bit over a cm longer than the rawl plug. But no matter what I did I couldn't get the rawl plug flush to the plasterboard. It always (obviously) went through the plasterboard and cavity but would go flush into the brick.

Anyone any advice of what to do here?

Even if all went well, only a cm of the rawl plug would've gone into the brick. Not allot really. I tried to expand the hole in the brick but only succeeded in expanding the hole in the plasterboard so now there's a cm wide hole.

I clearly have the wrong fittings for the job. A friend recommended I use the butterfly plasterboard mountings I've used before to hand pictures but I'm worried the plasterboard ain't enough to hold a curtain rail.

There's no way I'll get anyone to do it before Christmas -

Help!! :I

What am I going to do? Is this area of the plasterboard now off limits cos I've ballsed it?

What sort of screws/ rawl plugs/ drill bits do I need?

Thanks and merry Christmas!
Quad

SK76

Hi

There are steel plasterboard screws in a kind of cone shape. You screw them into plasterboard - no need for drill if my memory serves me right. They will hold up curtains. Get them at all major DIY shops. Actually easier than screws etc. Take your time turning in the screws, the plaster can push out and crack paint

cheif kaiser

Use wall plug strips (http://www.cspservices.co.uk/wall-plug-strips-12-3197-p.asp) and just trim to the correct length so they are flush with plasterboard and use screws long enough to get a good bite into the brickwork. I wouldn't trust curtains and rail to be supported by plasterboard only.

SK76

My walls have plasterboard insulation in inside of all outer walls. Have 3 sets of curtains up as described above.

myIdea

All the major Home and DIY stores are open today... pop out and get some 5-6 inch 4-5 millimeter thick screws with wall plugs ( 6-8 millimeter pack maybe )

From brick to the inside of your room (plasterboard) could be anything up to 2 and 1/2 inches in spots, you would want at least 1 & 1/2 - 2 inches in to the brick for a good strong hold and the thicker the screw the better, which will avoid bending when the full weight of the bar and curtains are on.

NOTE: make sure that the screws you buy will fit through whatever it is you have to fix to the wall(plasterboard) and don't forget to make sure you have a drill bit to match

CBYR1983

The plasterboard has been stuck to the wall with blobs of adhesive has it? No insulation behind? If you can find blobs use them. If not, the metal interset plasterboard fixings are the only thing that work for me when I'm putting heavy weight on plasterboard.

martinr5232

Go and get yourself some frame fixers and a good long drill bit dont even attempt to put up a curtain pole with anything else or your going to have trouble.

quad_red

Hi folks,

In case any other DIY retards come across this thread and want to know what a fellow retard did...

6mm frame fixers and an absolute donkey dong of a drill bit. 'Twas straight forward then. I was making life hard for myself.

Cheers for all the advice and support lads and happy Christmas!!

Quad

martinr5232

quad_red wrote: »

Hi folks,

In case any other DIY retards come across this thread and want to know what a fellow retard did...

6mm frame fixers and an absolute donkey dong of a drill bit. 'Twas straight forward then. I was making life hard for myself.

Cheers for all the advice and support lads and happy Christmas!!

Quad

That was quick :-)

Pinch Flat

Plasterboard screws (like rawl) will work in the short term, but the screws will eventually work free leaving you with nice big holes you have to fill. Have learned this lesson myself the hard way.

Here's what I do - first, get yourself some long screws (75-100mm). Drill the plasterboard and into the wall at the back - you'll need a long bit. Then, get the raw plug, put it on the end of the screw and gently knock this into the hole you've created. With draw the screw - you'll have created one fixing point. Repeat for a second. You will want to do at least 2 of these per fixing point. Out the long screws through the circular fixing bracket, screw home and hey presto - curtain rails that will be firm.

dp639

Glad to hear you got sorted, and martinr5232 is total correct, frame fixings are only thing to use for this type of job. All those suggested raw plugs, butterfly, cones, etc, will only last a while and eventually the curtain rail will come down.

I use 7 or 8 inch fixings, as we have a 3-4 inch of insulation between the plasterboard and the block, you could swing of the curtain rail and it won't move.

Something like this http://www.tooled-up.com/product/rawl-10mm-dia-x-200mm-pozi-drive-countersunk-frame-fixing-pack-of-25/150982/