What to do if drywall anchor isn't flush with the wall

Question

I'm trying to install a curtain rod. The kit came with drywall anchors and screws. The anchors are 1 inch long. However, the drywall is maybe 1/2 inch thick. Behind the drywall it looks like a wood stud (99% sure it's the stud) and not empty space.

I didn't know and tried hammering the anchor in and it's not flush with the wall. I can't seem to drill deeper so I don't know what to do. Do I apply more pressure to push the bit thru the stud so the anchor will go all the way or there's another solution?

Answer 1

When ever you are doing Window Treatments such as Curtain rods - the first thing to do is use a SMALL diameter 1/8 inch drill bit and drill a pilot hole for your mounting holes - this way you can know if you hit a stud or only have empty space - typically you can hit a stud because the window framing.

• You will note the pine wood on the drill bit also the force required to drill will tell you if you have only dry wall or a stud.

If you hit a stud SKIP the Anchors the wood stud will secure the screws just fine.

If you do not hit a stud - use a slightly larger bit to see if you are close to a stud - ie catch the edge of it (your anchor might be too wide and you will need to re-position your hole).

Now onto the fact that your screws are short - a hardware store has longer screws , splurge the 50 cents for a pack of longer screws.

Dry wall patch is sold in stores but for this you can easily get away with pushing in some joint compound (comes in a quick tube as well) - letting it set and then drilling your hole into the stud - use a longer screw 1-1/2 inches should be fine.

Answer 2

If there's a stud behind the drywall, remove the anchor, patch the drywall, and then screw into the stud.

Since I tried pushing the drill deeper, did I damage the stud?

You didn't damage the stud, but if you drilled to any significant depth, it would be good to fill the hole. Use a flashlight to get a good look inside the hole after the anchor is out. You can also measure the depth by inserting a small screwdriver or coat hanger. If it is deep, force some wood filler, like Plastic Wood, tightly into the hole in the stud and let it dry before patching the drywall.

What do I patch the drywall with?

You can patch the drywall with any kind of spackle or patching compound. If it is a large, deep hole, do it in several steps because the material shrinks when it dries. Fill the hole and let it dry, which will probably leave the patch concave and maybe cracked. Then fill that again, applying a little excess. When that dries, sand it smooth.

The spackle will be mainly for appearance, and the wood filler doesn't have the holding power of wood. They will serve more as a guide for the screw because the distance between the stud material holding the screw and the wall surface can create some leverage on the screw. You will want to drill a clearance hole in the drywall and a pilot or clearance hole in the wood filler and pilot hole in the stud for the screw.

Also, that means the screw only has 1/2 inch to attach to the stud. Is that ok? Is that enough to hold the curtain rod bracket or do I need to get longer screws?

Screw length depends on how many screws will be holding the bracket and how heavy the rod and curtains will be (and whether children will be pulling on them). If there are many screws and they aren't supporting much weight, 1/2" of actual stud on one of them is probably fine.

But the better solution is to just use a longer screw (bring a sample to any hardware store, and they will have screws the same diameter & style but longer). 3/4" of actual stud will support a lot of weight, so look for a screw that's about 3/4" longer than the depth of the hole in the stud plus the thickness of the drywall.