Should a curtain track be ceiling fixed or face fixed?

Ceiling fix (top fix)

The track sits flat on the ceiling, a bulkhead or the top of a window recess. Curtains can run from ceiling to floor, which makes a room read taller and closes most of the gap above the track where light escapes. It needs something solid to fix into, such as a ceiling joist or timber put in for the purpose. Plasterboard alone should not be relied on to hold a loaded curtain track, so the installer finds the structure behind it.

Face fix

The track is held off the wall, the architrave or the window frame on brackets. It suits rooms where the ceiling is too high or sloped, has no structure where the track needs to go, or has a cornice in the way. Brackets come in different lengths, so the curtain can clear handles, sills and blinds. There is usually a gap between the top of the curtain and the ceiling, and some light comes over the top.

Which is stronger?

Neither is automatically stronger. What matters is what the fixings go into and whether the brackets and fixings suit the weight of the curtain. That is the installer's call at your window.

What else it changes

• The drop. A ceiling fixed curtain is longer, so it uses more fabric.
• Light. Ceiling fix closes most of the gap above the curtain. Either way, running the track wider than the window helps at the sides.
• Recessed tracks. A track can also be set up into the ceiling so only the curtain shows. That has to be planned before the ceiling is finished.

Your curtain retailer or installer will look at the ceiling, the wall and the window and tell you which fixing suits. They measure, quote and install. Speedy Blinds makes the curtains and tracks for them and does not deal with homeowners directly.