Putting up curtain pole

khw05

I need to put up a curtain pole in my daughter’s bedroom. I’ve tried with a normal cheap cordless drill and the bit goes in a few mm and no further. Our flat is 1930’s brick and we can’t even knock a nail into the wall. I’m thinking about hiring a hammer drill from a local hire shop as a cheaper alternative to getting someone in to do it.

The question I have is, I don’t know much about diy so what is the chance I will wreck the wall? Or is it likely that a powerful enough drill will make it an easy quick job. It’s literally four screws as it’s not a wide window so just needs a bracket either end.

Apologies if I come across as a bit ignorant. I haven’t done any real diy before but I don’t have much money to spend on this. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Ebe_Scrooge

If it's just brick you're drilling into then a standard drill will do the job. Make sure you're using a masonry bit, not a wood or steel bit.


Hammer action will make the job a lot easier, but it's not absolutely necessary. Well worth buying a drill with hammer action if you do a lot of DIY, but at a pinch for a one-off job you can get away without it.


Common problems with windows - there may be a concrete lintel behind the brick, which is much harder to drill through. You really do need a decent bit and hammer action for this.


Occasionally there may be a steel lintel. The easiest way around this is to try and move the brackets to avoid it if possible. Otherwise you'll need to use a combination of masonry and steel bits to get through the bricks and it.

magn8p

Had a very similar issue when I tried to drill holes for my inset window blinds. And to make it worse, the exteriors of my property is made of concrete so the cordless drill would stop when it meets the chip/stone.

So, I ended up purchasing an inexpensive Black&Decker corded power drill (http://amzn.to/2hIzSN0) and did the job!

Power drills are meant for jobs like this. Since you say that you have a cordless drill already, you should have all the necessary drill bits which can be reused for this inexpensive but effective power drill.

On the other hand, if your drill bits aren't masonry/metal friendly, use Bosch Multi-construction drill bit set (http://amzn.to/2hGnpcR) - this is something I had to use - and it will drill into almost every material used in the building industry.

All the best.

khw05 wrote: »

I need to put up a curtain pole in my daughter’s bedroom. I’ve tried with a normal cheap cordless drill and the bit goes in a few mm and no further. Our flat is 1930’s brick and we can’t even knock a nail into the wall. I’m thinking about hiring a hammer drill from a local hire shop as a cheaper alternative to getting someone in to do it.

The question I have is, I don’t know much about diy so what is the chance I will wreck the wall? Or is it likely that a powerful enough drill will make it an easy quick job. It’s literally four screws as it’s not a wide window so just needs a bracket either end.

Apologies if I come across as a bit ignorant. I haven’t done any real diy before but I don’t have much money to spend on this. Thanks in advance for any advice.

martinsurrey

magn8p wrote: »

Had a very similar issue when I tried to drill holes for my inset window blinds. And to make it worse, the exteriors of my property is made of concrete so the cordless drill would stop when it meets the chip/stone.

So, I ended up purchasing an inexpensive Black&Decker corded power drill (http://amzn.to/2hIzSN0) and did the job!

Power drills are meant for jobs like this. Since you say that you have a cordless drill already, you should have all the necessary drill bits which can be reused for this inexpensive but effective power drill.

On the other hand, if your drill bits aren't masonry/metal friendly, use Bosch Multi-construction drill bit set (http://amzn.to/2hGnpcR) - this is something I had to use - and it will drill into almost every material used in the building industry.

All the best.

for OP i wouldn't even go that far

https://www.screwfix.com/p/energer-40cr-710w-percussion-drill-220-240v/9765v

being screwfix, if it does break they are GREAT at returns, and at £23 it'll be cheaper than renting on for a few days, spend the saved cash on good drill bits, they make the difference.

khw05

Thanks everyone. The drill I have, although it’s supposed to be a hammer drill, isn’t very powerful. It was a cheap one from Argos. So I will look into the drill from Screwfix and try that. Either way will be cheaper than calling someone out

firefox1956

Its not really down to the 'power' it's much more likely that you are using blunt masonary drill bits.

magn8p

Showing £19.16 at my end. Must be a black Friday reduction!
I will go get one now, Thanks Martin!

martinsurrey wrote: »

for OP i wouldn't even go that far

https://www.screwfix.com/p/energer-40cr-710w-percussion-drill-220-240v/9765v

being screwfix, if it does break they are GREAT at returns, and at £23 it'll be cheaper than renting on for a few days, spend the saved cash on good drill bits, they make the difference.

magn8p

I think you are still better off with the Bosch drill masonry drill bits (http://amzn.to/2hGnpcR) - even if that means buying it from Screwfix!

khw05 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. The drill I have, although it’s supposed to be a hammer drill, isn’t very powerful. It was a cheap one from Argos. So I will look into the drill from Screwfix and try that. Either way will be cheaper than calling someone out