Cannot Get My Brackets For My Curtain Rods To Even stay on the wall!~
LOL. All I'm trying to do is put up the brackets for my curtain rods. A friend lent me his Ryobi 18 volt impact driver in which they just got it to put together some shelves from ikea. lol . IT ONLY HAD one bit that came with it to screw in the screws, so I'm not sure if that's where my problem lies. If the bit was too big. So The rod set comes complete with matching, all metal hardware (brackets and screws) for wall or ceiling mount. Tools required for installation: Screwdriver and drill. Thats all the curtain rod info states. SO when I tried screwing it into the wall, it just made really big holes, the black long screws went in, but they were loose and flimsy. Along with the screws in the curtain rod package, it also came with white plastic screws, though they were not sharp but not sure what they are for.
So is it the drill bit? Is it the screws? Is it my wall? Years ago I put up light weight plastic rods, with small metal brackets, and not very long silver screws, and they went in fine, were secure. But the new rods, and curtains I want to hang are heavier heavier... So any advice? really frustrated. I will try to post a pic of the curtain rods.
UGH OKay update. Talked to friend. Feel kinda dumb. lol... The silly drill bit was turning left and not the right way to put a SCREW IN DUH! So I just did it, but it still wont go all the way in pretty far and secure, but it leaves my wall flaky and shedding white stuff?
Frankly, unless you're experienced using an impact driver they generally have far too much power to drive small screws and it's very easy to strip the head of the screw or over drive them. They're also not the right tool to put together RTA furniture (e.g., Ikea furniture). A cordless drill offers much better control in "delicate" situations. With that said...
Drywall has very little holding power alone so you must hit the wood structure behind the drywall. The framing of a window looks like this:
Ideally you want your screws to hit the "header" above the window but as you can see it only extends so far beyond the edges of the windows, typically about 3". If you want to position your brackets beyond the header, then you need to use hollow wall anchors. There are quite a few hollow wall anchors on the market today and your selection will be based on the weight of the curtain rod and draperies My personal choice is the classic "Molly" bolt which expands behind the wall in kind of a star shape.
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Get youself a set of hex shaft drill bits that includes a 1/16" bit and a 1/4" bit. They should run under $15. When you're done you can give them to the owner of the drill as "rental" on the driver. ;-)
Figure out where you want to position your brackets. Then use the 1/16" to drill a small hole through the drywall. If you hit "air" behind he drywall you need to use a hollow wall anchor. Then use the 1/4" bit to drill the pilot hole for the Molly bolt. If you hit wood, switch out the drill bit and drive your screw.