Putting up a blind, help!

[NTLL]

I've got two IKEA venetian blinds to put up. I've never put up a blind before, nor screwed anything into the wall for that matter.

It's going outside the window which I'll be able to measure no problem, I also have a drill.

But what fixtures do I need? And what drill part for drilling the hole? It's a solid plaster wall if that's any help.

If someone could link me to what I need, it'd be of a great help.

Thanks.

 

[footprints]

Welcome to the wonderful world of DIY where even the simplest question often has a complicated answer!

You really need to know how your house is constructed, it can save lots of aggro if you do. You say it’s a solid plaster wall so I assume it is brick or block work about ½ inch under the surface.

There will be a hidden lintel above the window supporting the house structure above, about 6 inches deep and extending about 4 inches past the window on either side.
What it is made of will determine how easy the job is, it will be wood in older
Victorian style properties and perhaps still used as late as the 1930’s Concrete or steel in later ones.

If its wood a masonry drill through the plaster and then just put a screw into the wood job done!

Steel and concrete are difficult, with concrete unless you have an SDS drill you will be there all day trying to drill a hole and frankly my purely personal view is I prefer not to drill into them for fear of causing cracking. Steel should also be avoided unless you are experienced and sure it will not cause problems.

The best way is to buy a blind wider than the window, that you can fix to the brick either side of the lintel, or fit a wooden batten to the wall fixed securely 6 to 8 inches or so either side of the window in the brick and with a bit of no nails on the back for good measure and paint it to match the wall. You can then fit your blind and any later poles etc to the timber in a jiffy with wood screws.

Drilling brick is simple just use a masonry drill to the depth (a hammer drill is a must) you need to push a wall plug in (they are marked what drill size they require) and screw into that, always aim to get at least 1 to 1 ½ inches of screw into the brick, the plaster has no strength to hold a blind. Always look out for any signs a cable or pipe might be buried before drilling walls, as a rule though it would be very unusual to find either around a window.
Treat yourself to a pipe / cable locator if you are going to be doing lots of DIY it could save a lot of grief later!

Sorry to drone on, but tried to cover the main points hope it hasn’t scared you off! If you get stuck just say there’s lots of helpful people on here who can advise.

 

[NTLL]

Thanks for your response, very helpful.

The wooden batten seems a good idea.

One thing that is confusing me is the size of wall plugs and screws, is there a guide anywhere that'll explain it to me? One website says to use 32mm plugs?

 

[footprints]

Remember I said even the simplest question often has a complicated answer!

Well Most plugs use a colour code it ain't law as such but fairly universal.
Yellow plugs need a 5 or 5.5 mm hole and take size 4 to 8 gauge screws
Red plugs need a 6 or 6.5 mm hole and take 6 to 10 gauge screws
Brown need a 7mm drill and take 8 to 12 gauge screws

(my desk is now littered with wall plugs )


Plugs vary in quality and fit, Rawlplug Uno are good and have a screw guide on the sprue they are attached to but plenty in the DIY store to chose from, buy a branded drill not some in a cheap diy set.

Couple of suggestions here.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug-...p=Search-_-SearchRec-_-Area1&_requestid=93301

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-extreme-2-masonry-drill-bit-set-5pcs/88598

The 32 mm will be about 1¼ inch long so about right. As you may guess I was born with an imperial brain and despite working with metric since 1971 I still think in English

The timber is the best way to go, as like I said once it is fitted you can change the blind/pole with minimal damage or making good.

 

[NTLL]

Thanks again.

So just to clarify, the gauge of the screw is referring to the length?

I think the imperial/metric thing is what's confusing me actually.

 

[footprints]

No the gauge refers to the diameter old wood screws might be for example 1½" no 8 so it was 1½ long and 8 guage in diameter an 8 gauge screw would measure about 4mm in dia in metric sizes.
Her indoors is calling dinner is ready more thn my life is worth to delay it . I will try to sort out a better reply later.

Bye for now

 

[footprints]

The approximate equivalents of old screw thread diameters sizes in metric are.
Number 4 Imp = 3mm
Number 6 Imp = 3.5mm
Number 8 Imp = 4mm
Number 9 Imp = 4.5mm
Number 10 Imp = 5mm
Number 12 Imp = 5.5mm
Number 14 Imp = 6mm

So a No 8 x 1½” would be about the same as a 4mm x 40mm metric.

Both systems are used still, I tend to use the old gauge size screws for wall plugs and the new metric for timber and man made boards. Old style screws tend to have a thicker core and so expand the wall plug better than metric. Metric tend to have a thinner core with wider threads, so they drive into timber with less splitting and have better grip in the board from the wider threads. If metric screws are used in wall plugs they can sometimes tend to “chew out” the plug if over tightened.

This site has a useful chart.

http://www.thesitebox.com/Page/21/Metric-to-Imperial-Screw-Size-Conversion.aspx

 

[NTLL]

Cheers, you've really helped make things clearer.

 

[OwainDIYer]

I just buy this:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/FXTUB2.html

fixes most light things to walls.

 

[foxhole]

With venitian blinds the bracket is designed with timber fixing in mind and has more than one hole for fixing which are close together, these make it difficult when mounting to plaster surface as drilling hole very close together can destroy the intergrity and lead to a poor fit.
But the brackets can be installed with one sound fixing since once the blind is offered up they cannot twist or move.