How do I fit heavy curtains across a gap?

by Jennie
(UK)

Hi, I could really do with your advice please. I am trying to fit a pair of heavy material curtains across a storage space to try and cover it from sight.

The gap is 164cm wide and I think I need to have more support that just a pole going from one wall to another. We would be drilling into outside walls, but they have been boarded before plastering, so we would probably have to drill a fair way to get to the brick.

I'm not sure what type of poles to use and how much support I would have to give the pole across this large gap. I don't mind having to make some form of heading board to cover curtain rings if you think I will need to use them on a pole. As you can see, I haven't got a clue what to do, your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Jennie.


Hi Jennie

What I would do is fit a timber board 5 or 6 inches wide by 1 inch thick. Take it as wide as you need. Then fit a simple shelf bracket to the wall each side at the right height.

Most brackets will have 2 or 3 holes for screws. I would probably use 3 inch long screws. These should hold everything up well enough with wall plugs.

So you will have effectively fitted a shelf over the place where your curtains are to hang. The next step is to fit a curtain track. I would recommend you use a metal corded track (the expanding kind). You can pull these in and out to fit the width you need exactly. Another good thing is they are fairly cheap.


The reason I say use this kind of track is because it is strong and rigid. So once fitted to the underside of your board it will give it more strength and stop it sagging in the middle.

You will probably need to use some chunky rubber washers to pack out where you fix the track to the underside of the board. This is to allow for a gap between the board and the track for the brackets either side to slide between.

Now you can hang some really heavy curtains from this. I hear you say what about the board it does not look very attractive (bit like me ;-)

Well you have a couple of options you can fix a gathered valance around this by stapling it in place between the pleats every few inches. The other option is to make and fit a fabric covered pelmet.

So there you have it sound a bit complicated but isn't really just putting up a shelf and hanging your curtains.

Best regards

Lee

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