where can I position my curtain pole above the patio door [sorted]

stuart45

30mm is a small screw. You might have dot and dab which could be 25mm before you reach the wall.

Exodi

Jemma01

The screws I've got with the new pole are 3cm in length (x3 per cylinder wall bracket), the ones from the previous curtains were 4cm (2x per wall bracket & slightly bigger diameter). Would the 3cm long enough?

It depends on the weight of the curtain, but I'd say that's probably on the low side. 40 or 50mm would be better.

stuart45

I never use the screws and plugs you get with most the things you get from places like Dunelm. I was putting some blinds up for a customer who got them from Dunelm a few years ago, and half the screws heads snapped off even hand tightening them.

Jemma01

Thank you both so much. I'll reuse the x6 4cm ones since they've held the previous heavy curtains just fine, and I'll add x3 5cm ones to be the lead holes for each bracket.

@stuart45 yeah my dad used to bin them straight away 🤭. Just seeing them, my clueless self felt uneasy at how small they looked

Bigphil1474

OP, if you have any bother getting the brackets on the wall, it might be worth putting a wooden batten along first and fitting the brackets to the batten. Sometimes it doesn't look so good, other times alright. I ended up doing that on the internal wall of the garage conversion as the middle bracket was too tight to the ceiling otherwise.

Boohoo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82057241#Comment_82057241

If you have got the curtains how much do they weigh?

Black out curtains for that size would be heavy I would imagine so will the rail and fittings take the weight?

The alarm sensor should be ok where it is though.

Jemma01

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82057405#Comment_82057405

I don't have them yet, in fact I haven't ordered them! I thought I needed to figure out the length of the pole first, and how high I can place it, and then order the right length. I know what I want (chose the fabric) but they're still to be custom-made.

The ones that we were there previously were also blackout and were pretty heavy, so the walls had no issue holding them. The problem I just discovered is that the pole I chose is 28mm in diameter, which is suited for lightweight curtains, but I wanted a thin one because I like the minimal look 😩. It feels pretty strong, and I think as long as I use strong screws, maybe I'll be fine 😖 …….. live and learn

Jemma01

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82057346#Comment_82057346

I'm holding my breath that I won't have to do that 😩 unless I mess it up so bad lol, which wouldn't be unusual.

That wall held heavy curtains before, it appears to be straight, and I have a laser leveller, so I hope I can get it straight and perfect

FreeBear

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82057515#Comment_82057515

I wanted something that wasn't intrusive and also tight against the ceiling when looking for a pole to go round my bay window. It also needed to be something that would last.. In the past, had plastic tracks screwed to the wooden frames. All well and good until the brackets & sliders started to break. Off the shelf offerings were ugly to my mind, and the 90° "bends" were far from being neat. Prices were also pretty steep. Going to a curtain/blind specialist, and custom poles were outlandish in price.

In the end, went to a local stainless steel fabricator, and they supplied me with a length of 25mm tube with 90° bends in the right place. Brackets were welded on where required, and total cost was about £80. Being a relatively thick walled tubing (1.6mm) compared to what most steel poles are, I.m confident that it will cope with even the heaviest of curtains.

If your 28mm pole proves to be inadequate, perhaps replace it with a length of stainless steel tube - The only issue might be the brackets are not sturdy enough. 28mm in stainless is not a common size, but one source is BES - They have 3m lengths available for £32+P&P (not too bad a price) - https://www.bes.co.uk/304-stainless-steel-tube-for-press-fit-28mm-x-3m-26091/

Jemma01

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82058263#Comment_82058263

yes I really hope it would last, this is the one I got, it feels pretty decent (metal not wood), the brackets that came with it are pretty heavy too (I ordered stainless steel, and they forgot to send them ! Wanted to sort this out this weekend as the heat is killing me 😭).

https://www.polesdirect.com/product/allure-28mm-signature-antique-brass-walnut-end-cap-eyelet-curtain-pole?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23912615035&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qLSBhDaARIsAFTiVh4WCO0MmjoiXBa3m8Ux5TpUmPLbj0nSj_Z85xHRm8Kd_wXHlTpTCskaAtNiEALw_wcB