Adjustable Drapery Rods

[eleny]

This looks like a really good idea for when a person can't drill into their walls. Our walls are cinder block and it's a pain to drill and use sinkers. But renters can use something like this, too. And they don't look impossible to create a "diy" version.



http://www.stacksandstacks.com/html/103802_anywhere-drapery-rod-set-of-2.htm

[NMDemDist2]

1. cute idea, wonder how heavy a drape they'll take n/t

[eleny]

2. I emailed the manufacturer

They have a site where they sell them, too. Asked what metal they are. That should give us an idea of the strength. The site I posted says that they cost more to ship due to their weight. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them to be strong.

[Warpy]

3. I gleefully drilled holes in the walls of every apartment I ever

lived in. I was wise to the ways of SPACKLE, though, so I never got charged for damage.

Those look like a reasonable solution for places that are built of cement, constructed with a convenient soffit or heating/cooling duct over the windows. They'd look a bit strange with high ceilings and low windows.

For a DIY version, you'd need expandable rods with springs for the uprights, rubber "feet" on the ends, and quad fittings for the cross pieces, t-fittings at each end.

I've never seen expandable rods that size. The ones that would work are constructed to fit inside the window frame or over the bathtub as shower curtain rods, not really long enough for a floor to ceiling application.

In that case, wouldn't using the rods inside the window frame do the same job?

[eleny]

4. expandable rods...

what came to mind were rods that our contractor used when they had to grind our concrete living room floor to prep it for vinyl flooring. the guys sealed the doorways to the room. but then they'd make this enclosure within the room using expandable rods with plastic sheets wrapped around them. then they'd grind the floor inside the enclosure.

but i think those rods had very large, square "feet" for stability. they did have the same kind of tops as these drapery rods, though. they went right up to the ceiling. so it got me to thinking about diy.

i have a large bay window in this room. we replaced two side by side windows with the bay to make the room feel larger. it worked well. i don't want to put draperies inside the window. i'd like to be able to open the drapes so the window and framing are showing and not drill into the pretty birch frame. since the walls are block, it's always a pain to hang curtain rods and pictures.

the expandable rod system might be a little too high tech for me. but it looked like an interesting solution to share.

[politicat]

5. My dad's mother had a lamp built on that principle....

It had three lamps, an up and two readings, and a small table and a magazine rack. Sturdy thing, made of two pieces of brassed pipe and some heavy springs and feet. It made it through three boys (she got it with green stamps in 1961) and my sisters and I, until my younger sister tripped and fell into it and bent it in 1995. We dissected it, thinking to replace the broken parts, but the wiring was iffy and we couldn't find the springs easily, so it got recycled.

[eleny]

6. I remember the pole lamps

A space saving modern design with cone shaped shades.

[eleny]

7. I just received a response from the seller

Stacks and Stacks replied. These rods are made of steel.