Reattach curtain batten

[JohnMcClane]

My kid managed to pull some curtains down. I'd fitted them to a wooden batten that was already in place. It's seems someone thought it would be ok to attach it with the smallest screws they could find and coupled with the mess in the plaster around the screw holes, I'm surprised it stayed up as long as it did.

I had a go with 100mm screws but it seems there is nothing at that depth for the raw plugs to hold into. I then measured the depth until something solid and it's 135mm from the surface of the plaster.

I have a few questions if anyone can help.

What will the solid substance be? Is there a chance it is steel? How will I tell?

I was thinking of getting these in either 180mm or 200mm https://www.toolstation.com/ulti-mate-ii-stick-fit-bzp-screw/p15169. I was going to correct the plaster work, bradawl through the current batten holes ready for drilling and hopefully attach into the solid substance 135mm behind.

Are those screws ok or any other recommendations? What size would be best? Can anyone help with suitable rawplugs and drill bit?

I was looking at getting an sds drill? Is this likely to be useful or would a 12v combi with the correct bit work for this?

Or would I be better off making new holes and possibly even using something like grip-it?




The small screw is what it was held up with. The larger one is what I tried but is still too short. I also tried some m10 135 frame fixing which how I figured out the depth is 135 until solid.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

What will the solid substance be? Is there a chance it is steel? How will I tell?

You can tell by the sound a drill makes and the feel of it, the lack of resistance to a masonry bit, because it will not try to drill steel it will just rotate. The tip might also collect a few metal particles. A bit of steel rod or a long screwdriver poked through and tapped might give you clues as to what it in there.

If it is indeed steel and thin steel, you need to drill a small hole just big enough that your long screw can hopefully act like a self tapper screw. How you go about drill a small hole at 200mm depth, I don't know.

My best guess, is that it is probably an RSJ, an H laid on its side, which explains your 200mm. If it is, you would then need to drill and tap holes into the RSJ. Following on from it being an RSJ, I suspect that surface the your batten was fixed to, was just plasterboard, the plasterboard was likely fixed to short woods in the side of the RSJ....

In which case, take a small pointy screwdriver and make small holes along the location of your batten, where it will be hidden and through the plasterboard. That should help you find those woods and you will probably be able to fix securely to those.

 

[JohnMcClane]

Thanks for that. I will see if can locate wood sections behind the plasterboard. Will there be plasterboard screws I possibly locate using neodymium magnet? If that doesn't work I will try to ascertain if it is steel and if so this YouTube video has useful trick

How thick are RSJ's?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Thanks for that. I will see if can locate wood sections behind the plasterboard. Will there be screw I possibly locate using neodymium magnet? If that doesn't work I will try to ascertain if it is steel and if so this YouTube video has useful trick if it is

Yes, the magnet trick might work. That video was what I was trying to explain, but rather badly, but you would be trying to drill the side of the web of an RSJ 200mm below your plasterboard.

 

[foxhole]

Just glue baton with fixing foam .

 

[JohnMcClane]

Would glue be strong enough? If so can you recommend something. I've seen this done in videos but usually on the horizontal below the below the window, where they can prop some timbers against it to hold it while it sets. I'm not sure how that would work for me.

Just to add I bought some magnets which came today as I was thinking of wall mounting a TV. I just had a play and they work really well for finding buried stud wall screws.

 

[foxhole]

https://www.sealantsandtoolsdirect....MIk4zkltLf4wIVQ7DtCh1GFAjxEAQYBCABEgLIYPD_BwE

Couple of panel pins will hold it while adhesive goes off .