how to fix a wide curtain pole

[stuarta]

I've got an 18ft window which holds 2 pairs of curtains and 18ft pole. It's currently secured to the wall via 2 wood battens but the right hand one is coming loose.

Any recommendations for the best grab adhesive out there to hold this weight? Looking at Screwfix it looks like lots of options such as Evostick stick like sh**, a Gorilla one, Elastic grip fill which says where resistance is needed,

 

[HERTS P&D]

Longer screws.

Andy

 

[Deleted member 174758]

To hold the weight that you are talking about you really need mechanical fixings i.e screws, as Andy says. So take the screws out and one by one redrill the holes for longer screws (you'll need new plugs). By all means use GripFill or similar to help hold the batten in place, but on its' own it won't hold the weight.

 

[stuarta]

Ok thanks, although it's not screwed at the moment, assume because of the lintel.

 

[motorbiking]

just use a small pilot drill bit and work up. 3mm 5mm etc.

 

[JohnD]

pretty sure you will have a steel lintel for such a wide window, but a pic of the wall above the window on the outside will give more clues. if it is a single-storey extension it might possibly be wood.

To drill steel (once you are through the plaster) you will need HSS drills (usually black), not masonry drills (usually silver) as used in brick. Small sizes are easily broken (you will find) but you can buy multiples in a single size by mail order. the advantage of a pilot hole in this position is that the drill will otherwise tend to wander as it is hand-held and you are working at head height. Do NOT use hammer action on your drill.

there are specialist drills for hard plate steel that will be quicker but I doubt you need them.

screws into plaster will not carry any weight as it has no strength.

you ought to use self-tapping screws into the holes in a steel lintel. it is possible to get by with an oversize hole and a plasplug tapped into it.

with such a long window I would put a fixing at each end of the pole or track, and one every metre along the gap. then you will not get sagging even if you later fit a heavy curtain. Large diameter metal poles are the strongest and you might get by with one at each end and one in the middle, but plastic tracks can sag. the pole or track will extend beyond the width of the window and the ends must be supported

If the ceiling is high, you can drill into the brickwork above the lintel, which is probably about 250mm depth. this will be easier. check standard drop sizes of curtains first.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

there are specialist drills for hard plate steel that will be quicker but I doubt you need them.

The only thing I can add to John's detailed response is that with so much steel used in lintels (RSJs, etc) being made from electro arc steel (i.e. high recycled content) I've found it necessary to use M42 HSS drills, often sold as Cobalt HSS, HSS-G, etc, as opposed to ordinary HSS whichg is the softer M2 grade and won't touch harder steel RSJs

 

[JohnD]

ah, thanks.

 

[stuarta]

Just taken a closer look and I can see there are 3 screws holding up the almost 3m piece of batten. The middle one is just turning and although it feels tight, as soon as I put weight on it, it comes away again. So I guess either the screws are screwed, I need longer or just more