Attaching outdoor blinds to rendered fibre cement sheets

[chopra_aman86]

Hi, I want to attach outdoor blinds to rendered Fiber cement boards. Since it is rendered with rough texture I don't thing stud finder will work. How can I attach this blinds to these sheets? Thanks

  

[Remarka6le]

Fibre cement boards aren't suitable to hold objects like a blind over time, they're incredibly brittle, so you'll need to find the studs. You'll be surprised with what a stud finder can find, that's how my wife found me :P. You can pick up a good stud finder for like $40 or $50, but I always recommend grabbing the best on the first instance so go with one of the better Bosch items that can find timber & steel studs, wires, all that jazz. 

[EricL]

Hello @chopra_aman86

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's great to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about outdoor blinds.

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @Remarka6le. I agree with his recommendation that you get a Stud Finder as the fibre cement boards are not built to carry any sort of weight. If it proves to be very difficult to find the studs, your other option is to lift the cement sheet so that you can peek inside and mark the position of the studs from the outside. 

If you have any other questions we can help you with, please don't hesitate to post them.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your outdoor blinds installed. 

Eric

[chopra_aman86]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I do have a Fatmax stud finder but that doesn't work on the rendered FC sheets as the texture is rough and the stud finder keeps loosing its track. Can you point me to right stud finder which might work on the rough rendered FC sheets?

[EricL]

Hello @chopra_aman86

The Fatmax stud finder is actually quite good. I'm afraid it's time to start considering your options. You can continue with your D.I.Y. quest and risk removing the render to make your stud finder work. Please keep in mind that whatever you remove or destroy you'll need to repair and put back.

Your next option is to get a professional handyperson who has the experience and the tools to mount your outdoor blinds. If you are interested in getting a quote, I suggest putting the job up on Hipages or Airtasker. My number one tip is to put in as much detail as possible in order to get a good quote.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric