DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

My wife, bless her, wants new curtain rails fixed above our upstairs
windows. Presently each window has a wooden batten NAILED above
it. (The builders used 3 inch long flat brads.) I noticed when I took off
the first batten that most of the brads were bent almost double.
Now I am trying to drill/plug the two holes for each curtain bracket.
BUT keep finding I'm unable to drill holes of sufficient depth to take
the plugs. Looks like I'm coming up against a steel lintel?
The house was built in the early 70's.
Anyone got any suggestions as to how to successfully drill/plug
without the wall looking like a gorgonzola cheese - i.e. FULL of holes!
Many thanks in advance!

No magic secrets here I'm afraid Neil. Just to make sure the lintels are steel and not concrete try a very small masonry drill bit ( 3 or 4mm). Concrete lintels are very tightly compacted and can feel like steel when you hit them but a smaller drill bit will make a hole which can be enlarged to 7/8mm afterwards. If this does not work then the chances are they are steel lintels and you woulod be better off glueing a new board over the window. See our project on Adhesives used at home for help with this, the adhesive suggested )gripfil) is fantastic and will hold the heaviest curtains.

Many thanks for a speedy reply!
Have done one pole this morning - managed to find brick further
out on each side of the reveal - luckily the position the brackets
are in still looks ok, not too far out to look strange!
Only 2 more to go, fingers crossed they go ok.
(Would have loved to have used new batten with Gripfil or No More
Nails, but.....) :)