I'm hoping to mount two curtain rods to span a distance of about 14' so I can partition a portion of my finished basement and make it easier to heat. There is a single wooden support beam running the length of the intended partition. It's 6×8 and probably as old as the house, built in 1926.
Because of a dropped ceiling, only the bottom half of the support beam is exposed. If I were to mount the curtain rod hardware on the side of the beam, at least one screw per mount would be within the bottom third, which I understand is where the beam is in tension.
Is it safe for me to do this because the beam is so thick and the screws are small (1/8th wide, 2" long)? Or is it still a total no-no because I'm putting holes in the beam's bottom third?
Thank you kindly for any imparted wisdom.
Best Answer
It's always smart to ask when dealing with support structures in a building. I'm not an engineer but based on my long experience in dealing with various structural issues attaching screws of that size to the bottom of a 6x8 beam to hang a curtain is not an issue. The assumption, Of course, is that this is a standard curtain and not made of chain mail.