Fitting Roller Blinds & Curtain poles

[stevec59]

Hi,
I am moving into my newly built house in just over a week (yipee), I already have a house, so have some DIY knowledge (limited).So my questions are:-

Roller Blinds, I am looking to fit these inside the windows, the windows are UPVC Double glazed, do i fix the bracket to the white plastic or do I fir them to the wall? My guess is that the walls will be plasterboard for the internal wall (External will is brick), so I guess I will need a plasterboard fixing, I guess the self drive drywall fixings?

Curtain Poles.
I plan to have wooden curtain poles external to the window, so again i guess I need same fixing,the question is, do I need to be careful where I drill the hole \ Fix these, will a new house have a lintel? If so I guess I need to go a certain height to ensure I miss it?

Many Thanks


Steve

 

[foxhole]

Fixing depends on what you find when fitting, I useually start with a fine hss bit, this will pop thru plasterboard without damage and if it hits metal that can be drilled easily then you will be able to use a self tapper straight in without any plugs, you will also know how deep any void is behind plasterboard as some of the screw in plasterboard plugs need at least 35mm , if you hit the background before the plug is screwed all the way in you will just rip a large hole in plasterboard.If you hit timber then there will be sawdust in the tip of drill bit.
Sometimes gluing and screwing a timber baton to face of window reveal will make fixing curtain poles easier.[but not everyone likes the look].

 

[stevec59]

Thanks for that, I guess I will find out when I try, I have used the lf drive drywall fixings before and the head of them are quite big (might not be covered by the roller blind bracket) unless they do them in different sizes no?

Steve

 

[foxhole]

Wickes do two sizes of nylon plasterboard fixing.

 

[stevec59]

Thanks, I might get my Poles from Wickes (there prices are fairly good), I have some stuff to return that I don't have a receipt for and they usually allow you to exchange goods if you don't have a receipt, so sort of makes sense to get it all from there.

Steve

 

[mikeyd]

For the roller blinds don't fix them to the UPVC. Instead screw them up to the top of the window reveal (far enough away from the window so the blind misses the handles on its way down). You might find a metal catnic type lintel with plasterboard fixed to it so you will need to pilot a hole with a metal drill bit and then use self-tapper screws

 

[foxhole]

For the roller blinds don't fix them to the UPVC. Instead screw them up to the top of the window reveal (far enough away from the window so the blind misses the handles on its way down). You might find a metal catnic type lintel with plasterboard fixed to it so you will need to pilot a hole with a metal drill bit and then use self-tapper screws

Déjà vu

 

[mikeyd]

Déjà vu

I can't see any other replies answering the first question which asked if the blinds should be screwed to the UPVC windows or not.

I assumed you were referring to curtain poles, sorry for trying to help.

Sometimes gluing and screwing a timber baton to face of window reveal will make fixing curtain poles easier.[but not everyone likes the look].

 

[foxhole]

Déjà vu

I can't see any other replies answering the first question which asked if the blinds should be screwed to the UPVC windows or not.

I assumed you were referring to curtain poles, sorry for trying to help.

Sometimes gluing and screwing a timber baton to face of window reveal will make fixing curtain poles easier.[but not everyone likes the look].

Chill

 

[mikeyd]

Chill

Yeah, sorry. Been a long week. Good idea, the wine is in the fridge chilling now.

 

[stevec59]

For the roller blinds don't fix them to the UPVC. Instead screw them up to the top of the window reveal (far enough away from the window so the blind misses the handles on its way down). You might find a metal catnic type lintel with plasterboard fixed to it so you will need to pilot a hole with a metal drill bit and then use self-tapper screws

Thanks Mikeyd, I guess I shouldn't fix the the UPVC (as you say) because
1) It might not be a very good fixing
2) If I decide to remove the roller blinds at a later date it will obviously leave holes in the UPVC - not a good idea.

Why screw them up to the top of the window reveal, rather than the left & right? just curious..

Steve

 

[mikeyd]

I was going to say because the holes in the brackets are always at 90 degrees to the blind. But I've just had a look at some of mine and there are some unused holes to allow fitting to the window sides.
They would have had to be ordered exactly the right width to fix them to the sides. I've got a couple of mm gap at either end of mine.

 

[stevec59]

thanks mikeyd and of course foxhole for your help & answers

 

[Jimbo1978]

The vital thing that no-one has thought of

How deep is the window casing, which way do your windows open and if they come inward then how far?

I worked for a large blind company called Hillarys and we were trained to survey before fitting even though the sales agent may already have done this for us. If your window casings arent deep and you are putting curtains up with the blinds then they may interfere with each other if you fit them to the facing wall above the window. We would fit up to 8ft verticals, romans and rollers on the upvc and they were fine. The secret is to mark your bracket holes, pilot them then pop a small amount of liquid nails in the hole. When this set it acted like a big washer on the back of the upvc thus spreading the weight a little more. If you take the blinds down fill the holes with white silicone and they hide very well

Remember if you face fit rather than flush fit and you have no curtains the you will get big gaps down the side.

Chers

Jim

 

[stevec59]

Thanks..Will keep that in mind