Entertainment For Lively Minds
Blind faith...
In the newly-refurbished cellar there is a newly-installed window. To allow the newly-refurbished cellar to function as an occasional sleep-over room for the small daughter and her friends, a blind has to be installed to prevent passer-by observance.
In keeping with my DIY history, of the four rawlplug/screw interfaces required to affix the blind to the plaster ceiling, one has seated itself remarkably well, two just go round and round like a circle in a spiral, and one (the blind having now been fitted in a perfect example of the triumph of hope over experience) is descending in strict accordance to the laws of gravity and will doubtless, by morning, have overcome the resistance of its fellows and turned my blind into a crumply floor covering.
If anyone out there is A Proper Man,can you point me towards a remedy?
And speaking as one who took over forty minutes to put up a brass coathook on the back of a door with millimetric accuracy, only to have its merits questioned due to the mere side-issue of its being upside-down and functionally useless, are you, like me, a DIY disaster area, or a master of the manly tool-based arts?
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The plugs are not gripping anything only the plaster board. The one that are secure are gripping the ceiling joists. Why are you not putting the fittings onto the wall Vernier?You need to locate the joists.Tap along the ceiling with a hammer gently and when you hear a solid sound instead of a hollow on you have locate the joists. Then your plugs should grip the wood and your blinds will stay up! If the joists are too far apart to fit the dims of the blinds then you need plasterboard fixings [you will get these in a decent hardware store,B and Q stuff is shit].Hope this helps
Rawlplugs - heeurgh! - what are they good for?
I have had precisely this kind of experience every time I use a rawlplug. I am now only confident of drilling a hole where I know there is a wooden stud*/joist on the other side.
For a blind fitting that must hang down from a weak-ish plaster ceiling, I would consider glueing a strong plank of wood directly to the ceiling, after having already drilled the necessary holes into the plank (that way, you don't have to be drilling upside down).
Drilling into wood is better than drilling into plaster. The plank also serves to cover the holes that have already been made.
Obviously, use really strong glue and a thick enough plank to cope with the length of the screws.
If the wood is nice-looking and fits in with the shape and colour of the fitting and/or the ceiling, it may even look really professional.
*not Daniel Craig
Rawlplugs for plasterboard
If you can't find a joist to screw into then buy rawlplugs for plasterboard... once pushed in they splay out against the back of the plaster when the screw is tightened... if that's unclear just ask for rawlplugs for plasterboard (not that the spotty oik at B and Q will know what you're talking about).
Or better still use a bearer (or 'plank' as described above) but don't just glue it (it will only be as strong as the paper that is glued to the plaster beneath it), screw it to the nearest joists then screw the blind brackets to it.
Echoing all of the above...
...but are you using the correct drill bit? Plasterboard is fragile stuff, so use a smaller drill bit and tap the rawlplug home with a hammer - the screw will expand it and give a good grip. If all else fails, stuff the hole with a wodge of matchsticks and screw into that, though to be honest, venetian blinds can come under undue stress, so try and hit those joists if you can - you don't even need to bother with the rawlplugs if you do...
I'm quite partial to a bit of DIY, mainly because getting this sort of stuff done can become ridiculously expensive. This very afternoon, I've just finished adding a socket to my "server room" as well as wiring reams of CAT6 (the black stuff in the picture). The socket was the first time I've worked directly in the consumer unit - why does a little voice always tell me "Touch the hot wires, go on!"
You need those spring loaded....
....bolts that fold up, go through the hole, open up then pull against the plasterboard. Pain in the ass, and can only be used once, so get it right or buy a few spares. Or allow for multiple trips to the hardware store. Did I just reveal my lack of DIY nous ?
Thank you gentlemen
I am using proprietary plasterboard plugs but I think the age of the plaster has made the hole (properly-selected drill bit according to the instructions on the plus packet, I promise) slightly larger than it should be - henace the problems.
It's the sheer inevitability of the whole affair that's so depressing. No matter which wall/ceiling in any of the rooms in any of the houses I hve lived in, it seems that one screw will seat perfectly, two will go round and round uselessly and one will make a bid for freedom. It makes me loath to DIY at all.
And yes, I'm aware that the common factor is the nut behind the drill.
I favour the bit-of-wood-to-screw-the-blind-bits-to solution, as mentioned above, when the contraption finally hits the floor - but thank you all for your suggestions, I really do appreciate it.
*ahem*
If it's only occasional use, how about this to save agro:
http://www.blindsinabox.co.uk/
Or, bit more expensive, but endlessly reusable:
http://www.bumpto3.com/sleep/Sleep_accessories/gro_anywhere_blind
No DIY required.
Wrong type of blind
You need an Apple iBlind. It will make the room darker, your daughter will sleep more soundly, and have much better dreams....
Meanwhile, I'm ordering the second one from Hannah's link above. For the office.