Plaster Walls and plugs
This issue is driving me nuts and I can't seem to find a good solution to this issue I'm having and covet the collective knowledge of this forum to help me out.
My house is built in 1970 and the walls are double brick construction, so there's no space behind the plaster walls. It's just plaster, a tiny gap and then concrete block and then the exterior brick.
I had our contractor who helped to redo the house install these Umbra curtain rods at the end of the project but they ended up using the screw in drywall anchors and over a few weeks, they literally just fell out of the wall and left gaping holes.
The drywall anchors left massive holes. The holes go deep through the plaster and a 3" drill bit goes straight in before it hits the layer of concrete block. I filled in the holes with exterior mortar joint thinking that it'd be hard enough to drill through so I could use 3 1/4" Tapcon screws to hit the concrete so there's something solid to mount into. These: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/tapcon-3-16-inch-x-3-1-4-inch-flat-head-phillips-drive-concrete-screw-with-bit-10-pack/1000540225 I have to use these screws because they fit through the clip and it keeps the structure of the umbra curtain rod intact.
So I cleaned it up, put drywall mud to cover the ugly mortar, painted it and drilled a pilot hole and was hoping the 3 1/4" tapcons would grab the concrete behind and all would be good. That did not work and now I'm super frustrated that the screws aren't grabbing into anything and the clip is loose.
If you have any other suggestions I'd be grateful.
Caveat: spring toggle bolts won't work because there's not enough space behind the plaster for them to pop open
My house is built in 1970 and the walls are double brick construction, so there's no space behind the plaster walls. It's just plaster, a tiny gap and then concrete block and then the exterior brick.
I had our contractor who helped to redo the house install these Umbra curtain rods at the end of the project but they ended up using the screw in drywall anchors and over a few weeks, they literally just fell out of the wall and left gaping holes.
The drywall anchors left massive holes. The holes go deep through the plaster and a 3" drill bit goes straight in before it hits the layer of concrete block. I filled in the holes with exterior mortar joint thinking that it'd be hard enough to drill through so I could use 3 1/4" Tapcon screws to hit the concrete so there's something solid to mount into. These: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/tapcon-3-16-inch-x-3-1-4-inch-flat-head-phillips-drive-concrete-screw-with-bit-10-pack/1000540225 I have to use these screws because they fit through the clip and it keeps the structure of the umbra curtain rod intact.
So I cleaned it up, put drywall mud to cover the ugly mortar, painted it and drilled a pilot hole and was hoping the 3 1/4" tapcons would grab the concrete behind and all would be good. That did not work and now I'm super frustrated that the screws aren't grabbing into anything and the clip is loose.
If you have any other suggestions I'd be grateful.
Caveat: spring toggle bolts won't work because there's not enough space behind the plaster for them to pop open