That’s a priority in the summer when you live in the desert.
It can get to 115, although that’s rare,
but we do see between 105 and 108 on quite a few days. I live in a two-story house so it’s a
challenge to keep it cool, or doable. I’m
sure by some standards; the house wouldn’t be cool because we keep the
thermostat set on 82.
Sunshade sewed and ready to hang
This year I decided to put shade on the skylights
upstairs. I have three large ones that
catch the afternoon sun and that room is roasting in summer. I think we lose a lot of A/C because of all
the heat streaming in. After checking
about town, I decided to make my own because of what everyone wanted to charge
to do the job. After all, I do know how
to sew and I’ll only be using them three months of the year.
This is how it started out
I finally found the best price online at Walmart. This isn’t something they carry in store so I
ordered the roll. It arrived in two
days, which really shocked me because I didn’t pay for expedited shipping. While in Walmart to pick up the product, I
bought the spring tension rods I would use to hold them up in the window well.
Tension rods
The biggest part of the project was measuring and figuring
out what I wanted to do before cutting into this big roll of shade cloth. I have lots left over. Once I did cut them out and pin the hems, I’m
quick on the sewing machine and it only took me about thirty minutes to sew and
install each one.
Before installing sunshades
Naturally, this also cuts down on the light in the room, but
I think it’ll be worth it. This fabric
provides 90% shade.
Close up of installed sunshade
When I walked into that room this morning, I did notice it’s
cooler in there, so I’m pleased. Now I
wonder why I didn’t do these ten years ago.
There is no job too big if you really need to do it.
Look at the pictures.
How did I do?
I think you did great! And you are right, it will help immensely. We have blinds here and we face the east, so we get the morning sun in the kitchen and our bedroom. During winter/spring I kept the blinds opened because I wanted to heat up the house to avoid running the heater a lot. Now its the opposite, I keep the blinds closed and I can tell a difference in the heat of the rooms. Once the sun shifts from that part, then I'll open them because I do miss the light. We are keeping our thermostat at 77, I was hoping for a bit higher (I'm a scrooge when it comes to paying for electricity or heat, LOL) but hubby is more comfortable at a cooler temp and since he's the main breadwinner, I felt it would be good for him to get a good night's sleep. Of course this is an improvement from the past 4 years when we had no air conditioning and would have to put up with a hot house.
ReplyDeletebetty
Betty,
DeleteI lived in south TX growing up and had no A/C either. I can hardly believe now that we all survived those years only using box fans. There's so much humidity in TX and summers are near 100 daily. Once in a while it would get in the triple digits there.
We hate paying high bills too so keep the thermostat set at 82. Of course, we have ceiling fans in most of the rooms and outside sunshades (the kind you see in Phoenix) for the south and west facing windows. They help immensely with the intense summer heat. We have inside pull down shades on all the windows in the house (except for the skylights) and we leave them closed, as well, until the sun passes over. I hate living in a "cave" in the summer, but it does help not to open them when the sun is directly on the windows.
Thanks for reading about my project and leaving a comment.
Sunni
Wow Sunni, you did a great job! I really wish I knew how to sew. I need curtains for the windows and sliding glass doors in my new house and they're going to cost a fortune. I've also been dying for slip covers for the dinning room chairs. I know people who can sew and they make all this stuff themselves. The shades turned out beautiful. Well done.
ReplyDeleteVashti, thanks so much.
DeleteYou should learn to sew. It's not that hard (only time consuming) and it's far cheaper making things yourself. I've made all the curtains for my house. If I was there, I'd help you.
I guess I'm lucky that I grew up on a fam and my grandmother taught all of us girls to sew starting at about age nine. We learned on her old Singer tredle machine. In high school, I made most of my own clothes. I still sew most of my clothes today and have sewn a wide variety of things over the years. I enjoy creating something from a flat bolt or roll of fabric. Plus, you get something unique and that fits perfectly.
Sunni
That's a great idea. So, do you leave them up all the time now, or do you take them down in the evening/early morning?
ReplyDeleteLiz,
DeleteI intend to leave them up until fall. We've got triple digits right now and it won't cool off much until the end of Sept.
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
Sunni
You're very handy with that sewing machine of yours! They look good and do the job - what more could anyone want?
ReplyDeletePL,
DeleteThat right. I can't complain about how they turned out. They will provide shade, which is the main thing, and just in time because we have triple digits here now.
Thanks for your comment.
Sunni