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JennGM
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| Posted: May 30 2008 at 1:41pm | IP Logged
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We have a wonderful screened-in porch/deck in our backyard that we can't use very much because the afternoon sun is too intense.
This is now our 3rd summer in this house and we can't find anything appropriate to block the sun.
What I would like -- rollable sun shades, or even Roman blind type pull up shades. They could be the sun fabric or bamboo or something.
The problem is the size. The standard size of most shades come in widths of 4, 6, or 8 feet. The area across is almost 14 feet, with smaller divisions of around 7 feet...not a perfect 7 foot, either.
I don't want to pay an arm and a leg, which is why we haven't gotten anything. This Memorial Day I hung up sheets just to keep the heat down, and it made a huge difference.
Just knowing how clever, resourceful, frugal, and also knowledgeable of sources I was hoping MAYBE someone had some ideas for a solution!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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mavmama
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| Posted: May 30 2008 at 5:54pm | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
We have a wonderful screened-in porch/deck in our backyard that we can't use very much because the afternoon sun is too intense.
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Jenn,
This might be too heavy or too "fabric-y" (not a word, I know  ) but it's an idea for getting alot of yardage for not a lot of $$.
ETA: Shower curtains give a lot of yardage, too, and would be lighter weight.
I am making roman shades from a solid colored, quilted bedspread. It will help with room darkening along with privacy issues. Also, one summer I made short tiers for our porch that had 16 windows. The fabric was $1/yard from WalMart and I hung them on tension rods. Sometimes they were on the top or I could move them to the bottom for more privacy. HTH
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 30 2008 at 7:04pm | IP Logged
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could you cut down 8ft ones?
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JennGM
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| Posted: May 30 2008 at 7:55pm | IP Logged
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mavmama wrote:
| I am making roman shades from a solid colored, quilted bedspread. It will help with room darkening along with privacy issues. Also, one summer I made short tiers for our porch that had 16 windows. The fabric was $1/yard from WalMart and I hung them on tension rods. Sometimes they were on the top or I could move them to the bottom for more privacy. HTH |
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Hmmm, I like the idea, but if I have to use tension rods, I'd have to make 4 sets of Roman shades, about 3 feet each...a lot more work than I planned. Dh doesn't really want me to make something unless everything else fails.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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| Posted: May 30 2008 at 7:57pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| could you cut down 8ft ones? |
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We're trying to find something that we could cut down. Have you seen anything that wide that can do that? So far, no luck. But that was another area we've discussed. It would be nice to have a shade that still allows air to flow, IYKWIM.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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SeaStar
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| Posted: May 30 2008 at 8:45pm | IP Logged
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At the Dollar Stretcher website I have read several times about people using thermal blankets (the kind rescue workers use) to make sun reflective shades. Seems to work very well and not cost a bundle- you could put grommets in them and hang several along your windows on tension rods. Might not be too pretty, and I'm not sure there would be much airflow. Just an idea.
thermal blankets
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marihalojen
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| Posted: May 31 2008 at 8:29am | IP Logged
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Jenn, what about Martha's canopy idea? There was an entire article in the magazine a few years ago with several really attractive ideas. The closest I found on her website is here. One from the mag used really bright parachute material (oranges and yellows I think) and had a cute little boy playing with a beach ball under the awning stretched from the house, anybody remember that? They were stretched out from the house to the yard and anchored point down so there would be lots of airflow. Wish I could find the picture...
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 02 2008 at 8:33am | IP Logged
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Canopy's wouldn't really work, since the deck is elevated and hard to get on the outside of the windows to suspend something. Since I didn't share pictures, it's hard to understand what I needed.
But we did find a solution yesterday, and I'm so happy. Home Depot actually had indoor/outdoor bamboo shades in 39" size. So buying four covered the one side of the porch. We need to find the right size for the next side/corner, as the "window screen" spans are larger, but not 4 feet wide.
It was a simple solution. But the last time we tried this there wasn't these sizes and we were also thinking one long (or two) to span the length instead of multiple ones. We enjoyed our dinner on the porch last night.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Mary G
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JennGM wrote:
But we did find a solution yesterday, and I'm so happy. Home Depot actually had indoor/outdoor bamboo shades in 39" size. So buying four covered the one side of the porch. We need to find the right size for the next side/corner, as the "window screen" spans are larger, but not 4 feet wide.
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Great minds think alike -- I was just going to post about HD and their shades ... Lowe's may have them now too. Here in Denver, with the intense sun, they're almost required for many homes around here ... I THOUGHT our HD had multiple widths -- did you ask them or check Lowe's?
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JennGM
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Mary G wrote:
JennGM wrote:
But we did find a solution yesterday, and I'm so happy. Home Depot actually had indoor/outdoor bamboo shades in 39" size. So buying four covered the one side of the porch. We need to find the right size for the next side/corner, as the "window screen" spans are larger, but not 4 feet wide.
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Great minds think alike -- I was just going to post about HD and their shades ... Lowe's may have them now too. Here in Denver, with the intense sun, they're almost required for many homes around here ... I THOUGHT our HD had multiple widths -- did you ask them or check Lowe's? |
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Well, now that we're using made for HD shades, I'm going to stick with that brand. There are various widths, we just need to figure out the right combination. Not sure there was something wider than 39 but smaller than 48. I'll have to go back and look, as they aren't their website. No biggie. Maybe you can help when you're here, Mary. I'm planning on a least a few afternoons on our deck with you.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Topic: Search for Sun Shades
