Curtain tracks and rods
What a curtain hangs from decides how it folds, how it opens and how much weight it can take. Here is how the usual kinds compare.
A track
A slim rail fixed to the ceiling or the wall. The curtain hangs from gliders that run along it.
A track suits medium to heavy curtains, can bend round a bay or a corner, and is the usual kind for a motor.
Wave curtains need a track made for them: the gliders are spaced to make the even folds. Pencil and pinch pleat hang from a track or a rod.
A rod with rings
A pole on show as part of the look. Eyelet curtains thread straight onto it. Others hang from rings.
A rod suits light to medium curtains, and its folds fall softer and less even than on a track. A long rod needs supports along it: one in the middle from about 1.2 m, and more past about 2.4 m.
Two tracks for two curtains
A sheer and a lined curtain hang on two tracks side by side, the sheer usually behind, so each is drawn on its own.
What it is made of
Plastic track can sag and yellow. Aluminium is a step up on a window used every day.
Near the sea, stainless or powder-coated brackets last where plain steel can rust.
Plastic gliders can go brittle in the sun, and are usually the first part to fail.
Decide these first
Whether you want a motor: a motor usually runs on a track made for it, so decide before you buy.
Track or rod: changing from one to the other later means new holes.
How heavy the curtain will be: a lined curtain across a wide door needs a track and brackets made for the weight. Curtains for wide doors
Curtains already up and coming off? Curtains falling off the track