Curtain Rail Nightmare..HELP

Hi,
I am having a nightmare with the curtain rail in the front room. We have just got the house (1970s build), and there was no curtain in the front room..no probs I thought..BUT when I drilled the holes to put one up the rawl plugs just fell out and the hole was now huge with what appears to be sand falling out, large lumps of plaster came away as well.
How on earth can I get the rail to hold, I am not a DIY king..obviously, and am loath to pay a workman to put up a curtain rail. Would No Nails Work?
There is just metal if I go in further so can't attach to solid wall (as previous posts recommended)
Hope someone can help
Rich

richmclean said:

sand falling out, large lumps of plaster came away as well.

Click to expand...

Welcome to AAM, richmclean; I'm sure someone like will come along and give you more constructive advice. But from what you've said above, my own immediate instinct would be DON'T do any more drilling in the meantime..!

okay I know how you feel -i've been there.What you need are Self Drill Fixings-available in all the DIY places-I was introduced to them by a plumber some years ago who hung double rads using them.You dont even need a drill-although a power or cordless screwdiver is useful.Since I found these I bin most fixings that come with curtain rails.
They come with a screw which you must use .You simply mark the place for hole and drive these fittings into the wall-can be done with a Phillips type screwdriver-but cordless is better-then simply place fittings and secure with the screw.
I have used these many times and they are brilliant.Why manufacturers insist on packing ordinary plastic plugs -when these are available is beyond me.Good luck

2 questions!

How much wall space is there above the window?

How far did you go up above the window?

There is 7½ inches available above window, and the drill holes I made are ~ 3½ and 4 inches

I guess I may need to start again if I use the self drill fixings, as the existing holes will be useless

It may be worth drilling a few test holes at various heights.These can be easily filled aferwards as i dont need to explain.

The other deciding factor is, are you restricted to a certain height by having a pair of curtains made to a certain length(height)?

The self drilling fixings referred to are either Nylon or Metal Easy Drivers. They are commonly used in the trade for fixing light to medium weight fixtures to a plasterboard lining. I still wouldn't rely on them for hanging a pair of heavy curtains so proceed with caution.

Sorry -I disagree-I have used this on all kinds of things since I discovered them-curtain rails-tv brackets-shelving- they are absolutely brilliant and would recommend them without reservation.they will deal with curtain rails without question.As I understand them -the plastic ones are used where there might be a danger of penetrating an electrical cable or piping.
As I originally said I saw a plumber using them to fix heavy double rads some 8 years ago in my house-hardly light to medium weight-and to this day there are rock solid.

Best thing to do with such poor walls is to fix a batten to the wall first, approx 3x1x slightly longer than the rail. This can be done using several fixings and an adhesive like grip fill. Try to use long rawlplug type fixings. Then fit the rail brackets to the batten.

Hi pnh,

My curtain rail has now just fallen down....sigh....

If I went to a DIY place like homebase, would I ask for Self Drill Fixings or Easy Drivers? Is there an brand name?

Any help appraciated.

Thanks,
D8L

by the sound of it you are drilling into a solid wall that has a plaster render on the interior surface, as carpenter pointed out these self drive plugs are only used on plaster board for light to medium fixings and are not intended for use into block walls. bite the bullet and get a professional in to put it right it'll be cheaper in the long run.

I must admit I did make an assumption that what you have is a plasterboard type wall with a hollow gap between plasterboard and brick because these type of fixings are only for that type wall.
You might like to look at www.plasplugs.com under the fixings section-and look for Self drive fixings-you will see there are nylon and metal.
Woodies have Plasplugs products and sell them prepacked-but they also sell them loose-you will find them in one of the bins where they stock all the screws and nails and other fixings.Its a little cheaper to buy them loose-but you are probably not too concerned about that .If you buy them loose make sure you get the screw that goes with them.I think they are around 20c each.

If on the other hand you are dealing with a solid wall these wont do.
Take a look in that case at the fixings for solid walls on the plasplugs site.
Hope this helps

Thanks a million, pnh. Its an old 1930s house & the plaster just crumbles away.

D8L

Ok, I obviously misread your post also- you have solid walls but the plaster (perhaps an old lime plaster?) is giving way and will not support a fixing. You probably need to look at using longer plugs and screws to ensure that you fixing is penetrating deep enough into solid masonry and not relying solely on the weak plaster finish. You should be able to patch up the damaged areas relatively easily with some filler. Try using a Rawlplug plug, 6mm (red) and drill the hole a little longer than usual say 60mm. Blow out the dust thoroughly and using a blunt nail tap the plug fully into the hole- so that the head is countersunk below the surface of the plaster. Years ago the plugs came in long lengths and you simply cut them to suit- don't know if you can still get them like this. Now using a 60mm long screw you should have good purchase in the wall.