Guides
Installing a motorized curtain track: what has to be ready, plasterboard ceilings, and keeping your curtains
A motorized curtain track can go into a home you already live in, with nothing knocked out. Three things do have to be ready before the fitter arrives: power, something for the track to fix into, and finished decoration. This guide takes them one at a time, and says which are yours to sort out and which the fitter checks at the measure.
When a motorized curtain track job stalls, it is rarely the track itself. It is what sits around it: the socket is at the wrong end, the ceiling has nothing to fix into, or the existing curtains won't hang on the new track. All of that can be known in advance. Check it before the measure and the job runs to schedule. Pricing has its own guide, what a motorized curtain track costs; this page is only about the site.
What has to be ready before a motorized track is installed?
| Item | What ready means | Who handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Power socket | A socket near the end of the track where the motor will sit | You, through an electrician, beforehand. We don't do wiring |
| Fixing point | Knowing whether the top is masonry, plasterboard, or an existing curtain box | The fitter checks at the measure. A plasterboard ceiling that needs a backing beam is 550 THB per metre |
| Decoration | The room fully finished before the measure | You |
| Old track or curtains | Tell us how many have to come down | We take them down, 200 THB per unit |
| Ceiling height | A rough height, or a photo | If it needs scaffolding, 500 THB per level |
| Curtains | Decide whether you keep yours or have new ones made | If keeping them, the fitter checks the heading and hooks on site |
| Condo | Let the building management know in advance that a fitter is coming | You |
The item people skip is decoration. The room needs to be fully finished before the measure, because the measurements have to be the final ones. If flooring, ceiling work or built-ins beside the window are still to come, both the drop and the track length can still change. More on that in fitting motorized blinds in a finished home.
Where does the socket need to be, and what power does the track use?
The track's motor sits at one end, so the socket has to be near that end. Look at which end your existing socket is closest to, and tell us when you first message. If the socket is on the opposite side from where you want the motor, or there isn't one nearby at all, an electrician has to sort that out before fitting day. We don't do electrical wiring. The track motor in our price table is the Novo N99, and these are the figures from the manufacturer's spec sheet.
| Item | Novo N99, per the spec sheet |
|---|---|
| Fits | Pleated-curtain track · Wave-curtain track |
| Supply | AC 100-240V |
| Power | 40 W |
| Motor size | 47 × 65 × 80 mm |
| Motor weight | 0.26 kg |
| Travel speed | 10-20 cm/s |
Two of those figures matter for preparation. The first is the supply: ordinary household mains already falls inside AC 100-240V, so a normal socket is what it uses. The second is the motor size: if the track is going to hide in a curtain box or a ceiling recess, the end of the run needs room for a motor of that size. The fitter measures this on site. For the price of the track and motor by length band, see what a motorized curtain track costs.
Can a motorized track go on a plasterboard ceiling?
Yes, but not screwed into bare plasterboard. As a rule a plasterboard sheet doesn't hold much pull on a screw, and a curtain track carries both the weight of the fabric and the motor's pulling load, every day. So the fixings have to reach something solid above the board: the ceiling frame, or a backing beam added along the line of the track. If your site needs a backing beam, we charge 550 THB per metre. Whether it does is something the fitter decides at the measure; a photo alone can't settle it.
- Ceiling fixing — the track sits flush with the ceiling and the fabric falls from the top of the room, with little hardware on show. What matters is what is above the board to fix into.
- Wall fixing — brackets go into the wall above the frame. It is the alternative when the ceiling can't take a track or something is in the way up there. What matters is whether that wall is masonry or a lightweight partition.
- Inside a curtain box or ceiling recess — the tidiest finish, but the width and depth of the recess have to suit the track and the motor at its end. For two layers it has to take two tracks.
Single or double track, one-way or centre-parting: when do you decide?
- One-way draw — the fabric stacks to a single side. It usually suits a run where one end meets a wall or a wardrobe.
- Centre-parting — the fabric parts in the middle and stacks left and right. A window centred on its wall usually looks more balanced this way.
- Single track — for one curtain.
- Double track — for a sheer and an opaque curtain that draw separately. It needs more room at the top than a single track; see two-layer curtains, sheer plus blackout.
Both are decided at the measure, not on fitting day, because how the curtain draws affects where the motor sits, and where the motor sits brings you back to the socket. There is no fixed figure on this site for a double track or for either way of drawing; those numbers appear in the quote after the on-site measure.
Can a motorized track be used with your existing curtains?
Usually yes, and then there is no fabric cost. Two things have to be checked on site first. One is whether the heading and hooks on your curtains suit the new track. The other is whether the drop still works with where the new track sits, since it may end up higher or lower than the old one. Neither can be settled from a photo. The Novo N99 spec sheet lists it for pleated-curtain and wave-curtain tracks. If your curtains have another heading, such as eyelets, photograph the heading and message us on LINE first. The difference between the two headings is covered in pleated vs wave curtains.
Two more things worth knowing. The old track can't stay: a motor can't be added to an ordinary track you already have, and the whole rail is replaced, because a motorized track has a belt running inside it and takes a pulling load every day. And if the heading on your curtains has collapsed or the fabric has sagged, a new track won't make them look good again. In that case having new curtains made at the same time is usually the more direct answer.
How long does it take to install a motorized curtain track?
- Message us on LINE with the rough length of the run, photos of the window and ceiling, and where the socket is.
- The on-site measure takes 2-3 hours, because we bring fabric samples with us. It costs 500-1,000 THB in Bangkok and the metro area and is credited back in full when you order.
- A quote within one day, and the price holds for 7 days.
- Made and fitted in 7-14 days from the day you confirm, depending on how many units. This is the window for your electrician to finish the socket.
- Fitting day takes about 20 minutes per unit. You do need to be home. The fitter clears the offcuts and shows you how everything works before leaving.
Twenty minutes per unit is an approximate fitting time. A job that involves taking down an old track, adding a backing beam or putting up scaffolding naturally has more work on top of that. Weekend fitting is at no extra charge; after 17:30 costs extra. Fitting is 200 THB per unit, a flat 2,000 THB for fewer than 10 units, and free on orders over 20,000 THB.
Can a motorized curtain track be fixed to a plasterboard ceiling?
Yes, but the fixings have to reach something solid above the board, not just the plasterboard itself. If the site needs a backing beam, that is 550 THB per metre. The fitter decides at the measure whether it does.
What if there is no socket near the end of the track?
An electrician has to run the cable and add the socket before fitting day. We don't do wiring. Tell us where the socket is when you first message us on LINE, so the motor can be planned for the powered end.
Can a motor be added to my existing curtain track?
No. The whole rail is replaced. A motorized track has to be stiffer and straighter than a plain one, because a belt runs inside it and takes the same pulling load every day. Your existing curtains can usually stay.
Can I keep my existing curtains on a motorized track?
Usually yes, and then there is no fabric cost. It has to be checked on site first: whether the existing heading and hooks suit the new track, and whether the drop works with where the new track sits.
How long does fitting day take, and do I need to be home?
About 20 minutes per unit, and yes, you need to be home. The fitter shows you how it works before leaving. From confirming the order to fitted takes 7-14 days, depending on how many units.
Want the numbers for your own windows?
Send rough sizes first — no need to measure precisely. We'll work out a price, then arrange the real measure.
