Concrete lintel.

[Pigeon Shredder.]

I have been redecorating my sons house for the past month and it's now time to fit the curtain rails and blinds.

My first effort at drilling into the wall was met with more resistance than l've ever had before, 12/15mm in and the lintel ain't having any of it, Bosch hammer drill and nice new Stanley drills.

Whats my best bet please, don't mind hiring the tool for the job as l just need to get it done.

Many thanks in advance.

[peck]

Sounds like you have hit reinforcing bar. try putting the holes on a different different horizontal plane. (higher or lower)

[Newbie to this]

Are you sure it is concrete and not a RSJ?

Or what Peck has said.

[Pigeon Shredder.]

Early 70's Wimpy house, l managed 2 holes and it's definitely concrete, can't alter my height/position as they have bought fitted curtains etc and l'm governed by that.

[Newbie to this]

Is there metal filings on the drill bit, after drilling for a bit? 

[Pigeon Shredder.]

8 minutes ago, Newbie to this said:

Is there metal filings on the drill bit, after drilling for a bit? 

No none at all.

[Newbie to this]

Maybe you have just hit a extremely hard stone in the concrete, only thing I can suggest is keep at it.

[hawkfanz]

if its a stone you try breaking it by hammering a punch in the hole,

[fse10]

I have concrete lintels in my house, i brought a diamond tipped drill bit for my sds drill go's in like a hot knife though butter.

Edited March 27, 2018 by fse10

[peck]

Put a piece of timber across the lintel and attach the curtain fittings to that

[bruno22rf]

Hammer drill will struggle but a cheap SDS will go through with ease - mine are the same and I'm sure were built from reclaimed Doodlebug launch ramps

[Delwint]

7 minutes ago, peck said:

Put a piece of timber across the lintel and attach the curtain fittings to that

He’s still got to drill into the lintel though to fix the wood lol ?

[Medic1281]

3 minutes ago, Delwint said:

He’s still got to drill into the lintel though to fix the wood lol ?

No nails!!

[moondoggy]

I used to fit curtains for my ex wife's business so have tried many methods.

Hammer drills are no good, you need an SDS+ drill and bits. There is a vast difference in performance between the two.

Or, as Peck says, fit wood, but you still have the problem of drilling into lintel. The wood method is only easier if you have a lot of track brackets to fit. I.e. Is it track with lots of brackets or pole with two or three brackets?

Hope this helps.

[Pigeon Shredder.]

SDS it will be, will give the hire shop a call.

lt's all pole and bracket throughout and internal blinds, so they will need drilling from underneath, looking forward to that!!

Thanks all.

[haynes]

Can the blind brackets be drilled sideways into the brick undereath the lintel? Worked on a few I've fitted. Sds should be fine into conc lintel.

[Mighty Ruler]

I used to use an old fashioned rawlplug tool and a lump hammer but since I got an SDS drill cheap from Lidl I use that instead. As someone said, no comparison between an SDS and an ordinary hammer drill.

[Ultrastu]

I wouldnt go drilling through the steel rebar inside .you coukd weaken the lintle and have it crack .then your into rplacing the lintle .oooooops .

[Cosd]

1 hour ago, Pigeon Shredder. said:

I have been redecorating my sons house for the past month and it's now time to fit the curtain rails and blinds.

My first effort at drilling into the wall was met with more resistance than l've ever had before, 12/15mm in and the lintel ain't having any of it, Bosch hammer drill and nice new Stanley drills.

Whats my best bet please, don't mind hiring the tool for the job as l just need to get it done.

Many thanks in advance.

Where are you?

If local, I have a cordless SDS drill you can borrow which will go through a lintel with ease.

[Guest]

Try a diamond tipped drill that may do it .

no nail may pull plaster off with weight of curtains 

or try to drill hole at either end and put a pice of wood on 

[Cosd]

1 minute ago, Swinton said:

Try a diamond tipped drill that may do it .

no nail may pull plaster off with weight of curtains 

or try to drill hole at either end and put a pice of wood on 

Some lintels are so hard, it isn't the drill bits that are the problem, it's the drill.

I speak from experience having ruined many drill bits when all I had was a Dewalt hammer drill. For anyone who hasn't used an SDS before, the difference is incredible.

[LondonLuke]

1 hour ago, Pigeon Shredder. said:

SDS it will be, will give the hire shop a call.

lt's all pole and bracket throughout and internal blinds, so they will need drilling from underneath, looking forward to that!!

Thanks all.

Would price up the cost of hiring vs cost of buying in this instance.

My guys insist on having the Makita/Dewalt/Festools but we have a cheap one for the less glamorous jobs and its not terrible by any stretch.

[Romes]

Cut down some studding, fill the hole you have managed to make with "sticks like......... (and then a 4 letter word that i will get told off if i use again!, starts with S)......" and put the studs in. Let it cure and then attach to a batten which has been countersunk to hide the nuts. You can then attach the curtain holders to the batten with conventional screws and fill the holes for the nuts in with Brummer wood filler (if you are using a nice feature piece of oak for instance) of general filler if you are going to paint the batten..

This should give you enough support as its only shear weight and the Evo-Stick product mentioned above is really good stuff.

Good luck

[peck]

7 hours ago, Delwint said:

He’s still got to drill into the lintel though to fix the wood lol ?

Yes but drilling in a different place and avoiding the rebar will cure the problem

[Cosd]

23 minutes ago, peck said:

Yes but drilling in a different place and avoiding the rebar will cure the problem

it has nothing to do with the rebar, its the concrete he can't drill.