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Curtain rail - fixing issues

N

NickM

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One of my pet hates is putting up curtain rails.

I've got one which keeps jumping off the wall! It has 3 brackets (at each end and one in the middle). Each bracket has a single screw. The wall is brick and, in my view, not very well made. There seem to be voids and weak spots.

My most recent effort was to hammer in small wooden wedges and screw into that. It worked for quite a while but has now failed.

What else should I try? Is there some 'gunk' I can squirt into the hole to make a good base?

(My wife isn't keen on a threaded rod going right through the wall with a repair washer and nut on the outside of the house...)

Thanks
 
Older houses often have this trouble - crumbly bricks, previous drillings and fillings, the frog in exactly the wrong place etc.
I drill a hole which invariably comes out oversize in the rubbish brick, stuff it full of polyfilla or similar, then push in a Fischer UX wall plug.
The UX plugs can deal with both solid material and material with voids and I have found them to be extremely reliable in any type of wall - I've fitted hundreds of them over the years.
Allow the polyfilla to set around the plug before screwing the bracket to it.
I usually also fit a wider, longer screw than that supplied with the bracket.
Belt and braces!
Note also that using a hammer action drill in soft material is more likely to result in an oversize hole than drilling carefully with the hammer action turned off.
 
Curtain rail or pole, my place had nicely moulded timber length with little wooden supports each end where a rail was screwed to. (post war council). You couldnt really attach a modern pole to because it looked odd. So I removed most of them. They took some getting off.
 
I have used two-part polyester resin for all sorts of awkward wall fixings (including crack stitching). In every case I have stuck whatever-it-was into place before the resin cured (you usually have less than 2 minutes to do this, so good preparation is essential). Climbers and cavers use it to fix anchors, and its commonly used in industry, for example for floor anchors for machinery.

I have never used it as a filler (to drill into) however.

The secret of success is to get the hole clean and dry and with as little compacted dust round the perimeter as possible, so you glue straight into actual masonry. You can certainly use it to embed female threads (or possibly Rawlplugs), as that's how a variety of anchor systems work, including the caving ones, intended for wet and muddy conditions.

I always use the stuff that mixes in the nozzle (which you discard after use).
 
Have you thought about expandable curtain poles inside the reveal or even across the whole room? I have gone wall to wall, 4m, in a rented flat to fit net curtains.
 
I've never had a fail with the following method
Drill larger diameter hole to suit large dowelling appx 3/4" about 3" deep and use a bit of tube on the end of a vac to clear the dust.
A good snug fit is preferable.
Cut an overly long piece of dowel, bit of a chamfer at the nose and try in hole putting a mark at the depth.
Score diagonally up and down the bit going into the hole by dragging sideways the teeth of a handsaw .
Cut a few grooves down the length.
Liberally wet the hole
Now quickly.....
Inject 5min PU adhesive and distribute with a stick of wood or summat.
Dab the dowel in water to depth of hole to wet it
Now wipe stick with glue residue around the wet dowel and drive home.
Do not touch it for at least 20 minutes apart from wiping off any excess which may try to dribble down the wall.
Cut off flush.
With undersized pilot drill and with long screws affix your bracket.
Cheers.,Andy
 
Just to close this off, I combined two of the suggestions above and ended up fixing a wooden dowel into the wall with resin. I cut some grooves in the dowel for the resin to grab on to. I then screwed the fixing screw into the dowel.

It seems quite solid but I'm sure it will jump off the wall again at some point!

Thanks again for the suggestions.
 
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