DIY advice: how to put up black out blind on plaster board?

p1tse

p1tse

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we're in a newish house, so mainly the walls are plaster board

trying to put up a black out blind for the little ones room

i noticed the curtain role is coming loose from the wall on one end as the rawl plug has even come loose from the plaster board

tried to put up the black out blind with the self tapper screws last night, but it didn't fix/hold and came straight out.

any advice?

should i try some rawl plugs but thinking it might just come loose
 
I use black out curtain liners on my bedroom curtains in the summer. Easy to pin into place and work really well.
 
no nails a piece of wood then mount to that, means you can change whatever is there without screwing up the plasterboard + spreads the weight out better

do make sure its good and stuck first though
 
david1701 said:
no nails a piece of wood then mount to that, means you can change whatever is there without screwing up the plasterboard + spreads the weight out better

do make sure its good and stuck first though
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:agree:
 
thanks all

brought the black out blind already

will try the cavity fixings
 
ok, will keep an eye out on those cavity fixings, fischer metal self drill. i assume BnQ will have them?
 
p1tse said:
ok, will keep an eye out on those cavity fixings, fischer metal self drill. i assume BnQ will have them?
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yeah, stumbled across them in our branch last time I was in there. I'd imagine Focus, Wickes etc would all do them too.
 
:plus1: for this type:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/18266...Pack-of-10;jsessionid=MEPBB22D1JCUSCSTHZOCFFA

make sure you get the tool though that allows you to pull the screw through to set the fixing part (got mine in homebase for a few quid for a basic one)

I am in the same situation, all the plastic ones I have tried are rubbish. I have tried the self drill screws and they sometimes work but more than often I ended up with a loose fitting that comes straight out the wall so end up taking them off the wall.

Wall fixings are about the most fustrating thing about a new build!
 
Battens, screwed to the studwork behind the plasterboard (even dry lined outside walls should have 'em) then blackout material pinned and taped to the battens.
 
seashaker said:
:plus1: for this type:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/18266...Pack-of-10;jsessionid=MEPBB22D1JCUSCSTHZOCFFA

make sure you get the tool though that allows you to pull the screw through to set the fixing part (got mine in homebase for a few quid for a basic one)

I am in the same situation, all the plastic ones I have tried are rubbish. I have tried the self drill screws and they sometimes work but more than often I ended up with a loose fitting that comes straight out the wall so end up taking them off the wall.

Wall fixings are about the most fustrating thing about a new build!
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compared to old lathe and plaster? atleast there are possibilities with plasterboard, your pretty much screwed with old lathe and plaster that just drops to bits if you try to do anything with it !:bonk:
 
Try a strengthened concrete lintel, you need a damn pnuematic drill to get a hole in it :bonk: oh and the rest of the wall is double industrial brick so when we had french doors put in they had to knock them out one at a time :bang:
 
With lath and plaster, you stand a good chance of hitting a lath with the screw and getting a reasonable fixing into the lath. Miss the laths and just hit plaster and you just get a crumbly mess that's a pig to fill!
 
Nod said:
With lath and plaster, you stand a good chance of hitting a lath with the screw and getting a reasonable fixing into the lath. Miss the laths and just hit plaster and you just get a crumbly mess that's a pig to fill!
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my wall was so caput that you either, crumbled through the gaps between the laths or drilling through the laths caused the plaster to fall off leaving a huge hole!
 
If you are buying the type of fixings like on the screwfix link, B+Q will rip you right off, probably about a fiver for 10 or so, screwfix have them at £1.50 ish.

Also, if you have no plans to take the blinds down, then just screw them straigh into the UPVC window frames. Quicker, easier, will always stay up and doesn't damage them at all. It is how the blind companies would fit them.
 
Ive used the metal (and plastic) fischer type ones before now, its worth noting that if your plasterboard is 'dot and dabbed' on you might need to screw the fischer plug into the wall half way and then cut the initial self drilling tip off and wind it all the way in, otherwise you run the risk of it fowling the wall (although you could pilot drill first to prevent this)
 
generally, near the edges of plasterboard, is a batten made of wood. Usually in a window frame these will be in the corners, and leadinhg edges. if you are lucky, your blind fixings will land on a batten - and you will only need a wood screw

How to tell: mark up where the screws need to go, and send in a long slim wood screw. if it bites you hit wood, if it doesn't, use a dedicated plaster board fixing
where you are screwing into looks loose, or has movement, pop your own batten up over the top of the plaster (you can use no more nails + long screws / plasterboard fixings). when your batten is secure, decorate it, and screw your blind to your batten
 
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Wife went to bnq and duty manager recommended these ones where you have to drill into the wall an place a screw and fixing in. The fixing is on springs and clamp together like wings when in the hole and then once tighten push it through the wall so that the wings open up.

£3 odd for a small packet, but seems as though it has worked (for now)

Thanks all but has made me think about things we have up and future use to look at cavity fixtures and at screw fix etc
 
lawrie29 said:
Also, if you have no plans to take the blinds down, then just screw them straigh into the UPVC window frames. Quicker, easier, will always stay up and doesn't damage them at all. It is how the blind companies would fit them.
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bad idea , upvc frames are not designed to to take screws in this way :cautious:
 
paulyoung666 said:
bad idea , upvc frames are not designed to to take screws in this way :cautious:
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Well they may not designed to, but it certainly does them no harm. How else do blinds get put up in PVCU conservatories where there is nothing but window frames to hold things up?

I agree, that putting holes in them is not perfect, but the thickness and strength of the plastic, which is designed to be quite strong anyway, will not be compromised with a small screw hole in it.

Course, it looks crap if you take them down again....
 
i have seen loads of net curtains and blinds fitted to upvc frames
they have an aluminium frame inside then as well
 
They shouldn't come out, but I always found I had to make a massive hole in the wall for the toggle.

I either use the screwfix screw in fixings, or go into the upvc frames if near a window.

Just wait until the plasterboard is too close to the wall behind and you can't get the fixing in properly....
 
lawrie29 said:
They shouldn't come out, but I always found I had to make a massive hole in the wall for the toggle.

I either use the screwfix screw in fixings, or go into the upvc frames if near a window.

Just wait until the plasterboard is too close to the wall behind and you can't get the fixing in properly....
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toggle seems to have worked for now

thanks again

hmm... i hope i don't come across that scenario with wall too close to plaster board
 
Where the wall is close to the plasterboard, you can generally just drill into the wall and use a rawlplug; you'll just need to use slightly longer screws.
 
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