Lathe and plaster ceiling I'd rather stayed in place! General problems, solutions, information and advice on fixing to walls of all kinds

[esszed]

So a bit of background first; I have an 1890 Victorian house which I have been restoring slowly over a few years now. I am also trying to be as environmentally conscious as possible. I am pretty competent DIY wise but need someone with more experience here.

I have a curtain rail to fix on a bay window. I have obviously done curtain rails before but these curtains are heavy, about 6kg, as they have extra thermal insulation in them. I want to fix them to the ceiling but as it is the original lathe and plaster and the curtains are heavy I am worried they will bring it down!

Fixing to the wall isn't an easy option either as it has layers of cornicing right from the window top to the ceiling. And I know from experience that most of the plaster in the house is just dust behind a layer of paint.

So does someone with experience want to hazard a guess as to whether these curtains might bring my ceiling down?! Also could someone make a recommendation about what fixings to use, all the information I can find, (even on here) is what doesn't work well!

(incidentally this is karma for snorting derisively when the sales assistant in John Lewis said I should get a nice man to help me put the curtain rail up!)

[Steve the gas]

Hi esszed,

If you decide to fix to the ceiling, try finding the joists by tapping or small holes- then fix it to those with correct length screws- that will do it !

[chris_on_tour2002]

it might be easier to pull up the floorboards upstairs to find the joists. also you could put in noggins to fix the rail to. otherwise you are reliant on the joists falling in precisely the right place for your curtain rail brackets - unlikely.