Hardware and installing: walls, brackets, anchors and no-holes options
A bracket holds only as well as the wall behind it. This chapter finds out what that wall is, estimates the curtain's weight, compares it with the published ratings of the rod and the anchors, and covers the no-holes options and the questions for a landlord.
- Start here: the essentials
- What is behind the wall
- What the curtain weighs
- Published ratings, and how to compare
- Spacing, marking and hanging level
- Renting: holes, permission and no-holes options
- Motorized shades: who installs them
- Anchors compared, masonry, ceilings and tracks
- See it
- Practice
- Your windows
- Check your work
- Knowledge check and scenario
Start here Essentials
At minimum, know the wall behind each bracket and what the curtain weighs, set that beside the published ratings, and hang it level; if you rent, ask first or use no holes. Go deeper is optional.
- Find out what is behind the wall where each bracket goes. Find it with a stud finder, a magnet or a small test hole (What is behind the wall).
- Estimate the weight with the calculator. Fabric yards and weight per square yard, plus the rod; or weigh a ready-made panel on a bathroom scale (What the curtain weighs).
- Set the load beside the rod's and the anchors' published ratings. Use a quarter of an ultimate load where the maker says to (Published ratings, and how to compare).
- Mark a level line and fix the brackets by the maker's spacing. Or, if you rent, ask in writing first, or choose a no-holes option and store the landlord's blinds (Spacing, marking and hanging level; Renting).
Minimum time: about 45 minutes for one window, longer if a test hole or a letter to the landlord is needed. Done when: the installation checklist is ticked for the window, with the wall type, the load and the ratings written down.
1. What is behind the wall Understand
A curtain rod is held up by its brackets, the brackets by their screws, and the screws by whatever they go into. Every rating in this chapter is a rating for one kind of wall, so the first job is to find out which kind you have at each bracket point.
| What is there | How to tell | What it means for a bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Wood: a stud, or the window's own framing or trim | A stud finder marks it; a small pilot hole meets solid wood after the wall surface | The first choice where the bracket can reach it: a screw into wood |
| Drywall (gypsum board) between studs | Sounds hollow when tapped; a small test hole gives white, powdery dust and then empty space | A hollow-wall anchor, rated by the anchor's maker for the board's thickness |
| Plaster and lath, usual in older houses | Hard and thick; a pin will not push in; a test hole gives gritty dust, then wood strips (the lath) or metal mesh | No anchor maker we found publishes values for plaster. Reach wood behind it, or ask a carpenter |
| Masonry: brick, block or concrete | Solid everywhere; a standard bit makes little progress | Masonry anchors and a masonry bit; published figures exist for concrete block |
| A metal or concrete header above the window | A test hole stops hard on metal, or on concrete, just above the frame | Not a job for a standard screw. Move the bracket, or ask a carpenter or handyperson |
Three ways to look
- A stud finder reads a change in density behind the surface. It is a guide, not proof. Test it
- A magnet moved slowly over the wall stops on the screws or nails that hold drywall or lath to the framing. A vertical line of them is a stud. Test it
- A small test hole, drilled where the bracket will cover it, tells you what the surface is and what is behind it from the dust and the feel. It is the only one of the three that settles the question. In a rental, it is also a hole: read Renting first. Test it
Wood first
Where the bracket can reach a stud or the window's own wood framing, use it. A retailer's guide to Kirsch poles says anchors or molly bolts may not hold a wide span and to use a stud (Measuring & Selecting, Drapery Rods Direct, on Kirsch poles). Product-specific Kirsch's own traverse rod instructions say to use hollow-wall anchors where there is no wood (Superfine Conventional Traverse Rods Installation Instructions, Kirsch). Product-specific Read together: wood where you can, a rated anchor where you cannot, and a stud for anything wide or heavy.
A bracket often lands a few inches from the window's trim, where there is usually wood framing around the opening behind the wall surface. A 1977 extension bulletin placed brackets 1 1/2 in (cut-to-measure rods) or 2 in (standard rods) from the trim (How to Make Curtains and Draperies, Michigan State University Extension, 1977). Convention Whether there is wood at that exact spot in your wall is what the test hole tells you.
Plaster
Plaster and lath is a hard surface over strips of wood or metal mesh, with the studs further back. Drywall anchors are designed and tested for gypsum board of a stated thickness. One toggle bolt maker lists plaster among the uses for its product but publishes no figures for it (SNAPTOGGLE Heavy-Duty Toggle Bolts, Mechanical Plastics Corp. technical sheet), and none of the anchor sheets we read gives a plaster value. So for plaster this manual has no rating to compare against. The route is: find wood behind the plaster with a test hole and screw into it, or ask a carpenter or handyperson to look at the wall. Ask the authority
2. What the curtain weighs
A rating is only useful once you have a load to set beside it. For a curtain, the load is the fabric, the lining, any interlining, the rings or hooks and the rod itself.
A ready-made panel
Weigh it. Stand on a bathroom scale holding the panel in its packaging, then without it, and take the difference. Do the same with the rod. That is a real figure, and it beats an estimate. Test it
Fabric you are buying or making
Kirsch, a drapery hardware maker, publishes the arithmetic in its 2024 price guide (Kirsch Wrought Iron 2024 Price Guide, "Helpful Guides" pages): Product-specific
square yards = yards x 36 x fabric width (in) / 1296
pounds = square yards x ounces per square yard / 16
Its own example is 32 yards of 54 in fabric at 14 oz per square yard: 48 square yards, 42 lb. The same guide gives typical weights by fabric:
| Fabric | Ounces per square yard (Kirsch, 2024) |
|---|---|
| Drapery lining | 2 to 4 |
| Silks; chintz | 2 to 4 |
| Printed cottons | 4 to 6 |
| Interlining | 5 to 6 |
| Blackout lining | 6 to 10 |
| Linens | 6 to 10 |
| Jacquards | 10 to 14 |
| Bump (heavy interlining) | 12 to 14 |
| Velvets | 14 to 18 |
The Curtain weight and hardware calculator does this for face fabric, lining and interlining, and takes the yards from Fabric for making curtains when you have used it. Use the top of the range when you are not sure which end your fabric sits at; a heavier estimate is the cautious one. Preference Then add the rod's weight, from its box or the scale.
The weights show why a lined, interlined velvet curtain is a different problem from an unlined cotton one. The same yardage can weigh four or five times as much, on the same brackets.
3. Published ratings, and how to compare
Three things on the wall can carry a published figure: the rod or track, the brackets that come with it, and the anchors. The comparison is simple arithmetic. Reading the figure correctly is the part that matters.
Ultimate load and working load
An ultimate load is the load at which an anchor failed in a laboratory test. A working load is the figure you are meant to load it to in use. TOGGLER, an anchor maker, says its published values are ultimate loads from independent laboratory tests, and that industry safety standards recommend a quarter of the ultimate load as a safe working load (TOGGLER FAQs). Product-specific Its technical sheet repeats the quarter rule. The same maker says the figures are for objects held close to the wall, and that the age, capacity and condition of the wall material matter.
So for an anchor whose maker publishes ultimate loads and says to use a quarter, divide by four before you compare:
| SNAPTOGGLE 3/16 in toggle bolt, in | Ultimate tension, published | A quarter, as the maker recommends |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 in drywall | 238 lb | about 60 lb |
| 5/8 in drywall | 356 lb | about 89 lb |
| Concrete block | 802 lb | about 200 lb |
| Plaster | No figure published | |
The maker's product page puts the first figure as the bolt "supports up to 238 lbs." in 1/2 in drywall (SNAPTOGGLE heavy-duty toggle bolt, TOGGLER). Read with the FAQ, that is the ultimate figure. A package or product page can print the large number without the division beside it.
Not every maker publishes the same kind of number. ITW's sheet for its E-Z Ancor drywall anchors gives holding weights as laboratory averages, says they change with the age, moisture and surface of the drywall, and says appropriate safety factors should be applied, without saying which factor or whether the values are ultimate or working (E-Z Drywall Anchors technical sheet, ITW Buildex). Product-specific When a sheet does not say, the weight calculator lets you enter the figure as published and choose whether it is ultimate or working; choosing ultimate gives the smaller, more cautious figure. Your anchor's own sheet wins over anything here.
The rod or track
Some rods and tracks carry a capacity. Kirsch rates its Estate track at 64 lb at most, 4 lb per foot, for lengths from 18 in to 16 ft (Kirsch 2024 price guide). Product-specific A decorative rod may carry no load figure; for one of those, the maker's span and bracket rules are what you have (Spacing, marking and hanging level).
Doing the comparison
- Total load. Curtain plus lining plus rod, in pounds.
- Load per bracket. Divide by the number of brackets. The weight calculator does this. It assumes the load shares evenly, which it does only roughly: a heavy stack at one end puts more on the end bracket.
- Anchor figure. The published figure for that anchor in that wall, divided by four if the maker publishes ultimate loads and says to use a quarter. If each bracket has two anchors, the comparison is still per bracket.
- Set them side by side. The published figure is above the estimated load, or it is not. Write both numbers in the installation checklist of Installation and safety.
This chapter teaches how to set an estimated load beside a published rating. It does not say that a wall, a bracket or an anchor will hold. A rating belongs to the product in the maker's test conditions; a wall's age, moisture and condition change what it will hold, and a curtain pulled on or a child hanging from it is a different load. Plaster, old masonry and headers vary, and no maker we found publishes plaster values: when you are unsure what is behind the wall or whether it will hold, ask a carpenter or handyperson. The calculator's result is an observation ("the published figure is above the estimated load"), not a statement that anything is safe.
4. Spacing, marking and hanging level
How many brackets
Makers give spacing rules for their own rods and tracks. Follow the sheet that came with yours. Where you do not have one, these are the published rules we found:
| Rod or track | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Kirsch Estate track | A bracket at each end; the next no more than 24 in from a stacking end; then every 48 in; closer for heavy drapery | Kirsch 2024 price guide Product-specific |
| Kirsch Superfine traverse rods | Rods over 48 in get a support every 4 ft | Kirsch installation instructions Product-specific |
| Kirsch 1 3/8 in wood poles | Two brackets up to 60 in; a center bracket above that | Drapery Rods Direct, on Kirsch poles Product-specific |
| Kirsch 2 in wood poles | Two brackets up to 96 in | Same |
| Any rod in sections | Every joint sits on a bracket | Same |
| Openings wider than 4 ft | Heavy-duty rods usually desirable | Michigan State Extension, 1977 Convention |
The weight calculator suggests a count from the simplest form of these rules: a bracket at each end and one more for every 48 in of rod, with closer spacing for heavy curtains. Kirsch's track rule adds one within 24 in of each end where the curtain stacks, because the stacked fabric sits there. Your maker's own rule wins.
Room for the bracket
A bracket needs a flat surface to sit on. For an outside-mount blind or shade, Hunter Douglas asks for at least 2 in of level surface above the trim, or mounting on the frame itself (Inside vs. outside mount, Hunter Douglas). Product-specific For a curtain rod, the bracket's projection (how far it holds the rod from the wall) sets the return, the side of the curtain that turns back to the wall. The Kirsch pole guide gives a standard return of 3 to 4 in and about 2 in more for each added layer. Product-specific Layers are covered in Style and proportion.
Marking level
- Mark the rod height at one end. The height comes from Measuring for curtains, measured from the floor or the top of the trim as that chapter decides.
- Draw a level line across. Use a spirit level, or a long straight board with a level on it, rather than measuring up from the floor at each end: a floor or ceiling may not be level, and a rod measured from a sloping floor slopes with it. Test it
- Mark each bracket on the line, at the ends and at the spacing your rule gives, and check each mark against what you found behind the wall. Move a bracket an inch or two to reach a stud where the rule allows.
- Drill, fix the brackets, and set the rod. Check the rod with the level before the curtain goes on, and again after.
Use a step stool or ladder as its label instructs, on a firm, level surface. A second person to hold the far end of a long rod makes the job easier. Preference
5. Renting: holes, permission and no-holes options
In a rental, whether you may make holes is a question for your lease and your landlord, not this manual. What the law says about holes and deposits varies by place. Here is what to ask, and what the options are while you wait for an answer.
What the lease and the law say
Read the lease for anything about alterations, holes, fixtures or window coverings. Some leases name window coverings directly; others say only that you return the home as you found it, apart from normal wear and tear.
One state's attorney general table, reproduced by a legal aid service, is an example of how a place may draw the line. In Idaho, it lists nail holes, pin holes and small cracks in the wall as normal wear and tear, which a landlord may not keep deposit money for, and large ("gaping") holes in walls as damage (What is "Normal Wear and Tear"?, Idaho Legal Aid Services). Ask the authority That is Idaho's line, not a rule for anywhere else. The same guide advises dated photos at move-in and move-out.
Ask in writing
Write to the landlord or manager before you make a hole. Say which window, what you want to hang, how many screws, where, and how you will fill the holes when you leave. Keep the reply. A yes in writing settles the question for that window; a no tells you to choose a no-holes option. Ask the authority
The landlord's blinds
Many rentals come with blinds that have to be there at move-out. If you take them down to hang something else, photograph them in place first, store them flat with their brackets and screws in a labeled bag, and put them back up before you leave. Ask before you take them down, in the same letter. Lease and move-in record, in Learn First Home Basics, covers the move-in photos and the condition record.
No-holes options
| Option | How it holds | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Tension rod inside the frame | A spring or a twist pushes its ends against the two sides of the frame | The frame's width (the narrowest measurement) is inside the rod's range; there is clear depth in front of locks and handles; the curtain and rod weigh less than the limit printed on the package |
| Adhesive hooks or rod holders | An adhesive strip on the wall or trim | The weight limit and the surfaces listed on the package; whether the strip can come off paint without damage, as the package says |
| The existing hardware | Brackets the landlord already fixed | Whether the lease lets you hang your own rod on them |
| A covering that needs no hardware | Removable film, or a temporary shade pressed into the frame | The lease; Privacy by day and by night covers the first nights |
We did not find a tension rod or adhesive hook maker's specification we could cite. The limit for these products is on the product's package; read it there, for the exact product, and set your weighed curtain beside it. Product-specific A tension rod holds by friction against the frame, so the frame's finish and squareness matter as well as the figure. If the rod slips in a test with the curtain on, it is the wrong rod for that frame. Test it
Housing type matters too. Student and furnished housing often has its own written rules on what may go on the walls. Read them and ask the housing office before you buy.
6. Motorized shades: who installs them
A motorized shade needs power, and the power decides who installs it. Somfy, a motor maker, describes four kinds (How are motorized blinds and shades powered?, Somfy, 2022): Product-specific
| Power | What it needs | Who installs it |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | No outlet; rechargeable versions exist | A householder, by the maker's instructions |
| Rechargeable, including Somfy's WireFree motors | No wiring; recharged once or twice a year, or by a solar panel (WireFree Motors, Somfy) | A householder |
| Solar | A small panel behind the shade facing out; which Somfy says may be more effective in south- or west-facing rooms, and not under awnings, overhangs or trees | A householder |
| Plug-in | A power adaptor into an outlet; no additional wiring | A householder |
| Hardwired | A connection to the home's wiring | A licensed electrician |
Somfy says some hardwired units are easier to install yourself than others; this manual's line is simpler. Work on the home's wiring is an electrician's. Ask the authority A motorized shade also has no operating cord, which matters in a home with a child; Cords, children and fire covers that side.
Go deeper 7. Anchors compared, masonry, ceilings and tracks
Toggle bolts and self-drilling anchors
A toggle bolt passes through a hole and opens a bar behind the wall that spreads the load over the back of the board. A self-drilling anchor screws into the board itself. The two makers' sheets give figures of different kinds, which is why they are not compared directly here:
| Anchor | 3/8 in board | 1/2 in board | 5/8 in board | Kind of figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNAPTOGGLE, 3/16 to 1/2 in bolts | Not given | 238 to 275 lb | 356 to 576 lb | Ultimate tension; use a quarter |
| E-Z Ancor Mini | 30 lb | 40 lb | 50 lb | Lab average; "appropriate safety factors" to be applied |
| E-Z Ancor | 40 lb | 50 lb | 75 lb | Same |
| E-Z Ancor Twist-N-Lock | 65 lb | 75 lb | 80 lb | Same |
| E-Z Toggle | 70 lb | 85 lb | 150 lb | Same |
Two things travel with every figure. The board's thickness: the same anchor in 5/8 in board can carry far more than in 3/8 in. And the space behind the wall: a toggle needs room to open, and the SNAPTOGGLE sheet asks for at least 1 7/8 in of clearance behind the board. Insulation, a pipe or a stud behind the hole stops it opening.
A curtain bracket holds the rod some inches from the wall, so the anchor carries a pull outward as well as the weight downward. TOGGLER's note that its figures are for objects held close to the wall applies here. The farther the projection, the more the published figure overstates what the anchor offers. Physical principle
Masonry
Brick, block and concrete take masonry anchors in holes drilled with a masonry bit. The SNAPTOGGLE sheet gives ultimate figures in concrete block from 802 to 2,038 lb across its sizes, a quarter of which is far above any curtain. If the wall is old, crumbling or you cannot tell what it is, ask a mason or a carpenter.
Ceiling-mounted track
A track fixed to the ceiling lets a curtain run from ceiling to floor and round a bay. On a ceiling, the anchor carries the load as a straight pull downward, which is the tension case, where on a wall it is mostly shear. SNAPTOGGLE publishes both for 1/2 in drywall (ultimate tension 238 to 275 lb, ultimate shear 241 to 292 lb). We did not find a maker's figure for curtain track on a ceiling as such; find the ceiling joists, use the track maker's own sheet, and treat the ceiling as the wall it is. A bendable track for a bay, like Walt's, is a product with its own bracket rules.
Traverse rods and track brackets
A traverse rod opens and closes the curtain by a cord or wand that pulls carriers along the rod. Kirsch's Superfine instructions set the brackets from the curtain rather than the window: bracket width is the distance from the first pleat to the last, less 5 in for the center overlap, and bracket height is the curtain's height to the hem less 3/8 in for the bracket, with the hook pins set 1 1/2 in below the top of the curtain. Product-specific A corded traverse rod has an operating cord; in a home with a child, read Cords, children and fire before choosing one.
8. See it See it
Walt: plaster, and three rods in a bay. Walt owns a 1926 house with plaster and lath walls. His living room bay has three windows, each 30 in wide inside the trim, with 10 in of wall between them. He is making lined pinch-pleat curtains in a linen and cotton blend, 54 in wide; Buying, ordering or making gave him 5.78 yards of face fabric and 5.53 yards of lining per window, under the assumption of a 40 in rod per window.
Known: the wall is plaster and lath; the window sizes; the fabric and its yardage.
Assumed (Walt's): that the plaster above the windows is sound, which he has not tested; one 40 in rod per window; a rod and brackets weighing about 3 lb, which he will replace with the figure from the box or the scale.
Open: what is behind the plaster at each bracket point (settled by a test hole and the stud finder, or by a carpenter); whether the bay gets three rods or one bendable track (settled when he chooses the hardware).
Weight per window. Face: 5.78 yards x 36 x 54 / 1296 is 8.67 square yards. At the top of Kirsch's linen range, 10 oz, that is 5.42 lb. Lining: 5.53 yards is 8.29 square yards; at 4 oz, 2.07 lb. Curtain: about 7.5 lb. With the rod, about 10.5 lb.
Brackets. A 40 in rod is under 48 in, so two brackets, one at each end. About 5 1/4 lb per bracket, under these assumptions.
The comparison he cannot make. His wall is plaster, and no anchor maker he can find publishes a plaster figure. So the comparison is not "anchor rating against 5 1/4 lb". It is whether he can reach wood. He drills one small test hole where the left bracket of the middle window will cover it. Gritty plaster dust, then wood lath, then, about an inch further, solid wood: the framing beside the window. He writes in the installation checklist: "Plaster and lath; framing reached at the left bracket point by test hole; load about 10.5 lb per window, 5 1/4 lb per bracket, estimated; screws into framing; no anchor rating used." He repeats the test at each bracket point before fixing anything. If a point meets only lath and empty space, he moves the bracket within the spacing rule or asks a carpenter.
Priya: no holes, a sash lock and the landlord's blinds. Priya rents a ground-floor apartment. Her lease says no holes without written permission, and the landlord's 1 in vinyl mini blinds must be there at move-out. Her bedroom window measures 34 1/4 in at its narrowest inside the frame, with 2 3/4 in of depth and a sash lock that stands 3/4 in proud. She works nights and wants a blackout curtain inside the frame.
Known: the measurements; the lease terms; the panel she bought weighs 2 1/2 lb on her bathroom scale (her own weighing).
Assumed: no child lives in or visits the home, so the mini blinds' cords are not a hazard here.
Open: whether the landlord will allow a bracket that needs no drilling, or her taking the blinds down (settled by her written request); whether a tension rod will hold inside the frame with the sash lock in the way (settled by the rod's package figures for width range, depth and load, and by a test).
What she does. She writes to the landlord asking to take the blinds down and store them, and asking about a no-drill bracket. While she waits, she looks for a tension rod whose range covers 34 1/4 in and whose ends fit in front of the sash lock, which leaves 2 in of depth (2 3/4 in less 3/4 in), and in front of the mini blinds' headrail if the blinds have to stay up. The package limit has to be above her 2 1/2 lb panel plus the rod; she reads it on the box. She photographs the blinds in place, writes "tension rod in the wood frame, no holes" as the wall type in the installation checklist, and the panel weight and the package limit beside it. Under these assumptions, that finishes the window without a hole. If the rod slips, the landlord's answer decides the next step.
Free sources worth reading:
- TOGGLER FAQs: the quarter-of-ultimate rule in the maker's own words, and why the wall's condition matters.
- Kirsch Wrought Iron 2024 Price Guide: the "Helpful Guides" pages give the weight formula, the fabric weights and the track bracket spacing.
- Measuring & Selecting, Drapery Rods Direct: pole spans, bracket counts and returns for one maker's poles.
- What is "Normal Wear and Tear"?, Idaho Legal Aid Services: one state's line between holes that are wear and holes that are damage, as an example of what to look up where you live.
9. Practice Practice
Minimum: one window: the wall type at each bracket point (or, for a renter, the no-holes option or the written request), the load, and the rating it is set beside, written in the installation checklist. Time: about 45 minutes. Materials: a stud finder or a magnet, a drill with a small bit for a test hole (only where you may make one), a bathroom scale, a spirit level, a pencil, a tape measure, the rod's and anchors' packaging or sheets, and a step stool.
- Find the wall. At each bracket point, use the stud finder or magnet, then a test hole where the bracket will cover it, if you may make one. Write the wall type in the installation checklist of Installation and safety.
- Weigh or estimate. Weigh the panel and the rod, or enter the yards and fabric weight in Curtain weight and hardware. Write the total.
- Find the ratings. From the rod's and anchors' packaging or sheets. Note whether the anchor figure is ultimate or working, and divide by four where the maker says to.
- Compare. Load per bracket beside the anchor figure, and total load beside the rod's capacity if it has one. Write both numbers and the word "above" or "below".
- Mark level and fix, or, if you rent, send the written request and set up the no-holes option. Photograph the landlord's blinds before anything comes down.
Work the weight by hand for a second fabric, one at each end of Kirsch's range (a printed cotton and a velvet, for example), with the same yardage. See how the load per bracket changes, and whether the bracket count by the spacing rule should change with it.
10. Your windows Your windows
11. Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Do you know what is behind the wall at each bracket point, by a test hole or by finding a stud, rather than by guessing?
- Is there a load in pounds for the curtain and the rod, from a scale or the calculator?
- Is the anchor figure you used the right kind: a quarter of an ultimate load where the maker says so, or a working load as published?
- Are the load and the ratings written side by side, with "above" or "below", and no word "safe"?
- Are the brackets spaced by the maker's rule, with joints on brackets, and is the rod level?
- If you rent: is there written permission, or a no-holes option, and are the landlord's blinds photographed and stored?
Worked example
Walt's record meets every criterion that applies to plaster. He knows the wall at the bracket point he tested and will test the rest; he has a load per window and per bracket, labeled as an estimate under stated assumptions; and he wrote that no anchor rating was used because none exists for plaster, rather than borrowing a drywall figure. The bracket count follows the simplest rule for a 40 in rod. What he has not done is check the other five bracket points, so the checklist is ticked for the middle window only.
Priya's record meets the renter criteria: the request is in writing, the blinds are photographed, the wall entry says "tension rod, no holes", and the panel's weight is beside the package limit she read. Whether the rod holds is a test she makes with the curtain on.
Common mistakes
- Reading the big number on the package as a working load. If the maker publishes ultimate loads, divide by four first.
- Using a drywall figure for plaster. The test was in gypsum board; plaster is a different wall.
- Leaving the rod out of the load. The rod and its rings are part of what the brackets carry; read the weight on the box or weigh them.
- Measuring up from the floor at both ends instead of drawing a level line. An out-of-level floor puts the rod out of level.
- A joint between brackets. A rod in sections sags at an unsupported joint.
- Taking the landlord's blinds down without asking or photographing them. Move-out is the wrong time to find a missing bracket.
What is still unresolved
Whether a particular wall will hold is not something this manual can settle; a carpenter or handyperson who can see the wall can. What a lease or a local law allows is the landlord's and the law's, and the reader asks. Hardwired motors are an electrician's work. The rod height and width come from Measuring for curtains, and cords on traverse rods and shades from Cords, children and fire.