How to Take Curtain Track Down?

[PhilTaglia]

I'm renovating a flat and I've got curtain tracks in the main living room with only a couple of gliders on them. I want to get new gliders on the track but the glider end pieces don't seem easy to remove. They don't seem to rotate off and, if they have a screw holding them in place, it must be on the side that's facing the wall. So it seems like I need to take the track down to fit the gliders.

The tracks in other rooms have brackets with a rotating lever which was no problem but I'm not sure how to get these ones down to put more gliders on. The brackets have a little screw underneath them (pictured). I'm assuming that I just need to unscrew these but then what? Do they pull off? Or slide out? Or is there more to it? I tried unscrewing a couple of them but the track was still rock solid against the bracket. It might just be the length of time they've been up there.

 

[blup]

They unscrew but might crack or snap when removed as they are old.

 

[PhilTaglia]

Yep, that was my concern also. Would it be better to just try to clip the gliders on without taking the track down, do you think?

 

[jj4091]

Personally I would get the complete set new and take the old one down from the wall. Rail, fixings and curtain hooks often come in a complete kit which may not be much more expensive than new hooks.

 

[blup]

Yep, that was my concern also. Would it be better to just try to clip the gliders on without taking the track down, do you think?

That could create the same problem. They are cheap so consider buying a new set as stated and use the removable rails, wicks do them cheaply iirc

 

[foxhole]

The glides usually just clip on, the screws on the underside spread the bracket to grip the rail , they require around 4-5 turns to release but not required if you are just adding gliders.

 

[foxhole]

Personally I would get the complete set new and take the old one down from the wall. Rail, fixings and curtain hooks often come in a complete kit which may not be much more expensive than new hooks.

Glides are as cheap as £2 per hundred.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

They don't seem to rotate off and, if they have a screw holding them in place, it must be on the side that's facing the wall. So it seems like I need to take the track down to fit the gliders.

Looking at your photo, on the extreme left - the end stop, has a metal hook which has to be turned anti-clockwise from below, to release it.

The bracket to the right, has a screw head visible from below - undo that, and the track will be released from the bracket. With the track out of the bracket, a fixing screw will become visible for fixing the bracket, to the wall.

 

[PhilTaglia]

Doh! I never even thought about the metal hook being used to release that end piece. I'll give that a try tomorrow when I'm back at the flat but it sounds like that is the easiest solution.

Thanks!

 

[PhilTaglia]

Looking at your photo, on the extreme left - the end stop, has a metal hook which has to be turned anti-clockwise from below, to release it.

This was indeed the solution. I managed to get all of the new gliders on this morning and then hung all of the curtains on both sides of the room. Thanks so much!