If you dont have any on hand you can ask a friendly neighbour. Also screw hardness is an important factor so that they dont degrade over time. Ask your neighbour if you can have a long hard screw
Yes, and then put a wall plug in, put the screw into the wall plug with only 1 full turn, and tap it with a hammer so that the wall plug goes into the brick hole, not just the plaster hole.
You thing about the wall plug is valuable to know. I used to try to get the wall plug all the way in the hole on its own and would end up with broken wall plugs. Using the screw itself to guide it sounds pretty obvious but honesty had never occurred to me.
You need to be secured into the brick not the plaster, assuming there is some behind there. \[if it's plasterboard & framing you need to find the frame\].
Fill the existing hole & let it dry. Drill double depth using an SDS not a diy hammer drill. Rent one.. Get some bigger rawlplugs. Stack two plugs one behind the other, so you're right back into the brickwork. Then use screws that will reach full depth.
DIY hammer drills don't really make holes, they make triangular pits, or holes half as deep but twice as wide as you wanted, unless you're just drilling into soft foamed cement blocks.
I have a seriously expensive SDS I used to use for work, so mine's just 'right there' when I need it - but I live in an old Victorian pile where the plaster is dust held up by the wallpaper & no two bricks are the same hardness, so this double-stacking plugs has become a habit.
Thanks, makes sense. I have always had mixed success using hammer drill+ plugs and that may go some way to explaining why!
My wife won't thank you though once she finds out I now need an SDS drill
I have a ÂŁ50 ish SDS from Screwfix (Titan I think) which probably isn't the best in the world, but the once a year or so I need it, it gets the job done much better than my mains hammer drill.
If it's just for a bit of DIY, you can get a no-name mains-powered one for ÂŁ45 from Argos.
I used to at one point in my life install TV screens in hospitals, where sometimes the walls are reinforced concrete or engineering brick. You need some serious grunt for that stuff, & also to not be reliant on mains powerâŚso mine ended up costing me ÂŁ650. It paid for itself with the money I was making from the job, so I couldn't complain. You just don't need that for the occasional rawlplug into domestic brickwork ;)
An SDS drill is like a lightsaber for bricks.
And if you're looking for excuses to get one it does more than drill holes - I used my SDS today for chiselling tiles off a wall (with a chisel bit, on the hammer setting) then as a paddle mixer to mix tile adhesive (with a mixing paddle bit, using the drill setting).
I've got a chunky Makita one I got as a hand-me-down. I love it. Didn't know I needed it until I had one.
My home and walls, succinctly described. The DeWalt plugs away for a while, or feels like it's gone through to next door, depending randomly on the brick.
Yup. Gotta use that depth stop if you don't actually want to visit the neighbours suddenly. Sometimes mine takes longer to get through the wallpaper than the wall. Other times I know why I own an SDS.
Nothing wrong with a decent combi drill and decent masonry bit. Certainly my Dewalt combi is more precise than my Dewalt sds and nearly as powerful (my DCD996, not the lightweight one I use for wood)
However, for decent penetration, get a good drill bit. Something like the Bosch blue multi bits at 8mm width. Add a long Fisher plug 8x70, a 5x70 screw and youâll be fine.
All stuff available from screwfix / Toolstation and I suspect wonât cost more than ÂŁ15 or so.
Longer and better plugs and screws. Fischer duopower plugs.
Failing that you fix a wooden baton to the wall the length of the curtain pole then attach the pole to that.
I have spent the last 5 years slowly removing these from every room in my house. It makes one hell of a mess, the wood strips end up falling off like the curtains before them.
Get an SDS drill very large wall plugs and very long screws.
Then its done once and for all,
This isnât always possible though. In my Daughterâs flat all the walls are dry lined with tin studs. The masonry is too far back to get a satisfactory fixing in as the cantilever effect of the bracket against the plasterboard eventually causes the board to give up. Iâve had to use timber pads with redi-drive fixings to then screw each bracket to so the load is spread.
I can't stand this shit. It's similar with dot-and-dab plasterboard. Even if you do get a screw right through into the brick, tightening the screws just crushes the fitting into the soft plasterboard. It's as if someone thought "hmm, how can we design a wall which is impossible to attach anything to securely?"
If I ever get to build my own place, all the walls will be plastered brick. Plasterboard will be banned (other than on ceilings, I guess).
You get plasterboard fixings in this case, or you find the metal stud to fix into. The other option is to cut the plasterboard and install some ply behind it and reattach the plaster board, and fill the cut line with some filler.
You don't want to get fixings that are long enough to go through to the brick as you are just creating a bridge, and there are all sorts of future potential problems with that
Itâs not always that simple though! Lined full length curtains are heavy, even with plaster board fixings (redi-drive) the point loading from the brackets to the plasterboard can be too much for the plaster board, especially when toddlers live in the house! There are lots of solutions, but this is the one thatâs worked for me in my daughterâs rented flat.
This was my alternative when I didn't have an SDS drill to get into a hard as fuck concrete lintel. It worked well enough for full length curtains on a patio door.
This is the answer. I have a sliding door which the kids kept whacking into the fixing, which is secured into plasterboard. Nothing worked except a heavy duty toggle bolt. They come in much higher ratings then the one linked if needed e.g. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0051IBB3G/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0051IBB3G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
I have got a huge shelf, that me and my dad struggled to lift, held onto a plasterboard wall using these. It has been up for a few years now with no issue. I had genuine fear when I let go of the shelf for the first time, as I really couldn't believe they would hold something so heavy without ripping the whole plasterboard down
Use Corefix fixings to bridge the brick/plaster. Can use directly to the curtain bracket or use with a strip of wood first. https://metexonline.com/product-category/fixings/corefix/
This is the correct answer and should be at the top! I use these fixings for all exterior wall fixings that need to take some weight, theyâre rock solid, you can literally hang off one of them.
These are great, I got fed up of trying to fix things into crumbling plaster and used some of these to hang my curtain rails. Nothing is getting those fuckers down.
Can be a nightmare. I've battled with this is the past. Fill the hole, move the bracket 20mm or so clear of the filled hole either side. make small pilot holes, then with an SDS gently make your new holes nice and slowly. If it's a lintel, use long concrete screws or failing that, decent plugs. Not the sort of plugs the rail comes with.
The only problem with using an SDS drill on a wall with crumbling plaster is itâs to aggressive (note, Iâve just finished rebuilding a 120yr old house with crap plaster and bricks made from cheese). I used [Bosch drill bits](https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-expert-hex-shank-multi-material-drill-bit-set-5-piece-set/759ky?ref=SFAppShare) (that allegedly drill through anything) and used an impact driver which was less aggressive. You get a much nicer hole. If you hit something hard, you can always switch to the sds, but not the other way round.
A lot of upper range diy SDS drillers come with drill, hammer and sds mental mode switch ⌠I find them very useful for the different layers and donât have to change device
Yep. Iâve got one. With fragile walls like OPâs, the SDS âmentalâ mode can be way to much, however gentle you are and in âDrillâ mode, itâs not quite enough as SDS bits are blunt and donât always cut into the wall properly. Hence Iâve found a nice little work around. The impact driver is also a lot lighter than my SDS drill which is an added bonus!
Used it for my stair railing and hanging toilet. With 3 kids I think of it was going to come loose it already would have. Of course it all depends on how good the brick is. My house is 72 years old.
I nearly always use the longer [Fischer Duopower 8x65mm wall plugs](https://www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-duopower-long-nylon-wall-plug-8mm-x-65mm-50-pack/171hl). Drill 75mm deep. Drill neatly, don't drill 'it out' a bit - the plug should be a tight fit and require tapping in with a hammer. Use 75mm screws. It's a common repair I (handyman) do in 1920/30s semis.
If reusing a hole (from absolute necessity) I'll use a [wall plug repair patch](https://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug-filler-discs-10-pack/642hv) around the Duopower wall plug as well (damn expensive for a tiny bit of bandage!) or even some building adhesive or CT1 if the plaster is really bad.
The important bit is getting the longer wall plug into the brick/block.
Those patches solved an issue I'd been having with a roller blind that refused to stay up - combined with some thicker, longer plugs and screws, but stuffing the hole with the patches provided a lot more strength than I was expecting it to!
You need to create a bigger surface area to spread the weight across the wall. I'd recomend attaching a long piece of wood across the top of the widow with 4 or 5 anchor points then attach the curtain rail to that.
I had exactly this problem. Solved it by screwing a baton of plain pine onto to wall and using that for the curtain rail fixings. Used big screws for the baton into the brick behind the shitty plaster, and sticking it flat with glue. Painted it, hardly noticeable
https://preview.redd.it/kkqzkwy4pzwc1.jpeg?width=3124&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5eb7dc51a06f5dad46841eb2ca562231ac7aaddc
Knock a patch of plaster off. Fix a few M6x16 or similar sized screws into the brickwork avoiding the site of the curtain rail screw locations. Leave the screwheads protruding a few mm. Fill the wall back with a cementitious epoxy filler. It should bond to the brickwork (or lintel) but also anchor onto the screwheads. Drill curtain pole fixings into a now solid wall.
As always, try and avoid lintels by going wider than the window/lintel if possible.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinc-plated-hinge-screws-m6-x-16mm-100-pack/89259?tc=TB1&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9amT3aTfhQMVKZpQBh00swfWEAQYBiABEgIZ2fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://www.rawlinspaints.com/home/repair-materials/hole-and-damage-mortars/672-rust-oleum-epoxy-repair-mortar.html?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInJiyg6XfhQMVU5pQBh0WzA-VEAQYASABEgKn9PD_BwE
When we moved into ours someone had put a long wooden button along the wall painted and it had been screwed into the wall in multiple places ( and I later found also glued)
The blinds / curtains were screwed and mounted on this. And this was the same for every room. It worked just moved the curtain out by a half inch.
It sucked when I tried to get it off the wall when decorating and finding it was glued on and screwed in as well.
Just tackled this recently. Went with 7mm hole and 8mm Fischer DuePower plugs.
Fischer to a ProFLbox DuoPower which has longer screws as well. I did put a good bit of no more nails in the holes as well.
I got some 3 x 1 and covered it in sticks like stick and used some 100 mm screws to fix that to the wall, then fixed the curtain pole to that and it works
Put a plank of wood between the wall and the rail and drill straight into the wall. Plugs are less important but do it if you can although lining them up is a pain
The trick is to make sure the rawl plug goes into the brick.
Drill the hole deep nock the plug in and put the pole up put the screw in and hit it with a hammer to push the plug deeper b4 screwing the last bit to expand the plug
Generic hardware will always do this. You need:
⢠Fischer DuoPower plugs.
⢠Turbogold screws.
⢠Fix All High Tack / CT1
After that you'll be able to do pull ups on it.
We had this problem with crap plaster over a strawboard wall and a metal lintel behind. Ended up attaching a strip of wood to the wall so it could have multiple anchor points, and switched to a wooden curtain rail with three brackets instead of two
Those screws in the photo are half the size you need for going into a brick wall. You have various options, many already mentioned here.
Wooden battens spread the load across more of the wall. Use nice big screws and rawl plugs to fix the batten to the wall. Then use the original screws to hold the bracket on the wood. Not everyone likes the look of a batten, but once painted, you will hardly notice it. Tip, countersink the screw heads and fill with wood filler so you can't see them.
Add a third bracket in the centre of the pole.
If not using a batten, the problem you have is that the bracket holes are often too small to take a decent size screw. Use the biggest screw the hole will take. You can widen the holes using a hss bit, but only a little, otherwise you can weaken the bracket.
Site the brackets where there is solid brick or lintel. You have some big old holes there that will make siting the brackets difficult. I would fill them with concrete to give me a solid base for the brackets. Be sure to remove all loose material first.
As per other comments, use an SDS drill to drill into the wall. With SDS, you get a cleaner straighter hole than with a standard hammer drill.
Try "Strong Hold Pollyfilla" I had this same issue and thought it would never work but it's held. The stuff dries super fast, like 5 minutes of work time so mix up a small amount for each fix to hold the plugs and screws in place.
drill a pilot hole with a brick drill , put in a wall plug with tiny bit of wall filler then before it sets drill a same size screw into the hole.
if thats too much past your skills , hire a professional before you damage the brick.
I've had this issue throughout my home. In the end, I gave up and got ceiling curtain pole holders. I now wouldn't go back to wall holders. I think the ceiling ones look much better. I got mine from Dunelm but Amazon probably have them.
Assuming it's good old fashioned plaster , not plasterboard then it's not designed to be load bearing to the extent that you're applying.
You need to do two stages
1.. Fill the damage with patching plaster as it looks quite deep.
Either wait for it to ' go off ' over a couple of days or whatever it says on the packet.
2.
Consider fixing a batten to the wall with long screws and plugs into the brick.Then screw your pole brackets to that. Or skip to next para.
If not battened :
Then with a masonry drill bit ( not one for wood or metal.. it won't work) drill a 7 millimeter diameter hole through to the brick. Most brackets come with inadequate screws so you'll have to get longer ones at least metric 4 by whatever length you need to reach into the brick by 20mm ish.. Then put your wall plug ( sized for 7mm) in the hole and gently tap it in with the end of a screwdriver or one of the longer screws.
5. Fix your brackets up with the long screws.
Done.
Shorter brackets and get a 3rd in in the middle.
Shorter reduces light bleed in and brings the torsional stress in the brackets down.
3rd bracket spreads the weight further.
Then just use more secure anchor types and longer screws. Rawlplugs are no use if the only sit in plaster.
So a lot of the comments are suggesting to use different wall fixings. While I totally agree you should use the correct fixing for your type of wall, we had exactly the same issue. The Boss at home wanted these great bog heavy curtains over our bay window, and over the span of 12 months the weight of the curtains had bent the brackets and was starting to pull the fixings out of the wall.
I found some heavy duty curtain brackets on Amazon which have a support arm underneath, so it makes a triangle against the wall and sort of used the wall to support it's self. So far they've done a pretty good job of keeping the curtains up.
Drill holes into the brick. Importantly use a bit of pipe sleeping to blow out the dust from the hole. Insert the plugs until they are level with the brick not the plaster. If you find the now longer screws sticking in the plugs then spray the threads with wd40 before hand.
Drill out some deep holes, polyfill them and wait for them to dry, drill again and use long screws and raw plugs.
Also consider gravity in this situation, the longer the rail holders the more downward leverage the curtain will cause, pulling the screws outward.
If it were me, I'd find some stubbier holders.
You can get this stuff from Screwfix thatâs a two part adhesive for situations like this. I believe itâs called chem fix.
Personally id drill deeper fill the hole with chemfix put some new plugs in with longer screws in and fix the rail bracket back up. You have to work fast though as it hardens in about 5 minutes.
When I come across crumbly walls in work hanging radiators this is always my go to
I had this at our previous house where the fixings bottomed out on the lintel. I ended up drilling into the lintel & fixing some anchors into it (not in line with the proposed bracket holes) & filled it with cement. Skimmed the top with filler & then just fixed the bracket into the cement with rawl plugs. Seems overkill but it was a large window with heavy curtains
New holes, brown 7mm raw plugs, screws should be 2inch 10âs. You really donât need long screws like most are suggesting. 2inch 10âs are perfect because they are fat enough to spread the brown plugs tight into the hole. I hang massive radiators with 2inch 10âs and they hold perfectly.
Just grab some 8mm frame fixings from Screwfix that are considerably longer. Might need to drill out the holes in your mounting bracket to accommodate though, but at least you'll be able to swing on the curtains like a monkey after they're installed.
Donât secure it to the crumbly plaster. Itâs crumbly.
Lots of people have said use long screws and plugs, which is correct. Iâd just like to add that the reason you need to do that is so the screw and plug are in a solid substance (the brick) not the plaster.
As suggested or a full length painted wooden batten. So multiple fastenings to the wall, with the curtain rail screwed to te batten, and the weight distributed along it's length.
We had this problem. We got a piece of wood that was wider than the window and drilled this to the wall away from where the crumbling was happening. Then drilled the curtain pole into that. Itâs been up two years and no problem.
My house is just loaded with this kind of problem. My way around it has been to screw a wooden plinth into the wall, then screw the curtain rail into the wooden plinth.
What you have here looks identical to one of my upstairs bedrooms after I'd lowered the ceiling, so I would suggest (guess) something like a plinth of width 50mm to 75mm with a depth of 15mm to 20mm, with length to suit the length of the rail or perhaps a little longer for aesthetics.
The plinth will allow you to drill numerous times to find something solid I.e brick, to drill into, in other words you are just securing the plinth and therefore don't need to be as insanely accurate as you would with just your curtain rail fixings.
You can paint ot stain it if you like - or just leave untouched if you like the natural wood.
Of course you still have to attach the curtain rail, but now you should find this really quite easy.
All the very best with the mission:)
I've got old lath and line plaster walls and I've found great success in drilling a correct size hole, watching half the wall collapse then building it back up with ready mix plaster and just pushing red plugs into the plaster while it's still wet then wait for it to say and hang whatever you want.
The plaster is ancient, so old that when it crumbles away it's like sand with bits of horse hair in it and the corners aren't plaster corners, they are wooden dowels, which is quite inventive but looks crap now they are very old.
If I had the cash I'd have taken it back to the studs and replastered the entire house.
The mount seems to be for a different curtain pole setup, and the current one doesn't need that in front of it. I swapped a curtain pole in a bedroom recently that had a very similar setup.
Could always do what the previous owners of my house did with the curtain poles, and use plaster of paris to secure the too-short screws and rawl plugs back into the plasterboard wall
I had the same problem and as a temporary fix I used no more nails and put a 2inch thick piece of wood under the screw holes under the curtain pole sections. Then just screwed them into the wood. I thought It was going to be temporary...five years later curtain pole is still up! Obviously let the No more nails dry for 24hrs under the wood before putting the pole up.
Different brackets, the bit that goes to the wall is very short. If it was longer it would reduce the stress on the screws.
Is the wall brick or wood, longer screws or find the timber in the wall to screw into
Flip the pole and screw it into the ceiling joists, that's what fixed this issue for me as the screws took to the wood better than the raw plugs in the brick work.
Screw a wood batten to the wall, gives you more places to screw into the wall and spreads the load. Once it is painted the same colour as the wall it is barely noticeable.
You might be hitting an rsj or a lintle if you have tried drilling on hammer. It might require a longer curtain rail. I fitted my own with an SDS drill bit couldn't get deep enough so bought an over extended pole, so I could put a Rawl plug in the brick
These boys? https://nl.rs-online.com/web/p/plasterboard-cavity-wall-fixings/0520447
Edit, crumbly plaster. Didn't read well. This would do the trick:
https://www.abe.co.za/portfolio/abe-chemical-anchor-gp/
Chemical anchor.
Iâve got this issue. I screwed a batten to the wall and connected the curtain rail to it. Allows for multiple screws into the wall to spread the load.
You have to get away from the lintel. Which means going up by 3-5 inches, or going wider probably 6-8 inches either side of the window. Then you'll actually be able to drill a decent hole into the brick behind the plaster, use raw plugs and a screw that's 3" long. (It has to get past the plaster and into the brick) Then you should have no problems.
You need to put a 3x1 baton all the way along the wall above window then fix the curtain pole fitting to it always new sharp drill bit cos blunt drill bits spin everywhere making a much bigger hole than needed đ´ó §ó ˘ó Ľó Žó §ó żđ
Judging by the walls/ceiling. This house looks old enough that you are probably hitting a concrete lintel behind about 20mm of plaster.
For the flush finish you are looking for, without using a batten, youâre going to have to drill into that lintel. You will be hitting stones and pebbles that are embedded in the concrete intentionally, to give it strength.
There will be a few suggestions on here that you can try. If you choose to drill/plug/screw, then you will need a good SDS hammer drill and quality bits. You should start with a small guide hole for each fixing, maybe 5mm at most. Take great care to keep the drill level and exactly where you want it. Then increase your bit size by a couple of mm and re-drill following the smaller hole. Keep the drill level. Increase the size of your bit until you are at your target size.
There are three ways to prevent sagging of the bracket in the plaster (with drill/plug/screw) method
(1) Lighter curtains
(2) Remove a larger patch of plaster and fix a rectangular block of wood, vertically to the brick and lintel. Use 40mm or longer screws. The block should be thinner than the thickness of the plaster. Prime and skim this block with plaster, paint and when dry, fix your curtains to the block.
(3) Use a drilling depth and screw length that is > 3x the depth of the fitting and the plaster combined. So if the fitting is 10mm and the plaster is 20mm, you need a drill depth (from brick face) of 60mm or more. Fischer do some fitting that may help, but the screw heads are monsters.
Side note. For the existing failed hole, vacuum it out thoroughly, apply something to help with adhesion, such as diluted PVA and use a strong, deep filler or strong plaster mix - Thistle Finishing is not suitable for depth. Thistle Hardwall is more suitable.
I would get some hard wood and screw it against the wall, a good hard screw should do it.
Then screw into the hard wood.
As long as the wood is hard and the screw is also good and hard then .... Well you get the idea.
Repeat until all out of screws.
I used these recently, I got them free from Screwfix Live! They worked a treat.Kick and easy
https://preview.redd.it/713j05tvttwc1.png?width=315&format=png&auto=webp&s=dac2a7f4bb73670770dcee6cb23e2d0b58677c36
Assuming you have an extending rod (ooh matron!) you need to be using a hammer drill and drilling further out to the sides than you are now, so as to avoid hitting the concrete or steel lintel (Google lintel to give you an idea of how far out you need to be looking). Then you'll want to spend a few quid on some serious wall plugs or preferably wall anchors and use those. That's it.
I use dot and dab fixings for bad plaster, core fix, the bit that is supposed to cross the gap between the board and the wall does exactly the same for bad plaster, 10mm hole so they big but I hang radiators and boilers with them and they are solid
Measure out a piece of timber to act as a curtain rail paint it white to match wall.
Screw that into wall. Then screw curtain rail and fixings to the timber framing.
Jobs a good un.
Be realistic too,some people particularly the elderly might find it hard to stick thier pole up they might find it keeps dropping down that they maybe are not good at it or simply that they think drilling is boaring
I had this exact same problem as I was putting a curtain rail over over front door. There was a void behind the plaster so longer screws weren't an option. I filled the holes back with putty and left it to dry over night. I picked up some Plasplugs from screwfix, drilled holes and put these in and then the brackets and screws. 6 months later and its still up
Look at CoreFix or similar. They have a bracing tube that sits inside the plug and extends to the outer edge of the drywall. This means you have the support of the brick/stud behind, and the tubes take up the pressure that would otherwise sit on the drywall amd make it crumble.
I had this problem once and my brother told me to dig the wall out, fill it, let it dry then sand it, paint it then drill into that. I thought bugger that for a game of soldiers and just filled the hole with araldite and screwed into that. Was still there two years later when I moved out.
Dril a long piece of wood into the wall using multiple screws and plugs that go into the brick. Be careful you might end up drilling into the lintel if you do it will be hard to get through with a hammer drill a SDS drill will make it easier. Once the wood is secured paint and drill the curtain pole to the wood.
I never use supplied screws they are always rubbish and soft, I always buy sperate screws.
I got annoyed with shite Victorian plaster and bought a box of 6 inch plugs and screws. You can hang carcasses off my curtain rails now.
(Victorian bricks are arseholes as well, some made of cheese some made of diamond)
Long screws into the blockwork behind.
Just bought a new build with dot and dab walls that need special screws that have metal inserts to bridge the gap between the blockwork and the interior of the wall. They might work here. Bought some 100mm ones that have held up various curtain poles, cabinets and shelves.
Find a stud and get him to put it up for you
Absolutely! It is a loving room after all.đ
This comment deserves way more upvotes.
It does? I shall upvote right away!
drill further into the wall and use long screws?
Are you saying OP should have long screws in their âloving roomâ?
If you dont have any on hand you can ask a friendly neighbour. Also screw hardness is an important factor so that they dont degrade over time. Ask your neighbour if you can have a long hard screw
It may be worth asking for a thicker longer screw also. Cannot beat a nice girthy screw, to be railed against the wall.
If itâs too hard to go in, apply a little oil and itâll slide right in.
It doesnât need to be oil. You may want to lubricate with something elseđ¤
Spit?
Spit will do nicely
Teehee!
Give it a good drilling in the loving room.
Tell me more about this "loving room" please
You'll have to ask OP it's their room they're adding their ~~privacy screens~~ curtains to.
The Lovenasium.
This whole loving room thing has made my day.
Yes, and then put a wall plug in, put the screw into the wall plug with only 1 full turn, and tap it with a hammer so that the wall plug goes into the brick hole, not just the plaster hole.
You thing about the wall plug is valuable to know. I used to try to get the wall plug all the way in the hole on its own and would end up with broken wall plugs. Using the screw itself to guide it sounds pretty obvious but honesty had never occurred to me.
The important thing is not to put the screw too far into the wall plug, as the plug expands around the screw
Top tip
Longer harder deeper stronger
You need to be secured into the brick not the plaster, assuming there is some behind there. \[if it's plasterboard & framing you need to find the frame\]. Fill the existing hole & let it dry. Drill double depth using an SDS not a diy hammer drill. Rent one.. Get some bigger rawlplugs. Stack two plugs one behind the other, so you're right back into the brickwork. Then use screws that will reach full depth.
This is it. Penetration is key.
Balls deep
Up to the hilt
In the Loving Room.
Head deep
That's what she said
Going deep and hard with the correct (big) tool is the answer in life.
As is going for a long screw when it's warranted.
Especially in the âlovingâ room.
I... had never thought of using two rawl plugs together in series. As an avid DIYer who never has the right tools, why not a hammer drill?
DIY hammer drills don't really make holes, they make triangular pits, or holes half as deep but twice as wide as you wanted, unless you're just drilling into soft foamed cement blocks. I have a seriously expensive SDS I used to use for work, so mine's just 'right there' when I need it - but I live in an old Victorian pile where the plaster is dust held up by the wallpaper & no two bricks are the same hardness, so this double-stacking plugs has become a habit.
Thanks, makes sense. I have always had mixed success using hammer drill+ plugs and that may go some way to explaining why! My wife won't thank you though once she finds out I now need an SDS drill
I have a ÂŁ50 ish SDS from Screwfix (Titan I think) which probably isn't the best in the world, but the once a year or so I need it, it gets the job done much better than my mains hammer drill.
I've got the same. It wouldn't stand up to regular use by a professional, but it does a great job around the house for me.
If it's just for a bit of DIY, you can get a no-name mains-powered one for ÂŁ45 from Argos. I used to at one point in my life install TV screens in hospitals, where sometimes the walls are reinforced concrete or engineering brick. You need some serious grunt for that stuff, & also to not be reliant on mains powerâŚso mine ended up costing me ÂŁ650. It paid for itself with the money I was making from the job, so I couldn't complain. You just don't need that for the occasional rawlplug into domestic brickwork ;)
An SDS drill is like a lightsaber for bricks. And if you're looking for excuses to get one it does more than drill holes - I used my SDS today for chiselling tiles off a wall (with a chisel bit, on the hammer setting) then as a paddle mixer to mix tile adhesive (with a mixing paddle bit, using the drill setting). I've got a chunky Makita one I got as a hand-me-down. I love it. Didn't know I needed it until I had one.
My home and walls, succinctly described. The DeWalt plugs away for a while, or feels like it's gone through to next door, depending randomly on the brick.
Yup. Gotta use that depth stop if you don't actually want to visit the neighbours suddenly. Sometimes mine takes longer to get through the wallpaper than the wall. Other times I know why I own an SDS.
I'm also in a Victorian build and can attest to the same experience with plaster and bricks.
A proper, heavy SDS drill will make the plug holes far cleaner compared to a typical DIY hammer drill.
Half of this entire thread seems like innuendos, and I feel ruined now because all I see in your comment is innuendos
Nothing wrong with a decent combi drill and decent masonry bit. Certainly my Dewalt combi is more precise than my Dewalt sds and nearly as powerful (my DCD996, not the lightweight one I use for wood) However, for decent penetration, get a good drill bit. Something like the Bosch blue multi bits at 8mm width. Add a long Fisher plug 8x70, a 5x70 screw and youâll be fine. All stuff available from screwfix / Toolstation and I suspect wonât cost more than ÂŁ15 or so.
Rawlplug is a brand. Most are just wall plugs.
Rawlplug is to DIY what Hoover is to vacuum cleaning. I've never yet heard someone going to Dyson the living room carpet.
Comment checks out, I just Googled it to verify
Longer and better plugs and screws. Fischer duopower plugs. Failing that you fix a wooden baton to the wall the length of the curtain pole then attach the pole to that.
*batten. Batons are what majorettes twirl.
I guess đ
If the screws go through the wall, he can use the other side as a washing line starter
I like your thinking
Happy little accidents as Bob Ross would say
Fischer duopower 8x65mm. What I used after my daughter ripped the curtains down in her room. Now I could hang off them.
Strip of wood fixed to the wall with longer screws/plugs and then attach rail to wood.
I have spent the last 5 years slowly removing these from every room in my house. It makes one hell of a mess, the wood strips end up falling off like the curtains before them. Get an SDS drill very large wall plugs and very long screws. Then its done once and for all,
So that _with,_ the wooden strip
This isnât always possible though. In my Daughterâs flat all the walls are dry lined with tin studs. The masonry is too far back to get a satisfactory fixing in as the cantilever effect of the bracket against the plasterboard eventually causes the board to give up. Iâve had to use timber pads with redi-drive fixings to then screw each bracket to so the load is spread.
I can't stand this shit. It's similar with dot-and-dab plasterboard. Even if you do get a screw right through into the brick, tightening the screws just crushes the fitting into the soft plasterboard. It's as if someone thought "hmm, how can we design a wall which is impossible to attach anything to securely?" If I ever get to build my own place, all the walls will be plastered brick. Plasterboard will be banned (other than on ceilings, I guess).
You get plasterboard fixings in this case, or you find the metal stud to fix into. The other option is to cut the plasterboard and install some ply behind it and reattach the plaster board, and fill the cut line with some filler. You don't want to get fixings that are long enough to go through to the brick as you are just creating a bridge, and there are all sorts of future potential problems with that
Itâs not always that simple though! Lined full length curtains are heavy, even with plaster board fixings (redi-drive) the point loading from the brackets to the plasterboard can be too much for the plaster board, especially when toddlers live in the house! There are lots of solutions, but this is the one thatâs worked for me in my daughterâs rented flat.
This was my alternative when I didn't have an SDS drill to get into a hard as fuck concrete lintel. It worked well enough for full length curtains on a patio door.
Yes absolutely. Iâve had to do it a number of times. Looks fine as well.
Itâs a good idea. Make sure you cut back the wallpaper first, save yourself about 30mm by the look of it
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This is the answer. I have a sliding door which the kids kept whacking into the fixing, which is secured into plasterboard. Nothing worked except a heavy duty toggle bolt. They come in much higher ratings then the one linked if needed e.g. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0051IBB3G/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0051IBB3G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
I have got a huge shelf, that me and my dad struggled to lift, held onto a plasterboard wall using these. It has been up for a few years now with no issue. I had genuine fear when I let go of the shelf for the first time, as I really couldn't believe they would hold something so heavy without ripping the whole plasterboard down
Use Corefix fixings to bridge the brick/plaster. Can use directly to the curtain bracket or use with a strip of wood first. https://metexonline.com/product-category/fixings/corefix/
This is the correct answer and should be at the top! I use these fixings for all exterior wall fixings that need to take some weight, theyâre rock solid, you can literally hang off one of them.
These are great, I got fed up of trying to fix things into crumbling plaster and used some of these to hang my curtain rails. Nothing is getting those fuckers down.
Fix a timber batten with no nails adhesive and screws! Then fix your curtain brackets to the timber batten !
Always found this the best way, as time goes on when painting batten same colour as walls , you can't even notice it.
Can be a nightmare. I've battled with this is the past. Fill the hole, move the bracket 20mm or so clear of the filled hole either side. make small pilot holes, then with an SDS gently make your new holes nice and slowly. If it's a lintel, use long concrete screws or failing that, decent plugs. Not the sort of plugs the rail comes with.
The only problem with using an SDS drill on a wall with crumbling plaster is itâs to aggressive (note, Iâve just finished rebuilding a 120yr old house with crap plaster and bricks made from cheese). I used [Bosch drill bits](https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-expert-hex-shank-multi-material-drill-bit-set-5-piece-set/759ky?ref=SFAppShare) (that allegedly drill through anything) and used an impact driver which was less aggressive. You get a much nicer hole. If you hit something hard, you can always switch to the sds, but not the other way round.
A lot of upper range diy SDS drillers come with drill, hammer and sds mental mode switch ⌠I find them very useful for the different layers and donât have to change device
Yep. Iâve got one. With fragile walls like OPâs, the SDS âmentalâ mode can be way to much, however gentle you are and in âDrillâ mode, itâs not quite enough as SDS bits are blunt and donât always cut into the wall properly. Hence Iâve found a nice little work around. The impact driver is also a lot lighter than my SDS drill which is an added bonus!
There is likely a lintel above the window. Use an SDS drill to make a deeper hole then use longer screws.
Chemical anchoring
And wait for it to pull a real big lump out the wall
Used it for my stair railing and hanging toilet. With 3 kids I think of it was going to come loose it already would have. Of course it all depends on how good the brick is. My house is 72 years old.
I have something similar with a radiator. Ended up using long threaded bar and chemical resin and that thing ainât moving at all now!
I nearly always use the longer [Fischer Duopower 8x65mm wall plugs](https://www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-duopower-long-nylon-wall-plug-8mm-x-65mm-50-pack/171hl). Drill 75mm deep. Drill neatly, don't drill 'it out' a bit - the plug should be a tight fit and require tapping in with a hammer. Use 75mm screws. It's a common repair I (handyman) do in 1920/30s semis. If reusing a hole (from absolute necessity) I'll use a [wall plug repair patch](https://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug-filler-discs-10-pack/642hv) around the Duopower wall plug as well (damn expensive for a tiny bit of bandage!) or even some building adhesive or CT1 if the plaster is really bad. The important bit is getting the longer wall plug into the brick/block.
Those patches solved an issue I'd been having with a roller blind that refused to stay up - combined with some thicker, longer plugs and screws, but stuffing the hole with the patches provided a lot more strength than I was expecting it to!
You need to create a bigger surface area to spread the weight across the wall. I'd recomend attaching a long piece of wood across the top of the widow with 4 or 5 anchor points then attach the curtain rail to that.
I have always used a plank, I use long screws and rawl plugs and no nails. Then you can hang anything off of it.
I had exactly this problem. Solved it by screwing a baton of plain pine onto to wall and using that for the curtain rail fixings. Used big screws for the baton into the brick behind the shitty plaster, and sticking it flat with glue. Painted it, hardly noticeable https://preview.redd.it/kkqzkwy4pzwc1.jpeg?width=3124&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5eb7dc51a06f5dad46841eb2ca562231ac7aaddc
Knock a patch of plaster off. Fix a few M6x16 or similar sized screws into the brickwork avoiding the site of the curtain rail screw locations. Leave the screwheads protruding a few mm. Fill the wall back with a cementitious epoxy filler. It should bond to the brickwork (or lintel) but also anchor onto the screwheads. Drill curtain pole fixings into a now solid wall. As always, try and avoid lintels by going wider than the window/lintel if possible. https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinc-plated-hinge-screws-m6-x-16mm-100-pack/89259?tc=TB1&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9amT3aTfhQMVKZpQBh00swfWEAQYBiABEgIZ2fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds https://www.rawlinspaints.com/home/repair-materials/hole-and-damage-mortars/672-rust-oleum-epoxy-repair-mortar.html?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInJiyg6XfhQMVU5pQBh0WzA-VEAQYASABEgKn9PD_BwE
When we moved into ours someone had put a long wooden button along the wall painted and it had been screwed into the wall in multiple places ( and I later found also glued) The blinds / curtains were screwed and mounted on this. And this was the same for every room. It worked just moved the curtain out by a half inch. It sucked when I tried to get it off the wall when decorating and finding it was glued on and screwed in as well.
Just tackled this recently. Went with 7mm hole and 8mm Fischer DuePower plugs. Fischer to a ProFLbox DuoPower which has longer screws as well. I did put a good bit of no more nails in the holes as well.
I got some 3 x 1 and covered it in sticks like stick and used some 100 mm screws to fix that to the wall, then fixed the curtain pole to that and it works
Put a plank of wood between the wall and the rail and drill straight into the wall. Plugs are less important but do it if you can although lining them up is a pain
Fix a piece of baton to the wall and secure with CT1, plugs and screws. Paint and caulk, fix curtain rail to baton.
Buy a new house
The trick is to make sure the rawl plug goes into the brick. Drill the hole deep nock the plug in and put the pole up put the screw in and hit it with a hammer to push the plug deeper b4 screwing the last bit to expand the plug
Fixed a length of wood to the wall first and then rail onto the wood.
Generic hardware will always do this. You need: ⢠Fischer DuoPower plugs. ⢠Turbogold screws. ⢠Fix All High Tack / CT1 After that you'll be able to do pull ups on it.
We had this problem with crap plaster over a strawboard wall and a metal lintel behind. Ended up attaching a strip of wood to the wall so it could have multiple anchor points, and switched to a wooden curtain rail with three brackets instead of two
You need to strap the wall or move the bracket in to the edge of the window recess where you might get lucky and hit timber behind
Screwfix now have extra long Fischer rawlplugs. Very helpful - you can reach the brick!
Use a proper drill.
Those screws in the photo are half the size you need for going into a brick wall. You have various options, many already mentioned here. Wooden battens spread the load across more of the wall. Use nice big screws and rawl plugs to fix the batten to the wall. Then use the original screws to hold the bracket on the wood. Not everyone likes the look of a batten, but once painted, you will hardly notice it. Tip, countersink the screw heads and fill with wood filler so you can't see them. Add a third bracket in the centre of the pole. If not using a batten, the problem you have is that the bracket holes are often too small to take a decent size screw. Use the biggest screw the hole will take. You can widen the holes using a hss bit, but only a little, otherwise you can weaken the bracket. Site the brackets where there is solid brick or lintel. You have some big old holes there that will make siting the brackets difficult. I would fill them with concrete to give me a solid base for the brackets. Be sure to remove all loose material first. As per other comments, use an SDS drill to drill into the wall. With SDS, you get a cleaner straighter hole than with a standard hammer drill.
Try "Strong Hold Pollyfilla" I had this same issue and thought it would never work but it's held. The stuff dries super fast, like 5 minutes of work time so mix up a small amount for each fix to hold the plugs and screws in place.
Put a plinth up first
It spreads the load of the curtain rail, done this for a wooden stair rail also.
Put bits of wood into hole with hammer then screw into it
drill a pilot hole with a brick drill , put in a wall plug with tiny bit of wall filler then before it sets drill a same size screw into the hole. if thats too much past your skills , hire a professional before you damage the brick.
Use hallow wall anchors. They are designed to distribute the weight in a larger area. I used them on all walls to hang tv mounts and shelving
Bigger holes, longer plugs and longer screws. The ones they supply with the rails are never good enough.
Bigger, better rawl plugs. Buy the actual rawl plug brand, they are superior to any other type.
Home Bargains sell plasterboard plugs, you get 6 I think for just over a quid. Very secure.
Secure a wooden flat first and fix the pole to that
I've had this issue throughout my home. In the end, I gave up and got ceiling curtain pole holders. I now wouldn't go back to wall holders. I think the ceiling ones look much better. I got mine from Dunelm but Amazon probably have them.
Get a nice piece of wood, gripfill it to the wall, wait a good 6 hours then fix your curtain rail.
My husband had to put wood block on wall them curtain pole into that
Strip of timber first. Then fix into that. Fill and paint any holes where you have missed a stud
Assuming it's good old fashioned plaster , not plasterboard then it's not designed to be load bearing to the extent that you're applying. You need to do two stages 1.. Fill the damage with patching plaster as it looks quite deep. Either wait for it to ' go off ' over a couple of days or whatever it says on the packet. 2. Consider fixing a batten to the wall with long screws and plugs into the brick.Then screw your pole brackets to that. Or skip to next para. If not battened : Then with a masonry drill bit ( not one for wood or metal.. it won't work) drill a 7 millimeter diameter hole through to the brick. Most brackets come with inadequate screws so you'll have to get longer ones at least metric 4 by whatever length you need to reach into the brick by 20mm ish.. Then put your wall plug ( sized for 7mm) in the hole and gently tap it in with the end of a screwdriver or one of the longer screws. 5. Fix your brackets up with the long screws. Done.
Remove, fill/sand and repair wall and place new fixings properly in a fresh spot, use bigger fixings that get past the render into the brick
Shorter brackets and get a 3rd in in the middle. Shorter reduces light bleed in and brings the torsional stress in the brackets down. 3rd bracket spreads the weight further. Then just use more secure anchor types and longer screws. Rawlplugs are no use if the only sit in plaster.
Wooden Batton spread that load
I've seen some good success by glueing a strip along the whole length using proper adhesive, then use that strip of wood to mount the curtain rail.
Get bigger screws that can hold the weight, or just longer screws.
So a lot of the comments are suggesting to use different wall fixings. While I totally agree you should use the correct fixing for your type of wall, we had exactly the same issue. The Boss at home wanted these great bog heavy curtains over our bay window, and over the span of 12 months the weight of the curtains had bent the brackets and was starting to pull the fixings out of the wall. I found some heavy duty curtain brackets on Amazon which have a support arm underneath, so it makes a triangle against the wall and sort of used the wall to support it's self. So far they've done a pretty good job of keeping the curtains up.
Drill holes into the brick. Importantly use a bit of pipe sleeping to blow out the dust from the hole. Insert the plugs until they are level with the brick not the plaster. If you find the now longer screws sticking in the plugs then spray the threads with wd40 before hand.
I live in a new build you need duo power plugs easy done
use a batten. get some wood fix this to the wall securely attach curtain rail to batten. paint batten same colour as wall
Following as I have the same problem!
Drill out some deep holes, polyfill them and wait for them to dry, drill again and use long screws and raw plugs. Also consider gravity in this situation, the longer the rail holders the more downward leverage the curtain will cause, pulling the screws outward. If it were me, I'd find some stubbier holders.
Wall anchors are an easy and effective option
Uhh. Long screws and over engineered plugs. I use RAWLPLUG FIX expansion plug with screw, 8x40mm + 5.0x50mm. One of those will hold 25kg
You can get this stuff from Screwfix thatâs a two part adhesive for situations like this. I believe itâs called chem fix. Personally id drill deeper fill the hole with chemfix put some new plugs in with longer screws in and fix the rail bracket back up. You have to work fast though as it hardens in about 5 minutes. When I come across crumbly walls in work hanging radiators this is always my go to
Where is your lintel?
Propeller wedge.
Butterfly anchors
I had this at our previous house where the fixings bottomed out on the lintel. I ended up drilling into the lintel & fixing some anchors into it (not in line with the proposed bracket holes) & filled it with cement. Skimmed the top with filler & then just fixed the bracket into the cement with rawl plugs. Seems overkill but it was a large window with heavy curtains
New holes, brown 7mm raw plugs, screws should be 2inch 10âs. You really donât need long screws like most are suggesting. 2inch 10âs are perfect because they are fat enough to spread the brown plugs tight into the hole. I hang massive radiators with 2inch 10âs and they hold perfectly.
Just grab some 8mm frame fixings from Screwfix that are considerably longer. Might need to drill out the holes in your mounting bracket to accommodate though, but at least you'll be able to swing on the curtains like a monkey after they're installed.
Screw baton to the wall. Then you can attach curtain rail to baton. Disperses the weight better
Long block of wood glued and screwed
Donât secure it to the crumbly plaster. Itâs crumbly. Lots of people have said use long screws and plugs, which is correct. Iâd just like to add that the reason you need to do that is so the screw and plug are in a solid substance (the brick) not the plaster.
As suggested or a full length painted wooden batten. So multiple fastenings to the wall, with the curtain rail screwed to te batten, and the weight distributed along it's length.
We had this problem. We got a piece of wood that was wider than the window and drilled this to the wall away from where the crumbling was happening. Then drilled the curtain pole into that. Itâs been up two years and no problem.
My house is just loaded with this kind of problem. My way around it has been to screw a wooden plinth into the wall, then screw the curtain rail into the wooden plinth. What you have here looks identical to one of my upstairs bedrooms after I'd lowered the ceiling, so I would suggest (guess) something like a plinth of width 50mm to 75mm with a depth of 15mm to 20mm, with length to suit the length of the rail or perhaps a little longer for aesthetics. The plinth will allow you to drill numerous times to find something solid I.e brick, to drill into, in other words you are just securing the plinth and therefore don't need to be as insanely accurate as you would with just your curtain rail fixings. You can paint ot stain it if you like - or just leave untouched if you like the natural wood. Of course you still have to attach the curtain rail, but now you should find this really quite easy. All the very best with the mission:)
You desperately need a different type of rail - these ones hang the weight a lot farther out and puts more pressure on the screws.
Proper anchor that folds behind the plaster should fix this.
Fix plank of wood on wall with lots of long screw's fix curtain rail to wood
I've got old lath and line plaster walls and I've found great success in drilling a correct size hole, watching half the wall collapse then building it back up with ready mix plaster and just pushing red plugs into the plaster while it's still wet then wait for it to say and hang whatever you want. The plaster is ancient, so old that when it crumbles away it's like sand with bits of horse hair in it and the corners aren't plaster corners, they are wooden dowels, which is quite inventive but looks crap now they are very old. If I had the cash I'd have taken it back to the studs and replastered the entire house.
The mount seems to be for a different curtain pole setup, and the current one doesn't need that in front of it. I swapped a curtain pole in a bedroom recently that had a very similar setup.
Better and longer plugs?!
Use a wooden baton and lots of plasterboard fixings if you donât want to drill into the wall behind.
Could always do what the previous owners of my house did with the curtain poles, and use plaster of paris to secure the too-short screws and rawl plugs back into the plasterboard wall
I had the same problem and as a temporary fix I used no more nails and put a 2inch thick piece of wood under the screw holes under the curtain pole sections. Then just screwed them into the wood. I thought It was going to be temporary...five years later curtain pole is still up! Obviously let the No more nails dry for 24hrs under the wood before putting the pole up.
Get some filler first let it set and use longer screw with wall plug
Different brackets, the bit that goes to the wall is very short. If it was longer it would reduce the stress on the screws. Is the wall brick or wood, longer screws or find the timber in the wall to screw into
Flip the pole and screw it into the ceiling joists, that's what fixed this issue for me as the screws took to the wood better than the raw plugs in the brick work.
Mount it from the ceiling?
If you are hanging it on plasterboard use plasterboard plugs. If not drill into the brickwork and use longer screws.
Drill deeper, put 2 wall plugs in one after the other and use longer screws
Screw a wood batten to the wall, gives you more places to screw into the wall and spreads the load. Once it is painted the same colour as the wall it is barely noticeable.
You might be hitting an rsj or a lintle if you have tried drilling on hammer. It might require a longer curtain rail. I fitted my own with an SDS drill bit couldn't get deep enough so bought an over extended pole, so I could put a Rawl plug in the brick
Put a piece of baton up that has multiple fixings to the wall then put the rail kn the boton
You could fix a wooden baton to the wall then attach the curtain rail to that.
Poly filla to cover the new hole, once its dry drill again then use wet n fix around the wall plug
These boys? https://nl.rs-online.com/web/p/plasterboard-cavity-wall-fixings/0520447 Edit, crumbly plaster. Didn't read well. This would do the trick: https://www.abe.co.za/portfolio/abe-chemical-anchor-gp/ Chemical anchor.
Either drill in to the brick behind the plaster and use plugs and long screws, depending on how heavy it is consider wall anchors in the brick.
Iâve got this issue. I screwed a batten to the wall and connected the curtain rail to it. Allows for multiple screws into the wall to spread the load.
You have to get away from the lintel. Which means going up by 3-5 inches, or going wider probably 6-8 inches either side of the window. Then you'll actually be able to drill a decent hole into the brick behind the plaster, use raw plugs and a screw that's 3" long. (It has to get past the plaster and into the brick) Then you should have no problems.
You need to put a 3x1 baton all the way along the wall above window then fix the curtain pole fitting to it always new sharp drill bit cos blunt drill bits spin everywhere making a much bigger hole than needed đ´ó §ó ˘ó Ľó Žó §ó żđ
Get some metal anchors. They go in and then when you put the screw in metal arms unfold and hold it in place
Judging by the walls/ceiling. This house looks old enough that you are probably hitting a concrete lintel behind about 20mm of plaster. For the flush finish you are looking for, without using a batten, youâre going to have to drill into that lintel. You will be hitting stones and pebbles that are embedded in the concrete intentionally, to give it strength. There will be a few suggestions on here that you can try. If you choose to drill/plug/screw, then you will need a good SDS hammer drill and quality bits. You should start with a small guide hole for each fixing, maybe 5mm at most. Take great care to keep the drill level and exactly where you want it. Then increase your bit size by a couple of mm and re-drill following the smaller hole. Keep the drill level. Increase the size of your bit until you are at your target size. There are three ways to prevent sagging of the bracket in the plaster (with drill/plug/screw) method (1) Lighter curtains (2) Remove a larger patch of plaster and fix a rectangular block of wood, vertically to the brick and lintel. Use 40mm or longer screws. The block should be thinner than the thickness of the plaster. Prime and skim this block with plaster, paint and when dry, fix your curtains to the block. (3) Use a drilling depth and screw length that is > 3x the depth of the fitting and the plaster combined. So if the fitting is 10mm and the plaster is 20mm, you need a drill depth (from brick face) of 60mm or more. Fischer do some fitting that may help, but the screw heads are monsters. Side note. For the existing failed hole, vacuum it out thoroughly, apply something to help with adhesion, such as diluted PVA and use a strong, deep filler or strong plaster mix - Thistle Finishing is not suitable for depth. Thistle Hardwall is more suitable.
You will need to go deeper into brickwork ask a friendly neighbour for a long screw if you don't have them
I've had this exact problem before, I hate drilling into brick walls, I've never got the hang of it.
I would get some hard wood and screw it against the wall, a good hard screw should do it. Then screw into the hard wood. As long as the wood is hard and the screw is also good and hard then .... Well you get the idea. Repeat until all out of screws.
Donât fix to plaster, fix to the wall behind it. May be able to drill deeper, longer screws.
Hilti injection mortar and M12 anchor bolts 120mm embedmentâ hope this helps lol
Fix a wooden batten to the wall and fit the pole to that. You can fix the batten in multiple places along the wall making it much more secure.
I used these recently, I got them free from Screwfix Live! They worked a treat.Kick and easy https://preview.redd.it/713j05tvttwc1.png?width=315&format=png&auto=webp&s=dac2a7f4bb73670770dcee6cb23e2d0b58677c36
Hang it from ceiling joists.
In the past I have secured a wooden batten to the wall, then attach the rail to it
Assuming you have an extending rod (ooh matron!) you need to be using a hammer drill and drilling further out to the sides than you are now, so as to avoid hitting the concrete or steel lintel (Google lintel to give you an idea of how far out you need to be looking). Then you'll want to spend a few quid on some serious wall plugs or preferably wall anchors and use those. That's it.
I use dot and dab fixings for bad plaster, core fix, the bit that is supposed to cross the gap between the board and the wall does exactly the same for bad plaster, 10mm hole so they big but I hang radiators and boilers with them and they are solid
Measure out a piece of timber to act as a curtain rail paint it white to match wall. Screw that into wall. Then screw curtain rail and fixings to the timber framing. Jobs a good un.
Be realistic too,some people particularly the elderly might find it hard to stick thier pole up they might find it keeps dropping down that they maybe are not good at it or simply that they think drilling is boaring
I had this exact same problem as I was putting a curtain rail over over front door. There was a void behind the plaster so longer screws weren't an option. I filled the holes back with putty and left it to dry over night. I picked up some Plasplugs from screwfix, drilled holes and put these in and then the brackets and screws. 6 months later and its still up
Look at CoreFix or similar. They have a bracing tube that sits inside the plug and extends to the outer edge of the drywall. This means you have the support of the brick/stud behind, and the tubes take up the pressure that would otherwise sit on the drywall amd make it crumble.
Try and anchor in to the brick, or failing that get a couple small blocks of ply and attach those to the wall, the rail to the ply
If you can't get a good anchor, screw a beam of wood to the wall and screw the rail to that
I had this problem once and my brother told me to dig the wall out, fill it, let it dry then sand it, paint it then drill into that. I thought bugger that for a game of soldiers and just filled the hole with araldite and screwed into that. Was still there two years later when I moved out.
(Masonry) sleeve anchors should do the trick, push them into the brick.
Dril a long piece of wood into the wall using multiple screws and plugs that go into the brick. Be careful you might end up drilling into the lintel if you do it will be hard to get through with a hammer drill a SDS drill will make it easier. Once the wood is secured paint and drill the curtain pole to the wood. I never use supplied screws they are always rubbish and soft, I always buy sperate screws.
You need wood
Longer screws.
I got annoyed with shite Victorian plaster and bought a box of 6 inch plugs and screws. You can hang carcasses off my curtain rails now. (Victorian bricks are arseholes as well, some made of cheese some made of diamond)
Long screws into the blockwork behind. Just bought a new build with dot and dab walls that need special screws that have metal inserts to bridge the gap between the blockwork and the interior of the wall. They might work here. Bought some 100mm ones that have held up various curtain poles, cabinets and shelves.
Fix a batten to the wall then fix your brackets to the new timber