Home DIY

I'm sure there was a discussion about this a while back but...

Last night I was helping a friend hang a new curtain rail. When drilling the holes for the bracket above the window we hit something very solid. The wall is brick/block so had a drill on hammer setting using a masonry bit. Several holes stopped at the same depth (about 20mm) so I think we've hit a steel beam.

Can I just drill into this using normal HSS bits? I only need to go another 5mm or so. Or are the beams used in construction hardened or anything that will make drilling into it hard work?

You can drill into a steel beam with HSS in theory, but in practice they are tough fuckers. This is why new builds often have a wooden batten nailed/gripfilled to the wall above the window for mounting curtain rails on. Perhaps doing this is a better approach?