Hi all!
First up, I am the Frank Spencer of DIY. If it can go wrong, it will. Please bear with me and accept my apologies in advance for any misuse of terminology (or tools).
So, we've just had the living room redecorated and the chap, against our wishes, has filled, sanded and painted over the screw holes where we had brackets for our window blinds affixed. Can't for the life of me see where they used to be.
Confident that this was one task I could easily accomplish myself, I measured up for the brackets and marked drill points across the top of the window bay. All good so far.
When I drilled the first of the second pair of holes, the drill hit something that it wouldn't go through. I had a look with the head torch and saw that I'd hit something metal. Changed drill bit and drilled on through about 0.5mm of metal and ended up with a raggedy but workable hole. Drilled the next hole, which must have been very close to the original hole as a whole chunk of plaster, filler and old wall plug came tumbling out. I'm now terrified to go any further as:
1. I've no idea what the metal thing is that I hit. It seems to run the length of the bay but is very thin - possibly a hollow metal support? Is it safe / advisable for me to drill on through it for the remaining blind brackets? It's a wide window and we have 3 blinds for it, meaning 6 brackets. I assume that's what the previous owners did when they put the blinds up orginially, but like I say I have no way of finding the existing holes to re-drill them.
2. Having encountered the old hole, there's now a big chunk out of the plaster. Can I fill, drill again and support the brackets safely?
I can't reposition the brackets as they have to be pretty much in a set position due to the size of the blinds.
Any thoughts on the best way to get my stupid blinds back up how they were?
Thanking you in advance!
First up, I am the Frank Spencer of DIY. If it can go wrong, it will. Please bear with me and accept my apologies in advance for any misuse of terminology (or tools).
So, we've just had the living room redecorated and the chap, against our wishes, has filled, sanded and painted over the screw holes where we had brackets for our window blinds affixed. Can't for the life of me see where they used to be.
Confident that this was one task I could easily accomplish myself, I measured up for the brackets and marked drill points across the top of the window bay. All good so far.
When I drilled the first of the second pair of holes, the drill hit something that it wouldn't go through. I had a look with the head torch and saw that I'd hit something metal. Changed drill bit and drilled on through about 0.5mm of metal and ended up with a raggedy but workable hole. Drilled the next hole, which must have been very close to the original hole as a whole chunk of plaster, filler and old wall plug came tumbling out. I'm now terrified to go any further as:
1. I've no idea what the metal thing is that I hit. It seems to run the length of the bay but is very thin - possibly a hollow metal support? Is it safe / advisable for me to drill on through it for the remaining blind brackets? It's a wide window and we have 3 blinds for it, meaning 6 brackets. I assume that's what the previous owners did when they put the blinds up orginially, but like I say I have no way of finding the existing holes to re-drill them.
2. Having encountered the old hole, there's now a big chunk out of the plaster. Can I fill, drill again and support the brackets safely?
I can't reposition the brackets as they have to be pretty much in a set position due to the size of the blinds.
Any thoughts on the best way to get my stupid blinds back up how they were?
Thanking you in advance!
