Sleek Silver Bay Window Curtain Tracks, Custom Made  & 10 Year Guarantee

Hi. I'm Lee Stevens from ezecurtains.co.uk

Understanding Returns in Curtain Tracks

And I want to talk returns to you. We talk on this website about bay returns and we talk about curtain track returns.

Defining a Return

Now, a return is like up here.

Now this, the track comes out of the bay and returns onto the wall into the room. Now, that's a return. Now, if you've got a bay that may be a five-sided bay and you've got a bit of wall here on the side, that is not a return. That's just an internal bend. It only returns if it comes out onto the wall here.

Sizing Your Returns

Now returns can be pretty much any size you want them to be except there needs to be a minimum of fifteen centimeters. So we've got a flat track here that is on a wall-fixed bracket it can clip comfortably back into the bracket. If it's curved, then the bracket won't connect into the back of the track. Now, some people want their return to fill the entire space on the wall, on the side of the base. That's absolutely fine. So you can have a big return, but typically you'll have a return around about twenty centimeters coming out of the corner of the bay across to the side here.

Conclusion and Ordering Guidance

So I hope that's useful, and now you know what we need and what we call a return. When you're ordering, you'll understand what we're talking about.

Introduction to Curtain Tracks

Hi. I'm Lee Stevens from ezecurtains.co.uk

Understanding Curtain Track Brakes

And if you're ordering our regular curtain track that's either for a bay window or a straight window, you may want to add brakes to your curtain track. So what are brakes and what do they do? So let's go and have a quick look.

The Importance of Leveling in Installation

If you fitted a track to a ceiling in a bay or a ceiling over a window, it's more prevalent on ceiling fixed tracks where the track to the ceiling may the ceiling may not be perfectly level. And what happens is gravity has an effect. So you take your curtains, you've then opened them up like so, but because of a slight slope on the ceiling, the curtain wants to start creeping back down the track again. So this is where the brake comes in. So let's have a look at what a brake is, and how you fit it to your track.

Preparing for Brake Installation

I've unhooked the first couple of hooks, and put the curtain back to one side. We've got our curtain drawer rod hanging here and we add these to pretty much all the orders that we supply and fit ourselves and they're great for opening and closing your curtains and these fit on the second glider in.

Fitting the Brake on the Glider

Now, on the first glider, this is where we're going to fit our little break over the top of that glider.

Close-Up on Brake Mechanism

And a little close-up, it's hard to see, but it's like a little four legged spider or little table with no top on it. So let's move in really close and have a look at how we clip this over the first glider.

Aligning the Brake for Proper Fit

Just before we fit this little break on, you'll find that the four legs on it, that they're narrower on one side and wider on the other side. We want the wider ones to be fit into each side and the narrow ones front to back. Now, this little break, the little legs on the back of the break fit into the channel. Give it a squeeze.

Securing the Brake in Place

I know it's very difficult to see because my thumb's in the way, but the front legs are going to fit into the front of the track. So we're gonna squeeze it, and the front legs have gone into the front of the channel, and the back legs have gone into the back of the channel. And that provides the friction that we need on this track. So, we'll have a look at now how it affects the free flowing of the curtains.

Testing the Brake Functionality

So let's push the curtain back now, and that break holds the curtain in place. It's only a little bit of friction on the track, but it's enough that if you've got a slope on your track ever so slight, you're not going to find that creep back across your window and effectively where you leave the curtain is where it's going to stay.

Conclusion and Ordering Information

Back again, and there we go. So it's as simple as that, and I hope you found that useful. You can order these either with your track or you can order them afterwards.

Your choice.

Introduction to Curtain Installation

Hi. I'm Lee Stevens from ezecurtains.co.uk

And I get lots and lots of people telling me my ceiling isn't strong enough to support a ceiling fixed curtain track. I need to know where the joists are so I can fix all my brackets into the joists. Your ceiling almost undoubtedly is going to be strong enough because I've fitted thousands of these Baytrax over the thirty years almost.

And also, the joists are never going to be in the right place to fit all your brackets.

If you watch my other fitting videos, you'll see how I approach this. You don't need to know where all the joists are because they're not going to be in the right place. So you can hear that's hollow. All ceilings are hollow or almost all ceilings, unless you've got a concrete ceiling, but almost nobody does in a domestic dwelling. So if you're hanging domestic sized curtains, even big ones, blackout, floor length, really wide, as long as they're not like four meters long and six meters wide, and you truly are super heavy stage curtains, but this website is not about those kind of curtains and those kind of tracks. It's about domestic sized curtains, domestic sized windows.

Fitting the Curtain Track

So you're going to present your track to the ceiling. You're going to screw all the screws in. If you have bad fittings, then you use the plugs that we supply. The plugs we supply with the screws will suit ninety five, ninety eight percent of the fittings that you need to do and give you a firm enough fixing.

You're almost certainly when you're doing all the brackets up into the ceiling and just driving the screws in, you're going to hit some timber in the ceiling. Fantastic. You only need to worry about the ones where you don't. The ones where you don't, then if our plugs are still not giving you a firm no fixing, which is highly unlikely, then there's a couple of other fittings here that we use.

Alternative Fittings and Tools

And you can find the links to these in this video. And also, if you're watching it in the right place, you'll see the links below the video.

Now use these. We only use these if our regular fittings fail, and that's almost never.

But it's handy to know where they are, where you can get them from. I get both of these from Screwfix. Nice and cheap. So start with the basics and then move on to these if you have to. Now at the end of the track, on each end, just within the ceiling, just within the bay, there's going to be a beam across the top of the ceiling.

Dealing with Metal Lintels

Now, almost certainly, in most houses now, you're going to find it's a metal lintel. If it's timber, fantastic. You just drive the screw in, you've got a good grip. If it's metal, you're going to need to use the drill bit that you can find in the link in this video that takes you to Screwfix.

And it's a three and a half mil high speed drill bit, and it will cut pilot hole into the lintel. You'll be able to use the screws we supply to then drive directly into that hole without using your plug. That will grip. If you've got a track that returns out to the bay on each side, almost certainly, it's going to be going into brickwork.

Fixing to Brickwork

So use the plug supplied, six mil masonry drill bit, drill the hole, fix your wall fixed bracket on the return.

So that's fundamentally it. Don't worry. You don't have to go upstairs and pull the floorboards up. You don't need to start looking, you know, where every individual joist is because they're not going to be in the right place to support your track.

Final Installation Tips

You're going to be moving your brackets to where the joist is, but it's not going to give your track the support to suspend your curtains from this track. So forget about that. Just follow the guide the fitting guide, and they will show you how to fit our tracks. And then also just use the links in this video to get the bits that you may need.

You don't have to buy all these straight away. Just nip out your local branch if you need them. But almost certainly, you're not going to need them other than these three and a half mil drill bits for piloting the lintel across the top. So your last bracket on each side before your track turns out to the bay.

If it's not turning out to the bay, then the end of the track here is going to be nice and secure to hang your curtains because it's going to be fixed into that metal lintel. And if it's a wooden lintel in a really old house, then fantastic. Don't need to do any drilling. You just screw the screws directly in and you got a super solid fixing.

Conclusion and Support

So I hope that helps. And if you have questions as you move along ordering, fitting, then just get in touch.

Introduction to Bay Window Ceilings

Hi. I'm Lee Stevens from ezecurtains.co.uk

And I want to talk to you about battens on bay window ceilings.

Debunking the Need for Wooden Battens

People talk to me all the time about, do I need to fix wooden battens to the ceiling in my bay? And the answer is absolutely not. They just look plain ugly, and they do not achieve anything. You might as well fix your track directly to the ceiling. Our tracks are designed to be well fitted to ceilings in bay windows.

Alternative Fixings for Plasterboard Ceilings

You're going to find that mostly you're into plasterboard in ceilings, which is fine with the plugs that we supply. Now if you had a spot that our plugs are not doing the job, then there's alternate fixings. And there's a video that you can see a link to here that shows you what those alternative fixings are and how to use them.

Fixing Techniques at the Bay's End

When it comes to the end of the bay, and just before you leave the bay on each side, assuming you're gonna return out onto the walls, you're gonna be fixing into the lintel over the top of the window.

Again, the fitting videos discuss that in more detail.

Final Recommendations on Installation

When you return out to the bay, if you're going to return out onto the walls on each side of the bay, you're gonna be fixing almost certainly into brickwork. So they'll be nice and solid fixings. So when it comes to the wooden battens, don't use them. Fit directly to the ceiling. Our tracks are designed to fit flush to the ceiling, and they're really sturdy, solid, and you won't need to use wooden battens. So I hope that was useful.

Introduction to Ceiling Fitting

Hi, I'm Lee Stevens from Ezecurtains.co.uk

And I want to show you what to do if you're fitting a track to the ceiling in a bay or a ceiling in a room, and you're struggling to get a good fixing.

Alternative Fixing Method Explained

Here's an alternative fixing that you can use. So let's go and have a quick look. Okay. The fixing we're going to use is a toggle bolt. We've got a screw head on this end and then we've got two little wings that are spring loaded on this side, and they'll pop open once we go through the hole that we're going to drill into the ceiling with an eight mil drill bit. So let's go and have a look at that.

Preparing the Ceiling for Installation

Creating an eight millimeter hole in the plasterboard ceiling ready to fit the, toggle bolt.

Installing the Toggle Bolt

Okay. We've got the, regular track here with the bracket on ceiling fix. And we've got the toggle, with the wings on the top here now. And we've got this screw head inside the bracket. So we're going to present this up to the ceiling now and pop it into that hole we've just created.

So let's go and have a look at that.

Okay. I've got the wings on the toggle folded backwards, and we're popping it up now. And I could hear the wings pop open. And if we pull this down now, the wings are holding it up in there. So we're going to just use a driver now to tighten up this. And you need to pull down on the track and the bracket.

Securing the Track to the Ceiling

And there we go. That toggle bolt has now firmly fitted that track up to the ceiling.

Do that for any brackets that you're not happy that are completely solid up to the ceiling.

Final Thoughts on Installation Techniques

Okay. So we got that track now, and I'm really pulling down from the ceiling, and that is a solid fixing. It would take an enormous amount to break that to fixing free. So only use these if the red plugs we supply are not doing the job well enough, then get a packet of these from Screwfix. You can find the link in the video just here, to the ones that I use, and, you'll have no problems at all fitting your track to a ceiling in a bay or just over the top of the window on a straight window. So I hope that was useful.