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?
