Curtain rail installtion

The message from Mark contains these words:

Foamed concrete isn't very strong at all, but if you can soak glue into it you can spread the load around enough to make it adequate. I use polyurethane glue - looks like darkish golden syrup. It needs water to set, so I wash the hole out with a water pistol and smear the plug generously with PU glue and shove it in. You may need to migrate to a larger/longer plug if the holes are really shot - or move along the batten a bit.

So far it's been very successful.

I did something very similar using wood glue. Needless to say it did not help much.

Is the PU glue available in DIY stores?

Mark

Hi,

We have exactly the same problem in our house. We bought 4 of these;

We have cast lintls above the windows so they cant be drilled you end up with very shallow holes through the plaster. What I have done so far and to great effect was cut the raw plugs to length and then fill the holes with pink grip, let them set and then screw in with short screws. So far its worked well and saves the batten look!

Matthew

Are you sure that it's lightweight blocks above the window, and not a concrete lintel? If it *is* concrete, maybe your plugs are only going into the plaster - which is crumbling?

Either way, drill a deeper hole and put longer plugs and screws in - something like 2" x No. 8 should be more than adequate. If it's concrete, it's far easier to drill if you use an SDS drill.

Looks very similar to what I have. Mine were from Homebase.

Mark

Yes. It is lightweight blocks with a L shaped metal lintel. I am fixing the curtain rail above this.

I'll try this. However the current fixings are 35mm long. I have an SDS drill but this wall is so soft I can drill it with a cheap battery non-hammer drill!

In another room the depth guide went into the wall like it was a drill!

Mark

The message from Mark contains these words:

Dunno.

Fair enough.

There's no point in using an SDS drill if the wall is soft - I was only suggesting that for concrete.

What I do in soft block is to use an undersize drill bit relative to the official size for the plug. The plug then has to be tapped in - rather than slid in - and the screw provides a firmer fixing.