What I’m trying to do: The computer room I’ve set up in my townhouse unfortunately faces due East, so virtually every morning the room is flooded with extremely bright sunlight until noon passes. My eyes have always been extremely sensitive to light, which means that I can’t work with my computers until afternoon, yet I can’t stand losing so much potentially productive time. The management doesn’t want me to change the very translucent window coverings, so I have to try something else.
Elmers and a few others make thick folding poster-boards that are primarily used by kids to make school presentations such as for science fairs and the like. I’ve bought two of them that are black, fairly thick, and are completely opaque. And if I were to mount them vertically, they will just cover the windows so that I can work comfortably.
But I don’t want them to be permanently mounted. After the sun passes noon, I really want the indirect sunlight to enter the room.
So I want to hang these two poster boards from small nails set just above the top of the window frame. But if I merely pound the nails through the boards, I won’t be able to remove the boards easily, and what’s more, the nails will dig into and slowly tear the boards. So I’ve been struggling to insert some metal grommets where the nails would be, which would both allow easy removal and mounting, but also prevent tearing around the holes.
I’ve now bought three different types of grommets for this purpose, but I’ve failed with all of them! The main issue is that the instructions that came with these products are quite terrible, and not one of the dozen Youtube videos that purport to show how to insert these grommets/eyelets have been adequate. Also, at about 3/16’th inch, the poster board seems to be too thick for the grommets/eyelets.
Sorry for all the verbosity, but I thought it necessary.
SO: How would you do what I need? I very much desire recommendations, please.
You might check to see if there’s a Tandy leather store near you, or check online. Grommets that would work with leather should handle something as thick as posterboard.
Create the hole first, slightly smaller than the grommet. Look in sporting goods for replacement tent grommets. Use a stout cutting board (or do it on a concrete garage floor)and a hammer. Place the grommet through the hole add the other piece and carefully tap together.
Or, go to curtain hanging hardware, and find curtain hold backs. Attach them to the window frame and prop your boards on them. The hold backs I remember are brass with screw in ends and look like a long cup hook. They stick out from the wall 4 or 5 inches.
Yeah you may have over-thought it (which is something I do all the time!) if you’ve got enough depth in the window frame for tension rods.
I have the same thing going on here, only with a south-facing window that gets intense light during work hours 6 months of the year. I have my foam board merely sitting between the window and the closed blinds. The blinds are plenty strong to hold the boards up.
And honestly, are you sure you need grommets? What about duct tape or electrical tape on either side? These boards aren’t THAT heavy.
Tension bar seems like a good idea to me depending on the shape of the window. As for the tape solution, it seems like a little more daily work, but I wouldn’t use duct tape (too sticky, will leave residue) or electrical tape (really not all that good in applications outside electronics). I suggest painter’s tape–sticky enough to hold the board in place for a couple hours, but for that short length of time unlikely to leave a residue.
The electrical tape I’ve used in the past (a long time ago) deteriorated in a way that’s OK for electrical connections but not for hanging things: the adhesive became gooey and hard to remove.
Sorry guys I meant sticking the tape directly on the board, on either side of the board, then punching the holes through the tape-board-tape, to reinforce the holes.
Poster tacky stuff, it will be near the thumb tacks. It will actually hold light weight stuff to glass and metal. You will have to replace it frequently.
Ah, like Funtack or similar? That’s a good idea. From experience though it will leave a sort of oily stain on painted walls. I don’t know what it might do to the “translucent window coverings”–not clear to me if these are curtains or some type of light-diffusing film on the window itself.
OP may need them to sit on the room side of the window covering so they won’t be seen from outside. What is wrong with a solid room divider? Movable and portable and adjustable. No harm to walls or windows. Plus very cute!
What? The management is presumably opposed to blackout curtains but is okay with this convoluted alternative? Get a doctor to back up your light sensitivity claim, hand it to “the management,” and do something sane. It’s done all the time to get around window tinting laws for vehicles.
Specifically, the Command strips people make hangers for relatively lightweight pictures that are a removable adhesive-backed Velcro-like material. It is removable, when you’re completely done with it, without any stain or marring of the surface whatever.
One option is to get some foam sheet insulation from the hardware store. It comes in 4’x8’ sheets and you can easily cut it to fit within the window frame. It’s similar to Styrofoam. They also have a radiant barrier version, which has some aluminum foil on one side. Put that in window with the foil facing out and it will block a lot of the Sun’s heat. You can easily cut it in store if you can’t transport a full sheet home.
I actually use the radiant barrier insulation in windows of my house for rooms I don’t use very often. They block an amazing amount of heat during the summer. Then if I need the room, I can easily take the sheets down.
I really think the OPs manager may not allow things to show through the glass, from the outside. They wouldn’t allow a room darkening blind, I doubt Aluminum faced foam board is gonna be acceptable.
Clear Wire Hooks attached directly to the windows. You should be able to get grommets at Walmart in the craft or camping sections. Or on Amazon if all else fails.