Hollow walls?

[JennJW]

Hi Guys,

Wanted some opinions. We recently bought a house which has an extension. Outside looking at it, it's breeze block (not yet rendered) and the surveyor said it's standard construction.

I have never had this issue before in any house I've lived in but inside the rooms within the extension they've plasterboarded and left a gap for what I assume is insulation. That's fine but it's making putting curtain poles etc up quite difficult since you drill and within an inch you hit air. Carry on trying to drill through to brick and it feels like you're drilling into metal. I've tried numerous spots around all the windows but there's nothing for the raw plugs and screws to gain purchase on and so the slightest tug and they're ripped out (using the correct plasterboard raw plugs and the longest screws we can, bearing in mind the metal bits behind the plasterboard)

Am I doing something wrong? My father in law (builder) says we need to put wooden batons up first and screw the curtain poles in them. Is that right? How do I attach/screw in the wooden baton when I can't get a simple curtain pole to get purchase? He got a curtain pole up in one of our rooms by shoving wooden blocks into the gap between the breeze block and the plasterboard I don't really know how to replicate this.

Thanks

 

[footprints]

Chances are the "metal bits" are a lintel over the window, usually it extends about 6 to 8 inches either side of the window then you should hit masonry that will take a plug. As dad in law says fit a batten up get a good fix either end and a good splodge of building adhesive on the back of the batten all the way along.

 

[roboughton]

Chances are the "metal bits" are a lintel over the window, usually it extends about 6 to 8 inches either side of the window then you should hit masonry that will take a plug. As dad in law says fit a batten up get a good fix either end and a good splodge of building adhesive on the back of the batten all the way along.

As footprints says.

I had to put oak battens up to pit my curtain poles in my old house that was new build as I had the same issue. It actually looks quite nice if you use a good bit of plained oak and oil.

 

[footprints]

Chances are the "metal bits" are a lintel over the window, usually it extends about 6 to 8 inches either side of the window then you should hit masonry that will take a plug. As dad in law says fit a batten up get a good fix either end and a good splodge of building adhesive on the back of the batten all the way along.

As footprints says.

I had to put oak battens up to pit my curtain poles in my old house that was new build as I had the same issue. It actually looks quite nice if you use a good bit of plained oak and oil.

Yes like roboughton says, either make a feature of it or simply emulsion the same colour as the walls, just blends in then.

 

[endecotp]

There are special fittings that you can use on plasterboard. You might succeed in fitting the curtain pole using them, but otherwise you can use them to secure a batten. Google "plasterboard fittings".

 

[fixo]

I put a batten up for ours and used these to secure it - http://www.drylinepro.com not cheap for what they are but batten/rail are in there solid now

 

[lostinthelight]

There was a lad on Dragons Den that invented plasterboard fixings: http://gripitfixings.co.uk/new-gripit-2015/
litl