Make Homemade Insulating Drapes For Your Basements Sliding Glass Doors For Winter

28 December 2016
 Categories: , Blog

Share

If you spend any amount of time in your basement during the winter, then you know how cold it can get. It's especially chilly if you don't have a completely finished basement and don't heat the place as warmly as you do your upstairs rooms. However, you might spend time down there if you have woodworking tools, a pool table, or something else you don't keep upstairs. For this reason, you will want to try and insulate the place as much as possible and prevent the space from being too cold. One really great way to do this is to hang a heavy insulating drape over the sliding glass door. These doors are a major source of heat loss, especially if you have an older sliding glass door that isn't made with double hung glass. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, then you can make a really heavy duty insulating drape that prevent heat loss. This will keep the basement warmer and also save you on your heating bill.  Here's what you need to get it done.

Drill and Drill Bits

You need to drill into the wall to place the curtain rod hangers, so it's important to have a drill and drill bits. If you don't have a drill, you might make do using a hammer and nails to hang up the brackets, but screws are better so it would be better to use a drill.

Curtain Rod and Brackets

You are going to want a heavy duty rod and strong brackets because you are going to hang an insulating drape that is heavier than a normal decorative drape. So avoid lightweight, decorative rods, and opt for ones that are strong. Stainless steel or heavy gauge plastic is good.

Heavy Duty Thermal Cargo Blankets

Since you are going to be making these from scratch, you might as well choose a super insulating material. The heavyweight, thermal cargo blankets will provide a great deal of insulation from the cold. Also, since they are hanging in your unfinished basement, it's not a big deal that they don't look super fancy. What you will need to do is install your own grommets because they don't come with pre-installed grommets like regular drapes will.

Grommet Punch and Small Spade Bits

You need a grommet punch in order to create the openings in the fabric. Make sure you get a heavy duty punch because you are not putting holes in a lightweight sheet of cotton, but instead, a heavy insulating blanket. If you run into trouble, you can try and use a small spade bit attached to your drill. However, it's best to use a grommet punch since that will create a clean hole.

Rubber Grommets

In order to move the drapes back and forth along the rod you need to install grommets. You could choose regular metal grommets, but for basement use, you should use  rubber grommets. These won't rust, which is a concern if you use metal grommets. Basements can be damp, so it is a concern. Many decorative grommets are not stainless steel, but instead some sort of metal with a spray coating of paint. These are not only too lightweight, but they can chip and rust. With rubber grommets, you can get really thick ones which are heavy and also resistant to rusting.

For more information contact a local supplier like Accurate  Products Inc. or a similar location.