Small home rigging project

[jsyjr]

I am an engineer who knows nothing of theater scenery, props or rigging. But I do have a relevant project and therefore am turning to this forum for help.

I have recently purchased a town house, previously remodeled 10 year ago. Part of that remodeling involved cutting away part of a floor and constructing a 10 foot by 20 foot two story wall of glass. The glass extends to within a couple inches of the ceiling. Mounted to the ceiling is a curtain rod from which hang erstwhile white sheer curtains. My wife swears that those sheers were put up as part of the remodeling and have never been cleaned since. I am inclined to agree as removing the sheers would almost surely require putting up scaffolding.

We are doing a bunch of work on the town house. Painting the room with the wall of glass will require putting up scaffolding so this seems a perfect time to add some means to remove those curtains.

As I said in my opening sentence I know nothing of rigging. Still raising and lowering a single curtain rod must be a trivial exercise in the rigging craft. I imagine a hand operated ratchet winch and some pulleys ought to suffice.

Can anyone here offer me any guidance? general suggestions? resources? design guides? words of wisdom?

Thanks in advance,

/john

 

[MNicolai]

There's no way to toss up an extension ladder to the sides of the glass, go up, and disconnect the curtain from the rod to bring just the fabric down?

 

[techieman33]

There's no way to toss up an extension ladder to the sides of the glass, go up, and disconnect the curtain from the rod to bring just the fabric down?

I think he wants to be able to lower them at will to clean whenever they want to. Buying a pair of ladders will probably be cheaper than any kind of pulley system though.

 

[MarshallPope]

I would think that your easiest solution would be to use thin wire rope going up from three (?) points on the rod to pulleys on the ceiling, over to a triple pulley in a corner, and down to a carabiner or something that is clipped to the wall. That way, whenever you need to lower it, you could just tie a rope to the carabiner and let it down. Seems to me like that would be the easiest, cheapest, and most inconspicuous way to do it.

 

[len]

there are professionally installed drapes that can do this. They can be either inside the wall or exposed, but either way will look much better than a DIY project.

 

[jsyjr]

there are professionally installed drapes that can do this. They can be either inside the wall or exposed, but either way will look much better than a DIY project.

Len,

I knew I could not be the first to confront this problem but have been unable to locate an off the shelf solution. Could you provide some pointers or links.

/john

 

[tprewitt]

Draper (draperinc.com) and Kirsch (kirsch.com) both make motorized window shades. I don't think they have exactly what you are looking for but worth a good look.

The 3rd possibility is this device http://bellatex.com/share/Mico_Line_Shaft_Winch.jpg It's a little bitty line shaft winch with max caps in the 100 to 300 lb range. They were developed for roman shades but have the parts and ratings to assemble for what folks in this forum will know as a line shaft winch. Cost on these is hundreds, not thousands.

In the OP's case the only big downside I see is with only a few inches of space between the top of the window and ceiling, part of the the winch and curtain rod will hang below the top of the window. If there is room above the ceiling for the winch or a box could be built to mask it, it might work. Controls can be wired or wireless.

I need to stress, THIS WINCH IS NOT SUITABLE FOR OVERHEAD LIFTING!!! It is designed and sold for lifting window dressing. I can see where TD's might have various uses for it within a set, against a wall, etc. but the safety rules for industrial hoisting would need to be followed at all times.

If the OP or anyone needs help with a project using one of these let me know and I'll get you all the info.

-Ty

 

[kicknargel]

Always remember, "Choose digital remote control curtain series and know well how to operate it will lead you to more comfortable life." (From the BellaTEX literature.)

 

[len]

Len,

I knew I could not be the first to confront this problem but have been unable to locate an off the shelf solution. Could you provide some pointers or links.

/john

When I did home theater installs (back when it was becoming popular, but before Best Buy killed the market) I saw a few. They were put in by the interior designer, etc. I'd contact a few of them in your area, and/or high end drapery sellers. Not Eddie Z or 3 day blinds, etc. The alternative is to have professionals remove and clean, as they'll probably be able to remove and re-hang a lot faster than you could, and the price will still be cheaper.