Curtain rail wall plugs are out

[parakeet]

Okay, here is a question with a view to being lazy...

I have three curtain connected rails in a Victorian terraced bay window (tall).
Installing, in 2013, was... a learning curve... hitting all sorts of hard stuff... lintel of concrete and steel, I'd say. It was like a journey to the centre of the Earth.

Fast-forward to 2022, and most plugs are coming out.

I think the options for fix are...

1. Use same holes, bigger and better plugs.
2. Drill new holes, avoid the steel bit of the lintel
3. Drill new holes, avoid the lintel altogether
4. Wooden batten for extra stability - secure to wall and the batten.
5. There's this weird online article where she glues a batten to the wall (!) - but I expect it is a lightweight rail and lightweight curtains.

Anyway, in my four walls, someone raised a lazy option of which I'm dubious...

6. Re-establish the rawl plugs in-situ by caking the hole with something like GripFill Xtra (I mean, if it will stick a brick to a wall!).

Personally, I'm suspicious this could work to provide the stability necessary.

Any thoughts?
Thanks.

 

[RandomGrinch]

lintel of concrete and steel, I'd say

Are you sure?
The lintels in Victorian properties are often internally wooden, with an external brick arch, or stonework.
If you went into the wooden lintel with a masonry bit, it might feel like steel or concrete, because the bit just won't penetrate.

 

[parakeet]

Are you sure?
The lintels in Victorian properties are often internally wooden, with an external brick arch, or stonework.
If you went into the wooden lintel with a masonry bit, it might feel like steel or concrete, because the bit just won't penetrate.

Okay, good point ... then maybe I'm not sure... something very hard.

 

[RandomGrinch]

Okay, good point ... then maybe I'm not sure... something very hard.

Experimentally, you could try screwing in a long screw and see if it bites into the hard material.
Hopefully you find a nice wooden lintel to screw directly into!

 

[opps]

You have used "easy drive" fittings. they are designed for plaster board, that said, image number 1 looks like plasterboard (I can see the paper).

I suspect that you have dot and dab plasterboard. You need fittings that have a sleeve that will go through the dot and dab and support the fitting through the void. CoreFix is good but expensive.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Okay, good point ... then maybe I'm not sure... something very hard.

Could also be stone. Quite common in Lancs and Yorks

Instead off the "curly whirly" type of plasterboard fixings you could always use "umbrella" fastenings (aka easyfix hollow wall fastenings) if the void is deep enough. If you do go that way I'd recommend buying a big name brand such as Rawl or Fischer - they really are better quality.

It is also always worth fixing a timber lath to the plasterboard then attaching rails to that. This allows you to use multiple fixings to secure the lath as well as grip adhesive the lath onto the wall for extra support

 

[foxhole]

Okay, here is a question with a view to being lazy...

I have three curtain connected rails in a Victorian terraced bay window (tall).
Installing, in 2013, was... a learning curve... hitting all sorts of hard stuff... lintel of concrete and steel, I'd say. It was like a journey to the centre of the Earth.

Fast-forward to 2022, and most plugs are coming out.

I think the options for fix are...

1. Use same holes, bigger and better plugs.
2. Drill new holes, avoid the steel bit of the lintel
3. Drill new holes, avoid the lintel altogether
4. Wooden batten for extra stability - secure to wall and the batten.
5. There's this weird online article where she glues a batten to the wall (!) - but I expect it is a lightweight rail and lightweight curtains.

Anyway, in my four walls, someone raised a lazy option of which I'm dubious...

6. Re-establish the rawl plugs in-situ by caking the hole with something like GripFill Xtra (I mean, if it will stick a brick to a wall!).

Personally, I'm suspicious this could work to provide the stability necessary.

Any thoughts?
Thanks.

View attachment 284997
View attachment 284998

You did not mention plasterboard if that’s the case you used wrong wall plugs and will need to replace all .

 

[JohnD]

How deep did you drill? How long are the fixings?

(I can see that in both cases the short answer is "not enough" but what is the measurement?)

 

[cwhaley]

I had a similar problem in my newer 1947 house. It seems the area above the front bay window was a pepper pot of previous holes from years of curtain rails! I screwed and glued lengths of 3" pine (painted white), and fixed the rail brackets into this. Doing that meant I didn't have to worry where I found a secure fixing for the rail.

 

[parakeet]

Thanks, all, for the replies. I had no memory of them being plasterboard fittings. I'd tried to wipe the install from my memory, actually.

I think maybe using plugs that are a) fatter and b) appropriate would probably be the least-intensive option.

 

[JohnD]

I think maybe using plugs that are a) fatter and b) appropriate would probably be the least-intensive option.

Longer.

 

[Wayners]

People tug end brackets naturally so you need really good fixing..

Go deeper to something solid or polymer grab sick wood along with couple of screws just to hold until stuck

 

[parakeet]

There may have been some method in my madness using a plasterboard plug those years ago...

- The top surface is some kind of board, depth of maybe 2cm.
- Behind that is a space.
- Behind that is some bona fide kind of more solid surface, which the screw never went into.

So my wall plug was only ever held in through the depth of that board, and not the maybe-3cm behind it before the real wall. Otherwise, it's a bit cavernous. Probably the board is propped out from the real wall surface behind by some struts at either end.

For some of these holes, the diameter of the holw we drilled is pretty wide, about 1.5cm.

What should I do? I'm thinking...

- Some kind of piped/aersol fillter on a nosel/tube, filling the hole and a bit of the surrounding area? Then get a new plasterboard fixing into the dried filler?

- Some kind of winged plasterboard plug contraption that would pull back against the top board? Sounds elaborate. Only about 3cm depth for it to open out in - not as if it has the depth of an actual stud wall. These come in all sorts of exotic shapes, right? I've previously used a couple o different types but which were deeper because I had more depth to play with...

Something like...

Fischer Plasterboard Plugs HDF 10mm x 28mm 100 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. High quality polyamide construction, making it very elastic and age-resistant. Suitable for pre-positioned installation. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

GripIt - but in the correct dimensions

GripIt Plasterboard Fixings 18mm x 205mm 25 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Wings create a vice-like grip on the back of the plasterboard and distribute weight more effectively than conventional plugs or fixings. No need for additional noggings, battens or stud wall modifications. Ideal for shelves, heavy picture frames and mirrors. FREE...

www.screwfix.com

Plasplugs Heavy Duty Plasterboard Fixings 10mm x 36mm 30 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Heavy Duty fixings for use in hollow walls. Includes drill and screw gauge. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Or maybe a Rawlplug Interset type fixing? They hold better than the plastic plugs and don't require a special large drill bit like the GripIts do. If you are doing a lot they are best installed with a setting tool

 

[parakeet]

Or maybe a Rawlplug Interset type fixing? They hold better than the plastic plugs and don't require a special large drill bit like the GripIts do. If you are doing a lot they are best installed with a setting tool

I've used similar before in a proper plasterboard wall - nice and strong.
But I think the space I've got to work with is all of 3cm deep and, with what product apparently 38mm deep, I think it's probably too long.
Also, I suspect that my hole is wide enough that there'd be nothing to anchor those front-side teeth into.