Best way to close blackout curtains in centre

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Best way to close blackout curtains in centre

1 | 2

Hammerer

2480 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 802

Lifetime subscriber

#2620056 11-Dec-2020 11:56

As concordnz suggests, the overlapping arm won't work as intended if you don't have curtains that hang in pleats. Many blackout curtains are pulled flat so there is no light-leakage at the bottom and top. But then there is no pleat to block light leaking through the overlap.

That's why allowing a pleat to form at the overlapping arm will that the front curtain touches the back curtain to block the light. But it will look a bit strange just having a pleat at the overlap.

Another option, which I've seen before, is to have zip attached to join the two curtains. This could be an option if the curtains can't be extended to use the overlap arm. The zip would not be visible because it would sit behind the leading edge just like on my raincoat.

If my wife were here she could probably tell me the technical names for all this technology.

Paul1977

5171 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2192

#2620206 11-Dec-2020 16:33

Hammerer:

As concordnz suggests, the overlapping arm won't work as intended if you don't have curtains that hang in pleats. Many blackout curtains are pulled flat so there is no light-leakage at the bottom and top. But then there is no pleat to block light leaking through the overlap.

That's why allowing a pleat to form at the overlapping arm will that the front curtain touches the back curtain to block the light. But it will look a bit strange just having a pleat at the overlap.

Another option, which I've seen before, is to have zip attached to join the two curtains. This could be an option if the curtains can't be extended to use the overlap arm. The zip would not be visible because it would sit behind the leading edge just like on my raincoat.

If my wife were here she could probably tell me the technical names for all this technology.

They're already pleated, with a pleat forming at the overlap arm. It just isn't working sufficiently, how the fabric falls it just starts opening up a third of the way down. It would be fine for sleeping I think, but it's in media room and I can constantly see it in my peripheral vision if I'm watching something before dark.

A zip isn't a bad idea, but it's a constant battle in our house between having them open and closed, so I think we'd both get sick of the hassle of zipping and unzipping (and I have a feeling the missus would veto the idea of zip up curtains anyway).

I bought some if this today, which should fit nicely in the side seams, so I'm going to give that a try in the weekend. Should be able to do it fairly non-destructively, so if it doesn't work no harm done.

Paul1977

5171 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2192

#2621178 14-Dec-2020 09:08

Well it turned into an absolute pain in the ass to do, but the magnetic strips seem to be working. Didn't get it finished until last night - looked ok this morning, but have to check this afternoon when the windows's in full direct sunlight as that'll be the real test.

I had to trim a few mm off the edge of the magnetic strips to fit in the side seams, which combined with 2 layers of blackout fabric between them mean they aren't quite as "grippy" as would have been ideal. But on the flip side it means the are nice and easy to open. They only need a little manual guidance to line them up.

Getting it into the side seams (even after trimming it) was difficult. The rubbery side the of black lining tends to stick together, and so it was like that right up both sides in the seams, so had to construct a makeshift tool to feed through and "unstick" them. And at 2.2m couldn't push the magnetic strips in (they'd get stuck long before they got to the end), so had to feed something through first and then pull the magnetic strip in from the other end.

Paul1977

5171 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2192

#2621665 15-Dec-2020 08:54

UPDATE: Under full direct sunlight there's a couple of little spots that let a very small amount of light through, but don't notice them from the couch, so overall I'd call it a success. If the side seams had been a touch wider to accommodate the full width magnetic strip I think they would have been perfect.

Overall well worth $15 and a couple of hours of cursing and swearing fitting them.

concordnz

492 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 277

Trusted

EMT (R)

#2621696 15-Dec-2020 10:02

Thanks for the update - it's nice to know how it all worked out in the end.

1 | 2