Draperies and Top Treatments - what kind of hardward for metal bay window

Hi,
I have a bay window that is metal and I want to put a window treatment next to the glass rather than on the wall around it. Now it has drapes but they are not next to the glass. I would like the window ledge (could be used as a window seat) to show when the curtains are closed so at Christmas time we can enjoy our lighted village and still have privacy. The window itself is 3 sections with a wider one in the middle. It is made of some kind of metal or steel and I am not sure what kind of hardware to use since we do not want to make holes in the window frames. Also I am unsure what to use for a window treatment. I have thought of a shade of some kind (Roman maybe) with a topper or valance. I would like to put the valance on the outside of the bay. Oh the drape that is there now is 142 inches wide.
Thank you,
Michele

Hi and welcome to the forum!
To hang working shades, you'd need to make holes in order to support them. The only rod that you can use without making holes would be tension rods. You can hang sheers or lightweight short curtains or cafes from them or places like JCPenney and Country Curtains sell mock shades that have ties on each side to manually tie them up, and these can probably be hung on tension rods.

That is what I thought. So what kind of hardware would I need to put up on metal or steel? Any suggestions on what would be a good window treatment. I want something that is easy to open so I can have the light during the day and privacy at night.
Michele

Any hard blind or shade or a fabric roman, would work for you and give you what you want. The hardware will come with it.
The only thing different is the type of screws and drill bits needed. BLD, who is an installer, would be able to help you with this when he sees this post. In the meantime, I'll add a couple of previous links about this that may help.

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=341456&highlight=drill+metal+window

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=311457&highlight=drill+metal+window

when you say you have a bay with a window seat, I picture a recessed bay with a seat and ceiling to the bay.. are your walls above the window bay shaped or is there a top to this bay recess? I just want to make sure you don't have a wood ceiling to this bay window that you can mount shades in to..

a picture speaks a thousand word, got a camera?

if you do have to go in to the window that is not a problem at all..

you will need

a drill
1/4 hex nut driver for your drill
3/4" long #6 hex head self drilling (tapping) screws

these screws are pretty much what you will see on any duct work of your furnace.. A drill with a hex head driver + hex head screws are all that drapery installers uses and for good reason.. The magnetic head and maximum grab make your job much easier..

put the bit in the drill
load the screw in the bit
hold the bracket where you want it
and drill through that window like butter

should be as easy as wood


link to screw http://www.ryanairconspares.com/images/f221.jpg

link to bit http://shop1.actinicexpress.co.uk/shops/Jandsfasteners/images/catalog/33l-6.jpg

(i just said 2000 words :eek: )

both available at any hardware store for 6 bucks out the door



Id love to see a pic and I know shadleladie would too

also, come back when you decide what your gonna do so i can help ya measure..

as for shades.. about light and privacy in the day also http://www.wcmanet.org/2005_PIA/images/winners/01.jpg

im a huge fan of "top down bottom up shades" they do what the name says, the top and the bottom move independently so can give you an opening up high..

check out hunter douglas and graber pleated shades, they are pretty economical and look good.. Make sure you get the cordless feature also since t.d.b.u leaves you with double the cords

home depot can kill anyone elses prices on hunter douglas

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Yes there is a ceiling to the window and it is wood. My husband tells me that it is not a problem to mount rods or roman shades to it (I should have asked him first!).

I am leaning towards roman shades that I will make myself but I was concerned how to put a cleat for the cords on the metal or the plastic strips between the sections but my husband says there are adhesives that will work for that so he will not have to put holes in the metal. But the other problem I have is that the two side windows crank out so you have two latches on each window plus the crank at the bottom. The roman shades on the side windows will have to be far from the glass. The opening for this bay window is about 11 feet.

Right now there is a drapery in front of the opening so when it is closed it looks like a flat window or wall. The valance to the drapery is also pinch pleated which I do not like and it hangs at ceiling height and comes to the top of the window opening. We just moved here a month ago and I have never had such a big window or a bay window to dress before.

It never occured to me that the windows would be aluminum and not steel. It was my husband who said they may not be steel and when I tried to put a magnet on them it would not stick so magnetic rods are not even possible.

Well I guess I have a solution to the problem so now all I need to do is decide which treatment I want.

Michele

The shades may not look nice if they're too far out from the window. You can replace the crank handles with T handles that don't interfere with most blinds/shades:

T Handle(clickhere) (http://www.doityourself.com/invt/u622852)
http://images.hardwareandtools.com/P/u622852.jpg
http://images.hardwareandtools.com/P/u626341.jpg
Pics courtesy of DoItYourself.com

As for the cleat, you can make a pocket out of the lining and attach it to the back of the shade, then just wind up the cords and stick it in the pocket.

Thanks for the tip about replacing the crank for my bay windows. I don't understand how a pocket on the back of the roman shade to put the cord in so I won't have to use a cleat will keep the shade up. I have made those shades before and winding the cord on the cleat keeps the shade up.
Michele

Sorry about that. :o I use Cord Locks to lock the shade in place. I still use a cleat to wrap the excess cord for neatness.
If you use adhesive for the cleat, not sure it will be strong enough to keep from pulling away. Maybe BLD has another solution.