Jane called on me yesterday to refasten one of the curtain rod holders in the dining room, which had come loose. It was fastened into a section of drywall, which means there’s a void behind the surface – a common technique in modern buildings but annoying to deal with. I have a feeling the rod may have been up when we came or perhaps I couldn’t locate the wooden studs when I first installed it but, without turning the task into a more major job, I had the challenge of how to securely fasten the holding screw when the existing fastener had failed and none of the drywall anchors I had on hand would do the job.

In this case, there was quite a big hole in the wall which matched some 12mm dowelling I had in the shed. I cut a suitable length, hoping that a screw would push the perimeter enough to hold it tight. That didn’t work so I ended up cutting a slit partway down (making it easier for the screw to expand the wood) and taping round both ends (to try and avoid splitting it entirely). For good measure, I also taped a couple of pieces of matchwood at the front end to give a couple of ‘wings’.

Tapped in with a hammer and then having the screw driven in seems to have done the job although it will be more complex again if I have to effect another repair!