Fitting a Curtain Pole

[Georgie73]

Hello

I have been having trouble fitting a wooden curtain pole above patio doors. Finally got the pole up but a week later the fixings have come out of the wall and the poll fallen down.

I used the screws and raw plug that came with the pole. There is a lintel above the patio doors.

I'm thinking of trying again with a bigger longer screw. Can I drill into the lintel? If so, what sort of drill bit should I use?

Any tips on how to do this job correctly are welcome!

Thanks
Georgie

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

What type of wall surface is it? (Plaster rendered, plasterboard dry-lined)
As there could be a void/gap between the decorative wall surface and the surface beneath it, and different fixing maybe best used. Such as hollow wall anchors.
Also what is the lintel made of, they can be drilled but depending on the material, would dictate the drill bit type used. Some are stone/concrete or metallic or even wood.

 

[Georgie73]

What type of wall surface is it? (Plaster rendered, plasterboard dry-lined)
As there could be a void/gap between the decorative wall surface and the surface beneath it, and different fixing maybe best used. Such as hollow wall anchors.
Also what is the lintel made of, they can be drilled but depending on the material, would dictate the drill bit type used. Some are stone/concrete or metallic or even wood.

Thank you. The wall surface is plastered rendered. We have no idea what the lintel is made of. The patio doors are very old metal framed sliding doors. I'd say the lintel is definitely not wood because we hit the lintel but the drill bit didn't penetrate it.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I would try a masonry bit firstly, 7mm bit for brown plugs.

 

[London Mike 49]

The easiest way to drill if it's a concrete lintel, is to use a SDS drill as it will go through like butter.

Mike

 

[Nige F]

As the guys have said could be concrete or metal - any idea of the age of the house ?

 

[Georgie73]

As the guys have said could be concrete or metal - any idea of the age of the house ?

We used an SDS drill. The house was built about 1948. My husband suspects that the lintel could be concrete as he said dust was coming out when drilling (but I guess that could be the plaster).

We probably used the wrong drill bit. What is the best drill bit to get. Also, the curtains are heavy. We need to know what screw length and which colour rawl plug.

 

[London Mike 49]

Use a 7mm drill bit and a brown plastic plug and at least a 40mm No10 screw because when the plug is fully in the concrete lintel, there will be at least 10mm of plaster for the screw to go through before it gets a good fixing in the lintel.
If a No10 screw is too thick for the holes in the brackets ( try before you drill the holes) then use a 6mm drill bit with a red plastic plug.

Good luck
Mike

 

[Georgie73]

Use a 7mm drill bit and a brown plastic plug and at least a 40mm No10 screw because when the plug is fully in the concrete lintel, there will be at least 10mm of plaster for the screw to go through before it gets a good fixing in the lintel.
If a No10 screw is too thick for the holes in the brackets ( try before you drill the holes) then use a 6mm drill bit with a red plastic plug.

Good luck
Mike

Thank you. Appreciated.

 

[foxhole]

Difficult to predict screw length until you have drilled the hole, could be 40mm or more of crumbling material before you hit anything solid enough to take a screw.