CP-06Drill and fit the right fixing for your wallOn dot-and-dab, drill through the plasterboard and the air gap behind it into the solid masonry, then fit a long fixing (typically 75-100mm) with enough plug embedded in the brick or block to hold — a plain short wall plug will just sit in the void and pull straight out. On solid brick or block with no board, drill a 7mm hole 55mm deep, fit a red plastic wall plug and use a 50mm screw. On a timber stud, drill a 2mm pilot hole and drive a 45mm wood screw straight into the centre of the stud. On a metal stud, use a self-drilling metal-stud fixing or a toggle-type hollow-wall anchor rated for the load — never a plain plastic plug or an ordinary wood screw, which strips straight through 0.5mm steel; if the curtains are heavy, or the wall gets pulled on when curtains are drawn, fit a timber noggin between the studs first or fix through to the masonry behind instead. On lath and plaster, find the timber studs behind the laths (usually every 400mm) and fix into those with a 60mm screw, rather than relying on the plaster alone, which can crumble under load.