Curtain woes - keep falling down

[Bitofeverything]

I have a large set of curtains - and they have fallen down twice. First time, they were put up by my stepfather a year ago. Put up again by a handyman six months ago. Th problem is that the plaster seems to be very loose and crumbly. And the curtains are full length and heavy. Do I need to put up a third bracket in the middle (might look a bit odd?) or do I need to get wall replastered? Any help gratefully received!

Hi
The fixings should anchor into the wall (i.e. the brick or block) so the state of the plaster shouldn't matter so much, apart from visually. If the plaster was very bad it could crush under the brackets load but it would be unusual. I would expect that either the wrong fixings have been used or that the holes have been reused and that there is no longer enough material to hold the fixing. Probably a case of proper fixings and move the brackets. If you have a concrete lintel they are very hard to drill into (arguably shouldn't ) which is why people try to reuse the holes. Hope this helps.

As engineers states - the fixings shouldn't just be into the plaster but into the brick or whatever is under the plaster.

We had a new build with the same problem, curtain poles just sort of gradually fell out of the wall. We solved it by putting slim wooden battens above the windows and fixing the poles through these. They spread the weight I guess and the poles have been up over 10 yrs now without a problem.

That's really helpful - thank you... Sounds like quite a big job... Eek!

Try to use a track fitter rather than a "handyman".
Track fitters do this and nothing else and so are much more used to all kinds of tracks, poles, boards, fittings etc. as well as all kinds of situations than a general handyman would be.

I would use slim wooden batons behind the curtain pole and fix the pole to those

Actually - I think every house I have lived in has had curtain tracks or poles fitted to battens.

It is not at all difficult or complex. But you do need a hammer drill, fitted with a masonry bit.

Consider that the screw and the plasplug must go at least an inch into the brick or block, and that the plaster might be about 20mm thick, and the curtain bracket might be 6mm. Therefore you need about a 50mm screw and hole. Sometimes 40mm will do. Use brown plugs. You will tap the plasplugs slightly below the level of the plaster, which prevents cracking and makes it easier to fill and decorate in future. If the wall is plasterboard spaced off blockwork, drill through the board first and measure the depth of gap to calculate the screw length required. If the board is on wooden studs, find the studs and screw into them (no plug required).

When plugging a wall, if the plug is a loose fit and turns when you try to screw into it, clear all the dust and grit out with your hoover hose, then fill the hole (starting at the back) with a no-more-nails type adhesive, then press your plasplugs into the adhesive, and slightly below the surface (using a screw a couple of turns into the plug as a handle). Wipe away the excess glue with a damp sponge, leave overnight to set before fitting the bracket and driving the screw home.

If you drill through the plaster above a window and hit a steel lintel, remove the masonry bit and fit an HSS twist drill. You can still use a plasplug and screw.

The size of drill and width of screw required are marked on the flat strip on the pack of plasplugs.