Curtain Rail Intstallation

tigertrio

I need to install an Ikea curtain rail into my ceiling.

I have used a joist finder to find the beams, as I presume this is the best place to fix it to:

Curtains along this side
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Beams going away from the window "vertically".

1. What screws would I need to use to do this? Is the beams the best place? Do I new raw plugs?

2. Also, I need to cut the metal rail to make it fit, what type of saw? It's thin aliminium.

Bookworm105

if 100% certain you have found the stud then you use a woodscrew and no, you do not need a wall plug when going into wood. If you miss the stud you will soon know about it as you'll hit a void! QED beam is the best place!

odd curtain rail that hangs from the ceiling, not the wall?

to cut metal you use a hacksaw blade
If you do not already own a "junior" hacksaw then getting one would be a wise addition to your toolkit. Sold by millions of places, including so called "£1" shops 

tigertrio

Bookworm105 said:

if 100% certain you have found the stud then you use a woodscrew and no, you do not need a wall plug when going into wood. If you miss the stud you will soon know about it as you'll hit a void! QED beam is the best place!

odd curtain rail that hangs from the ceiling, not the wall?

to cut metal you use a hacksaw blade
If you do not already own a "junior" hacksaw then getting one would be a wise addition to your toolkit. Sold by millions of places, including so called "£1" shops 

Thanks, so any type of woodscrew, the longer the better?

FreeBear

tigertrio said: so any type of woodscrew, the longer the better?

You should aim for around 25mm of screw going in to wood. So assuming the ceiling is 15mm thick (12mm plasterboard+3mm skim), 40mm long screws will be more than adequate. Select the diameter based on the size of the hole in the brackets.

tigertrio

FreeBear said:

tigertrio said: so any type of woodscrew, the longer the better?

You should aim for around 25mm of screw going in to wood. So assuming the ceiling is 15mm thick (12mm plasterboard+3mm skim), 40mm long screws will be more than adequate. Select the diameter based on the size of the hole in the brackets.

Thanks for all your help. Amazing!

casper_gutman

With apologies for the fact that I'm almost certainly stating the obvious, when drilling a hole for the woodscrews you want a small diameter pilot hole into the beam, not a whacking great big hole like you'd need if you were using a plug in masonry! You'll want something only a few mm across at most - aim to use a drill bit that's about the same diameter as the screw’s shank minus the threads.

Eldi_Dos

If it is a round metal rail,wrap some masking tape at mark where you are going to cut, this will help get a cleaner cut.
Could practice a couple of times on the piece that is to be cut off.

FreeBear

If you are drilling metals, use one of these to put a mark where you are drilling -> https://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-spring-action-centre-punch-4mm/953XG

Screwing in to wood, you shouldn't need a pilot hole unless the screws are massive (like 6mm dia or bigger). That said, I will drill a very small pilot hole if using brass screws, particularly when they also have a decorative function. A little smear of beeswax on the threads also help them go in.