I need to hang some made to measure blinds in the recess of a long window. They must hang from the horizontal part of the recess (see image). I can drill through a thin plaster board then there's a gap and my drill hits concrete, I've tried a masonry drill and can't get through at all. I really don't want to have to attach a wood baton, as i'll have the problem as i can't fix that to the wall either. I have looked at various wall plugs, my problem is that the distance between the plasterboard and the concrete starting is 15mm. Most rawlplugs or anchors I can see (or have) are much longer, and I can't use them as i don't have space for them. I tried trimming down some plastic plugs, and using small screws but they plugs just fall out as the plaster crumbles. None of these in the image below would work as they all rely on using a long screw/larger space to fix them. I did wonder if the top right one would work with a screw that was 15mm in length? Am i missing any plugs that would work? I know there are some which require a massive hole to be drilled, again i'd like to avoid these if possible, but appreciate i am limiting my options...
I presume it's a concrete lintel, some diy drills find this just too hard to drill,even using Bosch Multipurpose bits,whereas a sds drill would find it easy to drill. Can't think of any shorter fixings, you could use.
I am twit, you sure it's concrete & not a steel beam? If it is concrete, you could hire a cordless sds impact drill for a day, cost about £12- £15 per day.
You could look at getting something like this, not tried them, but they seem to get good reviews http://www.screwfix.com/p/gripit-ye...lLHkp1sWAENaudpMKFI8yiN3NKlJfZed2UaApqq8P8HAQ
Some praise those fixings, other have had problems using them in horizontal ( overhead) positions pulling out.
These are fantastic and so easy to use, if you have space limitations use a short bolt You will pick them up on eBay and amazon
That's some outlook, Ejt - where are you? Anyhoo, what type of blind is this, and will it be 'used' a lot - ie. raised and lowered? I ask 'cos raising even a lightish blind can cause a hell of a pull on these fixings, and I'm not sure how long any of these (very good) p'board fixings will last. You say it's thin p'board, so possibly only 9mm. All these fixings will be secure enough until they start to move. Once they move a wee bit, they loosen quickly and begin to crumble the p'board area around the hole. If it's a 'vertical' type blind - so the only force is sideways - then you should be fine. If, however, it's a 'pull-up' type blind, I think I'd be looking at using an SDS drill to get plugs in to the lintel (assuming it's concrete). And hopefully you won't hit the rebar... How many fixings can you use along that window?
I think it's a metal one as it sounds tinny, it's hard to say really, but I can't get anything through it, plus the distance between the plasterboard and beam is different in different places!
Thank you, they look great, I can't find one small enough to go into the gap push through to then pull the cord!
Thanks for your comments, It's Leeds! And they are horizontal roller blinds! I put some up last night with normal plugs but one fell down today as I could only use a 1cm screw as the gap was so small where this blind was fixed. I think it's a metal lintel, I tried my metal drill but nothing happened! I have one blind per window so two fixing per blind.
Assuming the plasterboard is attached securely to the lintel - which is should be, with dot and dab - then a solution could be to forget the fixings and simply glue a timber 'batten' to the top recess. Your blind can then be screwed to the batten. Obviously it will be visible, so you'd need to choose something that will look ok. A good bet is a short length of skirting board which will have a finished edge - rounded or profiled (your choice). Try and get a size - width - that'll almost fill that recess depth - ie tight against the back, and stopping a little short of the front. Roughen up the plasterboard surface - sandpaper or similar - and then apply a good coat of PVA adhesive (or similar). Use a couple (at least) of props to hold this board tight against the p'board while the PVA dries and jobbie jobbed. Give it all a coat of the same emulsion paint as the recess - you'll barely notice it. Screw away. After you've fitted the blind...
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