Hanging a curtain on an external dot & dab wall

[JonUK]

Hey, I'm new here and I'm hoping someone can advise me on the best way to hang a curtain rail on a dot & dab wall. Can I...

a) Just use standard rawl plugs and ignore the void between the plasterboard/block?
b) Shell out for something like dryline pro plugs, which seem very expensive and over the top for curtains?
c) Use self-drill plasterboard fixings like these? (Not sure if these will deal with the weight though as they don't anchor into any block)....

Any thoughts/ideas/advice would be fab.

Cheers!

 

[Burnerman]

With dot and dab there shouldn't be any particular gap, so go for rawlplugs that will go through the plasterboard and into the brickwork behind.
John

 

[JonUK]

Hey John,

I had to have a small square cut out of the wall once (long story) but as you can see there's quite a gap because services runs occur in the void. (See below) I'm not sure of the exact void but thinking about it it may be more like 15mm (given the size of a standard copper pipe).

Therefore what size rawlplug do you think would work appropriately for a 1700mm curtain rail? Are standard rawlplugs good enough to bridge the void? Incidentally, do you think these things are a con then? Thanks for your help!

 

[Burnerman]

Those dryline pro's are grand for your situation - but long rawlplugs will do just as well......the secret is not to drill the hole too deep, and not to crush your plasterboard with too much pressure.
That copper pipe looks in a bad way
John

 

[JonUK]

Haha! Yea, Virgin Media drilled into it without checking for pipework first (rookie error). Nice tip, thank you, I thought the dryline pro's were a bit OTT. Maybe if I'm hanging a TV! Last question, do I need to use a timber batten to fix the rail to? Some people have advised that I do this before, but I don't understand why...it won't look as nice!

 

[Burnerman]

Its not too easy to drill holes for rawlplugs close together unless you've had a bit of practice....you can get breakthrough from hole to hole and suchlike.
A wall batten is easier here as the fixings can be spread out, and even helped with a layer of grab adhesive to keep things firm. Curtains can be surprisingly heavy so you dont want the fixings failing.
Of course, just because the brackets have a few holes, you don't need to use them all!
Another tip is to use a small masonry drill first, before using the correct size for the plug. Gluing the plug in does no harm either, if the wall is crumbly.
Have fun!
John

 

[JonUK]

No time like the present! I'll try with a small pilot hole first (I'm not sure if there's a catnic either, so I may end up with a bit of steel to contend with). I'm going to attempt without the batten, and I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for your help John