Julian Cassell's DIY Blog

Mirror brackets are used to hang mirrors that are frameless or have no pre-drilled holes. Bracket design does vary, but the examples shown below are an excellent option for securing a mirror. Remember to take care when finding suitable fixing points, and there is more about this in my ‘DIY Basics’ guides. Below, only a small mirror is being hung, so only two brackets are required along the bottom edge and two further for the top edge – larger mirrors may need more brackets. read more »

Fitting curtain tracks is simple enough as long as you know what type of wall you are trying to fix into. My guides – ‘Fixing into masonry walls‘ and ‘Fixing into hollow walls‘ will provide you with all the information you need on these different surface types. The other important factor is whether to fix the track directly to the wall or on a batten as shown in the example below. The advantage of fitting curtain tracks on batten is that it is much easier to drill and fix accurately onto a batten, rather than onto a wall which may contain concrete lintels above the window, or, the wall surface may be uneven and therefore again cause problems of accuracy. read more »

Some mirrors are supplied with pre-drilled holes for fixing the mirror in place. In these cases the most attractive finish is achieved if you hang the mirror with mirror screws. These are specially designed screws that come in two parts. The screw part is the same as any other screw except that it has a tiny threaded hole drilled in the screw head, into which you screw the second part of the design – a small dome shaped cap. read more »

Yes, theoretically simple, but anyone who has tried hanging pictures and mirrors knows there can be a few problems along the way. First you need to consider what type of wall you are working with – for example a solid (masonry) wall or a hollow (stud) wall.

In general, masonry walls will accept some picture hooks and masonry nails. However, for heavier pictures, a screw fixing is required with the appropriate size of wall plug, to ensure that the weight of the picture will be supported. read more »

Fitting a curtain pole is a straightforward job but you do need to know what the wall structure is so that you use the correct type of wall plug and fixing. For more information on this, check out my guides ‘Fixing into masonry walls’ and ‘Fixing into hollow walls’. In terms of positioning the pole, there is no hard and fast rule, as you simply need to position it so that it looks right in the space available above the window. However, as a general rule, it should be positioned halfway between the horizontal edge above the window recess, and the coving or ceiling. Use a cable, pipe and stud detector to help find safe fixing positions when fitting a curtain pole. read more »