Julian Cassell's DIY Blog

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 »

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 »