Putting up curtain batten

d0nkeyk0ng

I’m trying to put a new curtain batten up. Drilled into brickwork about six inches above and out from the window and I couldn’t get deeper than 30mm. Used smaller wall plugs and affixed a wooden batten to the wall. Felt sturdy. Put up curtain rail. All good. Went to hang (rather heavy) curtains and the batten started to come away from the wall.

I’ve tried a HSS drill bit to see if I could drill into the lintel but no success.

Any ideas?

nofoollikeold

If its a concrete lintel you'll need an SDS drill with a suitable tungsten carbide masonry bit. The concrete, or rather the gravel / stones within it, will blunt an HSS drill in seconds. You could hire the drill, or, if you are hardly ever going to need it, buy a really cheap one, something like Screwfix 994FY. You might even be able to get a cheaper one from LIDL / Aldi. Don't buy a battery one unless you are going to use it regularly, in which case buy a known make.

d0nkeyk0ng

I’m not sure if it’s concrete or metal. Any way of telling?

If it is a steel lintel, any suggestions?

GDB2222

You could use a multi purpose drill bit. Like this set
https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-multipurpose-drill-bit-set-4pcs/95958

They also sell them individually.

nickcc

You will also find that concrete lintels have steel reinforcing rods inside them. If it's a steel lintel (catnic) you will have to use a self tapping bolt/screw.

Fire_Fox

Could you attach the pole brackets to the ceiling?

d0nkeyk0ng

GDB2222 wrote: »

You could use a multi purpose drill bit. Like this set
https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-multipurpose-drill-bit-set-4pcs/95958

They also sell them individually.

That’s what I originally used to get through the plaster and brickwork. It couldn’t penetrate the lintel. I then tried tried Titan HSS drill bits with no luck.

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Could you attach the pole brackets to the ceiling?

Plasterboard ceiling and I’d have to find the joists. Plus the curtains will be far too short (eyelets).

macman

How about trying the batten and 30mm plugs again, but this time use a grab adhesive on the back of the batten to spread the load further? Obviously you must remove any paint or paper first so you are gluing onto a solid surface.
Let it dry for a full 24 hours before hanging the curtains.

Mr.Generous

As above, use no nails but also double the number of fixings into plugs to make sure.

datostar

I fixed one into a concrete lintel using am old faithful mains-powered 500w B&D Hammer Drill and standard masonry bit, so no additional expenditure. Slow and noisy job but did the trick and the heavy curtains stayed up!