Installing Curtain Rod - Who to Hire?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do need a power drill. You can pick one up at Home Depot or Lowes for not much. If OP is female, run out right now and get one to give to DH as father's day gift.

What if OP is female and her spouse is a woman?

Then they would have already installed the curtain rod. Please.

Lol!

PP who started the power drill thread. Really, was just linking it to Father's Day (having myself just run out to buy FD gift). Hence the reference to DH. Enjoyed subsequent posts but now realize OP could be male with a DH....

Then they wouldn't be hanging curtains. They would be installing window treatments.

[Anonymous]

Unless you have wide windows (which makes it a little bit more complicated), it's pretty easy to do it yourself. Hang higher and wider than you think you need to. Otherwise, hire a handyman - but this is such a small task that you may need to aggregate a few projects to get someone to come out.

[Anonymous]

Do you have a handy friend? You make them dinner in exchange for a favor and lesson.

[Anonymous]

No one mentioned plaster walls, which we have.

Is there a special technique for plaster (change in drill bit, control of depth, trying to find lathe)? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I can't fathom why anyone would have bought a house if they can't handle this level of project.

[Anonymous]

This reminds me of the time that my neighbor (who was an Oncologist and highly educated) asked me how to change the air filter in his AC. He'd lived there for over a year.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the replies.

I am inclined to give it a try after all the feedback. One question:

I thought we need to find a wooden beam or some structure beyond the drywall for the screws to be held firmly. If you just put the screws on the drywall, would it have enough strength to carry the weight of the curtains? The curtains are not all that heavy and the width is about 75 inches.

The reason I ask is because when I renting the previous home owner changed the microwave that is held on the wall and he must have drilled in 20 places before he found "the one" that held it firmly. You could say seeing this scarred me on doing home improvement myself

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the replies.

I am inclined to give it a try after all the feedback. One question:

I thought we need to find a wooden beam or some structure beyond the drywall for the screws to be held firmly. If you just put the screws on the drywall, would it have enough strength to carry the weight of the curtains? The curtains are not all that heavy and the width is about 75 inches.

The reason I ask is because when I renting the previous home owner changed the microwave that is held on the wall and he must have drilled in 20 places before he found "the one" that held it firmly. You could say seeing this scarred me on doing home improvement myself

Thank you!

You can either get a stud finder to figure out where the wood is behind the drywall or you can use an anchor to hold the rod on the drywall. That just requires drilling a slightly bigger hole and tapping an anchor in with a hammer. Then you screw the bracket into the anchor instead of directly into the wall. Really not hard at all.

[Anonymous]

Stud finder. But if you can't have studs, you can use mollys.

Please just hire a handyman. And watch him as he works and have him teach you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the replies.

I am inclined to give it a try after all the feedback. One question:

I thought we need to find a wooden beam or some structure beyond the drywall for the screws to be held firmly. If you just put the screws on the drywall, would it have enough strength to carry the weight of the curtains? The curtains are not all that heavy and the width is about 75 inches.

The reason I ask is because when I renting the previous home owner changed the microwave that is held on the wall and he must have drilled in 20 places before he found "the one" that held it firmly. You could say seeing this scarred me on doing home improvement myself

Thank you!

You can either get a stud finder to figure out where the wood is behind the drywall or you can use an anchor to hold the rod on the drywall. That just requires drilling a slightly bigger hole and tapping an anchor in with a hammer. Then you screw the bracket into the anchor instead of directly into the wall. Really not hard at all.

Also, I've been a home owner for more than 10 years now. These things seem daunting when you don't know how to do them. The best thing to do is to force yourself to learn. I can't imagine having to call a handyman every time I want to hang some curtains. Plus, now I feel all empowered and sh*t. Take pride in your home ownership.

[Anonymous]

I tried to hang curtains and it turned out we had metal studs. I really (almost) hurt myself.
So, if you're not handy and/or are busy and don't want to learn to do this (how often does one need to hang curtains?), go to Yelp or Craig's List and hire a handyman. Might be worth the money. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thanks again for the wonderfully helpful comments.

I have a handyman coming in tomorrow. We have a few other things as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There should be instructions in the rod box. I am not handy and outsource tons, and I have installed curtain rods. Typically it requires drilling 2 holes for each bracket. I installed curtains in 2 rooms recently and the rod sets included anchors and screws, nothing special required. So steps are:

Measure (I usually put the rods close to the ceiling and 4-8 inches outside the window frame depending on curtain style.
Drill the holes
Attach brackets
Put curtains on the rod and put rod in brackets
Tighten set screw (to keep the rod in the bracket)

It literally takes me 10-15 minutes.

Sounds about right, but since they already have curtains, distance of curtain rod above window depends upon length or curtain and where they want bottom of curtain to fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Thanks again for the wonderfully helpful comments.

I have a handyman coming in tomorrow. We have a few other things as well.

Stay with him and learn something. You need to be a little more handy unless you have limitless wealth.