10

I am hanging a curved shower curtain rod to replace a spring loaded/standard curtain rod. The rod came with drywall anchors (3 each side) and I started drilling the holes for the anchors. First hole, no problem, 2nd and 3rd holes appear to have hit a stud (much more resistance and wood chips). As you can probably tell I am very much a novice with home repairs, and my question is can I use the drywall anchors in the stud? I was able to get one anchor to easily fit in the first hole, but I can't get them in the other two holes even though they were made with the same drill bit. Any suggestions? Can I use wood screws for the 2 stud holes and keep the drywall anchor for the other? Can I make the stud holes larger to fit the drywall anchor?

The three holes are in a triangle shape: 2 at the top about an inch apart and the 3rd below about an inch in between the top holes.

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
13

Wood screws directly into a stud are going to be many times stronger then drywall anchors. When you have hit a stud, use a screw. When you are just in the drywall, use a drywall anchor.

Drilling out the strong wood to replace with weak plastic doesn't make any sense.

If you really wanted to just use anchors, they make metal anchors that can be driven into a stud but the description of them is:

No pre-drilling necessary - drills directly into drywall even if you hit a wood stud. Starts easier than other self-drilling drywall anchors.

I emphasized the word even.

Stud Solver
(source: easyanchors.com)

Improve this answer
3
  • agree you only need screw into stud.. If you start with screws, you can go back and add the anchor if no stud. If you start with anchor and HIT a stud, you'll have a messy spot to drive a screw, so using the metal anchor is then necessary
    – HerrBag
    Apr 13, 2013 at 4:00
  • If you use a screw directly into the stud try to find a stainless screw. It will be rust resistant in the high humidity of a shower. If your local home center doesn't have them try a boating supply center.
    – mikes
    Apr 13, 2013 at 20:54
  • 1
    I've used those anchors and hit the stud - just breaks the anchor. Never had one actually do anything but chew up the dry-wall and leave a mess after hitting a stud.
    – Alex
    Jan 4, 2016 at 3:56
2

Be aware that curved style shower curtain rods place a lot of twisting type torque on the wall mount screws. I'm not so sure that I would want to mount these to anything but a stud.

I have seen many many installations of these shower curtain rods in motel and hotel rooms since they became popular some years back. It is almost without exception that the rods are sagging a lot and the wall mounts are severely compromised. For this reason I would take steps to ensure mounting the support brackets into a secure and solid backing. If you do just mount it into drywall with some type of anchors I predict that you not be happy later as the mounts take some abuse from the pressure applied when moving the shower curtain around.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.