Drilling for curtain pole, hitting ?metal

plumbdog

[noob DIY-er] Have taken down an old curtain track to replace with a pole, but find when drilling for the new fittings I am hitting metal, I think - 99% sure that's what it is as I'm not hitting brick first so can I assume a reinforcement bar? as it seems to be all along where I need to be, not just in places.

I expected an easy job as the wall had been previously drilled but can only think the previous holes stopped short of the depth I need for these fixings and they relied on there being more of them (10-12) to support the light track.

Just wanted to ask a) what am I likely drilling into before I hit the metal as it seems tough for just plaster but I assume that's all it can be [1960s house] and b) any advice for putting up a new pole in these circs ie anything else I need to be aware of.. special rawlplugs for plaster.. should I buy something that has shorter screws but more of them if I can't get deep enough for the one I have now.. etc.

Thanks!

AlanCarter

The lintel.

force_ten

sounds like you have a metal lintel or a catnic lintels and this is what you are hitting, in my days of fitting blinds for a living we came across them all the time and we used to drill them with a high speed steel drill bit and fix the brackets with self tapping screws

the plaster/or facing over the lintel will only be 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch and it want be deep enough to get a good fixing

can you go into the wall above the lintel and use a longer curtain

plumbdog

thanks very much; while googling lintels I'm coming across this same advice/ self-tapping screws & so forth - I sort of expected a concrete or steel lintel I guess but was just thrown re the possibility of screwing into the wall being simpler, by the existing track's position. I will have to test to see how high I could go, longer curtains would be fine but I think I will be too near the ceiling aesthetically.

nb out of interest how do 5-minute job instructional vids not seem to encounter this sort of thing, any I've seen haven't drawn attention to this or got into anything complicated?

force_ten

plumbdog wrote: »

nb out of interest how do 5-minute job instructional vids not seem to encounter this sort of thing, any I've seen haven't drawn attention to this or got into anything complicated?

because if they encountered problems like this they wouldn't be 5 minute videos

the lintel should extend six inches either side of the opening so would it be possible to fix the outer fixings at eight inches to miss the lintel and fix into brick and then a center support if required into the lintel with self tappers

plumbdog

force_ten wrote: »

because if they encountered problems like this they wouldn't be 5 minute videos

well yes, it gives the impression you wouldn't encounter this commonly, is all.

thanks again, I will consider if I have room to the sides & take it from there. many thanks for the suggestions.

27col

I've fixed curtain rails to Catnic lintels simply by drilling through the lintel with a HSS drill and then just using a plaster board fixing, or even a standard plastic plug. All these fixing work by expanding in a hole or behind a hole. It doesn't much matter what the material is. The only problem is that a masonry drill is no use. You need an HSS drill for the steel lintel.

chappers

or use tek-screws