Rolled up curtain track kits (2023 Update)

If you ever think to buy a curtain track, which comes rolled up - best avoid it like the plague.

I bought one maybe a decade ago for when I might need it, a complete kit including the rail, brackets screws and etc. all you need and ready to fit. Today I needed it. The suggestion was to put the track in hot water and it will straighten out, er no it didn't. A waste of time and will need replacing.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield
Loading thread data ...

The trouble is it has had a long time to "creep" into the wrong shape. You might try winding it up the other way in hot water, or pinning it down flat on something like a patio or a felt roof on a hot day. How long is it? If no more than 3 metres, put it inside a length of tube (scaffold, gutter downpipe, waste pipe?) and feed steam into it from a wallpaper stripper. You will probably still have to "reverse bend" it while hot.

Reply to
newshound

I've not found them a problem. You just need more fixings to keep it held straight. I prefer straight ones, but rolled are cheaper.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Any curtain track which can be rolled up is insufficiently rigid, even if you can remove the curve it will still bow under the weight of anything more than tissue paper.

Owain

Reply to
spuorgelgoog

Yes. That's why I replaced mine with proper wooden rods.

Reply to
S Viemeister

They don't actually, they're fine.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

And it will be wobbly and horrid anyway.

I'd throw it away and go and get a decent brand (I rather like the aluminium I-beam type that is an exact replica of the old edwardian brass I-beam type - very smooth and very easy to fit and very very strong.

Reply to
Tim Watts

Its a 3m one, but I only needed 2x 30" lengths of it. The instructions said hot water, so I tried hot on the entire roll, which made not much difference. In the end I cut off the two 30" bits and just tried to get those straight - it looks awful.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

These long plastic things are expensive to move, which is presumably why the 10mm tile trim I was after is £6 a length in Topps Tiles. £2.38 from a BM

Reply to
stuart noble

Temperature sensitive flexibility is possibly a property of a specific type of plastic which deterioratates over time. Although time alone doesn't normally appear to be a factor with plastic deterioration. i.e. exposure to UV light will eventually render some types of plastic brittle rather than flexible, but presumably this kit hasn't been exposed to any UV.

michael adams

...

Reply to
michael adams

Yes, I've not used that particular type, but I am gradually replacing the old plastic track with metal track as it wear out.

Much better stuff

Reply to
Chris French

It *might* have lost its plasticiser, as someone else suggested, but I still think you have a reasonable chance of straightening it with heat. Ordinary domestic hot water might not be hot enough though. I am reasonably sure that steaming would work. For a 30 inch length, another thing you could try would be clamping it along the top of a central heating radiator for a period of time. The type with a rectangular header, not a round one, and not in the summer of course.

Reply to
newshound

One thing I like about I-beam is that you can top fix it very close to the surface - and the ability to shape it (and it to hold the shape) made it very good for my bay window that has a lower ceiling. I formed an overlap in crossing the two tracks by about 5" in the middle.

The disadvantage is of course it does not (to my knowledge) take cords.

Reply to
Tim Watts

You don't need heat, just screw it to the wall. Seems a lot of people lack experience with these rolled types, there's nothing wrong with them, they just need more fixings than straight ones to hold them straight.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Straightening it gently and gradually along the full length in a sink of very hot water, then ironing out the remaining creases on maximum heat under a tea towel seemed to do the trick 😀👍

About to fit it now so I hope so lol!

Good luck to anybody reading and trying this 🙏

Reply to
Brockney C

I clamped the track up high to a beam, then I clamped a heavy weight at the bottom and let it sit there 24 hours, let's see what happens

Reply to
FABRIZIO

Yerwot? Its that web site again. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.