Drilling into plasterboard (curtain rail)

[DIWhine]

Hi, my curtain rail has come off the wall along with the raw plugs that were in there.

The wall sounds quite hollow and the gap that's been left behind is crumbly.

I want to drill new holes into it to secure the curtain rail back on to the wall, but it doesn't look like there's much to drill in to.

Could i fill the hole with something that I could then drill into?

I've attached a few pics.

Thank you.

 

[JohnD]

it looks to me like plasterboard (thick tough paper skin on a thin sheet of plaster, about 10mm thick in total.

What's behind it? A gap is usual. Behind the gap might be grey lightweight concrete blocks; or bricks, or maybe a dense concrete lintel. You might be able to find vertical and horizontal wooden studwork, which is much better to screw to, through the plasterboard. With practice you can detect them by eye, or fingertip, or by tapping and listening for a more solid knock, or by using a wire coathanger poked sideways through the hole.

How old is your house?

 

[DIWhine]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I'd say the house is Victorian (2 up, 2 down terraced).

I'm not sure what's behind it. I'll get a coat hanger and have a poke around to see if there's anything solid.

 

[JohnD]

If it's Victorian, the plasterboard might have been stuck on the wall with blobs of plaster(dot and dab) so you can drill through and into the bricks behind, and fix your pole using rather long screws, that will go through the bracket, through the plasterboard, through the old plaster, and into the brick by at least an inch.

You will need a hammer drill and a masonry bit.

 

[DIWhine]

Thanks very much!

 

[foxhole]

Could be heavy lining paper over loose plaster in which case you need to repair before any fixing can be used .