Draperies and Top Treatments - HELP! Curtains on full height windows / doors
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pinkysmallz
05-16-08, 04:57 PM
So we just moved into our new apartment and we have 3 openings with a sliding door and window combo, about 10' wide each. My fiance is dead set on putting up curtains (in fact she already made me buy them for her). I am at a loss as to how to mount these since there is no place to mount an intermediate support. The ceiling is cement and I am pretty sure I am not supposed to drill into it. How can I accomplish hanging these?
There were vertical blinds installed here I believe when we bought the place, but that was a few months ago and many months of construction... so I do not remember how they were mounted.
Any help would be TRULY appreciated! Thanks in advance.
There were vertical blinds installed here I believe when we bought the place, but that was a few months ago and many months of construction... so I do not remember how they were mounted.
Any help would be TRULY appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Shadeladie
05-16-08, 06:34 PM
Hi and welcome to the forum!
So you're saying you have 30' of window/door to cover? Is there any wall space between the top of the window and ceiling? Got pics?
So you're saying you have 30' of window/door to cover? Is there any wall space between the top of the window and ceiling? Got pics?
twelvepole
05-16-08, 08:00 PM
Have you bought the rods? What type? What type of panels did you buy? Tab top? Pinch pleated? Other?
Concrete is cement, but are the walls drywall? If so, you can patch holes and touch up when you move. The vertical blinds could have been mounted either inside the window frames or outside. Landlord has to expect that you will have to drill and hang rods. Where I currently live I have inexpensive shirr-on curtains. When I move, I will take down the rods and fill the nail holes.
My first apartment had 30' of windows to cover, too. Not a small expense when starting out. The rods were already there. I bought pinch pleated curtains and patio panel. Certainly helped with the acoustics because furnishings were sparse.
Concrete is cement, but are the walls drywall? If so, you can patch holes and touch up when you move. The vertical blinds could have been mounted either inside the window frames or outside. Landlord has to expect that you will have to drill and hang rods. Where I currently live I have inexpensive shirr-on curtains. When I move, I will take down the rods and fill the nail holes.
My first apartment had 30' of windows to cover, too. Not a small expense when starting out. The rods were already there. I bought pinch pleated curtains and patio panel. Certainly helped with the acoustics because furnishings were sparse.
BLD
05-19-08, 02:19 PM
experience tells me to expect drywall in your apartment that its attached to 1 x 1 and the 1 x 1 is attached to cinder block or brick..
what this means is once you get through the drywall your gonna hit concrete or brick right away with only 1 inch of space between.. This makes using a toggle bolt difficult since there is not enough room for it to open up inside the wall..
you are probabley going to need to get some "MOLLYS" at the appropriate length..
mollys need to be pounded in with a hammer and then the screw in the center needs to be tightened to open up the molly behind the drywall.. once this is done the screw is removed and then refastened with the bracket..
you should also have wood immediately behind any molding.. Often installers will pry back the top of your molding a bit and sandwich the bracket between the molding and drywall.. Hopefully you are left with a hole in your bracket exposed to send a screw in..
what this means is once you get through the drywall your gonna hit concrete or brick right away with only 1 inch of space between.. This makes using a toggle bolt difficult since there is not enough room for it to open up inside the wall..
you are probabley going to need to get some "MOLLYS" at the appropriate length..
mollys need to be pounded in with a hammer and then the screw in the center needs to be tightened to open up the molly behind the drywall.. once this is done the screw is removed and then refastened with the bracket..
you should also have wood immediately behind any molding.. Often installers will pry back the top of your molding a bit and sandwich the bracket between the molding and drywall.. Hopefully you are left with a hole in your bracket exposed to send a screw in..