curtain-railholeuk
My curtain pole has fallen down tearing the rawl plugs out with it and leaving two messy holes.
How can I get the curtain pole back up securely? Ideally in the same holes so that it covers the damage and the curtains are in the same place, though I suppose I could move it horizontally then refill the old holes?
The wall appears to be plasterboard.
There's several ways to fix this, depending on a few things.
The best thing to do is avoid drywall anchors, and screw directly into a stud. If there's one close enough that it looks okay, you should do that. You'll have to patch up these holes, which may be a bit of a pain to do with the textured walls, but it's doable.
The next best option is probably to use a toggle bolt anchor. These are bolts that expand when you put them in the wall:
This site has some good info on them, including a sizing chart:
Toggle Size Drill Bit Needed
1/8" toggle 3/8" drill
3/16" toggle 1/2" drill
1/4" toggle 5/8" drill
5/16" toggle 7/8" drill
3/8" toggle 7/8 drill
1/2" toggle 1 1/4" drill
This option has the advantage that you can probably use the existing holes (just use a large enough toggle bolt), and bolts are reasonably strong so hopefully this won't happen again.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but if the curtain hardware doesn't totally cover the holes you'll need to do some cosmetic work. Keep in mind though that if you patch these holes with compound, they still won't be as strong as regular drywall, so you won't be able to put the same size anchor back in and expect it to hold.
They are called safety cup hooks and have been cleverly repurposed.
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Best Answer
Go buy toggle bolts and fender washers (I have seen them up to 2"in diameter) or some other large washer to cover the holes. You could also make a wooden washer out of some pre-finished wood or look for some kind of hanger hardware that will cover the holes and reinstall the curtain hanger. Take the bolt off the toggle, insert it through the curtain rod hanger, then add the washer, and last the toggle. Push the assembly into and through the old hole in the wall and tighten the toggle bolt. Hope this helps.