Please help!!! Self drill Screw into plasterboard

[miffy999]

Hi,

i am trying to fix a pole on my plasterboard to hang curtain.
I bought some metal self drill screw (Rawlplug metal 3mm) from Screwfix.
I tried to screw in the selfdrill screw today and I end up having 3
holes which are way too big.
When trying to screw in the self drill screw, about halfway the surrounding of hole get damaged and I end up having a hole which is too big.
Does any know why? Is it because of the plasterboard or did I overscrew it?

Please help.

Many thanks

 

[stableroofer]

I presume you are referring to the things that look like pigs tails with a screw in them??
Ideally you want to be fixing through the plasterboard with longer fixings into the solid wall behind it.
If this is not possible and there is room behind the board try using a hollow wall anchor.

 

[miffy999]

i tried these selfdrilling screws.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug-self-drill-plasterboard-fixing-metal-32mm-pack-of-100/81139

does anyone know why the hole are too big after screwing?
As I am using my hand to screw and not an eletric drill,
could that be the problem?

Or could it be that the plasterboard causing these problems,
as it's a new build.

 

[^woody^]

The plug is going part way through the plasterboard, then hitting the wall behind, which then causes it to wobble all over the place and widen the hole.

Those plugs probably won't hold up curtains anyway

 

[noseall]

Agree with Woodbat.

Curtains = window = outside wall = masonry beneath the dabbed plasterboard.

What you need is a 7mm masonry drill and brown plug knocked all the way into the masonry.

You are likely to need a minimum of 75mm long screws.

Something as dynamic and as heavy as curtains would not last long on plasterboard fixings.

 

[stableroofer]

Agree with Woodbat.

Curtains = window = outside wall = masonry beneath the dabbed plasterboard.

What you need is a 7mm masonry drill and brown plug knocked all the way into the masonry.

You are likely to need a minimum of 75mm long screws.

Something as dynamic and as heavy as curtains would not last long on plasterboard fixings.

Not necessarily, a lot of new builds are timber framed these days.

 

[noseall]

Not necessarily, a lot of new builds are timber framed these days.

Er....oh yeah, everything i said except for timber framed fellas.

If it is timber frame then you would be better off fixing a planed timber batten to the uprights then fix the pole to the batten.

 

[pinenot]

Yea! if you can tell us if the wall is a timber frame or strapped or dot dabbed wallboard and how much of a gap between the back of the wallboard if the later...pinenot

 

[miffy999]

thanks for all the replies. wall os timberframe.

 

[RF Lighting]

It sounds like you're trying to screw the plasterboard fixing into a joist. You should be abe to screw the curtain pole stright through the plasterboard into the wooden joist with just a normal wood screw. Make sure it goes into the wall about 1 1/2 inches. No plugs / special fixings are required.

 

[noseall]

As said, if you are lucky enough that all the pole brackets fall on an upright or horizontal stud then crack on and screw direct into these.

If not, do as i stated and fix a horizontal planed batten (i like to bevel the edges too) Into any uprights that you find. If you locate the batten in the desired position, draw around it, then you can probe away within the parameters of the line without worrying about holes in the plasterboard.

We have in the past actually had to remove the plasterboard completely to the exact shape of the batten so that the batten sits tight against the timber frame.

 

[pinenot]

It will help if you let us know what kind of curtain pole you're trying to fix up.
For instance: are the fixing brackets movable along the back of the track - or indeed is it a wooden pole where the fixing brackets are infinitely movable ??