A Guide to Installing Insulating Drapes at a Staircase Opening
An insulated curtain mounted at the staircase can both hide an unattractive lower-level stairwell and block cold air from rising to upper floors. This ceiling-mounted drapery setup is straightforward to put in place, and the reduced heating and cooling costs over a year could potentially cover the cost of the drapes.
By Charlie Davis5 steps
Staircases leading to lower levels can be an eyesore in a home, and they may also let cold drafts flow upward to higher floors. Hanging an insulated curtain that separates the lower floor from the upper floor at the staircase is one solution that tackles both problems. Putting up this kind of ceiling-mounted drapery is not hard to do, and the money you save on heating and cooling in just one year may be enough to pay for the drapes and then some.
Insulated curtains can be mounted along a staircase.
Step 1
Take a measurement along the railing side of the staircase from one wall to the wall on the opposite side. Using a hack saw, trim the curtain track to that dimension. Typically, a curtain track system comes with a U-shaped track designed to hang upside-down from the ceiling, plastic slides with a hole for drapery hooks that fit inside the track, mounting brackets for attaching the track to the ceiling, and end caps to close off the track ends. Screws and anchors should also be part of the kit.
Step 2
Run a stud finder across the ceiling to determine which way the upstairs floor joists run. It is possible that the floor joists are parallel to the staircase. If that is the case, find the nearest joist and attach all brackets to that same joist. Should the joists run perpendicular to the staircase, then note the position of each joist on the ceiling.
Step 3
Using a drill and screwdriver, drive the curtain track bracket into the floor joist, positioning it 1 inch from each opposing wall. If the screwdriver cannot fully push the screw into the joist, drill a pilot hole first. Measure the span between the two end brackets, then divide that measurement so that a bracket is placed every 36 inches or less. Mark where each bracket will go. Drawing a straight line on the ceiling between the brackets can sometimes help in mounting all brackets in a straight line.
Step 4
Mount your track onto the ceiling brackets. Add one slider for every 4 to 6 inches of track. The exact count depends on how your drapery pleating or gathers are spaced. Add one extra slider for a pull rod. Most drapery pleats are spaced around 4 inches apart. Put the end caps onto both ends of your track.
Step 5
Buy insulated drapes sized to the height from the ceiling down to the floor. Push a drapery hook into the fabric behind each pleat so that the top of the hook matches the measurement from the ceiling to the bottom of the track. Hang your drapes. Sew a tack stitch joining each drapery panel 2 inches from the top edge of adjoining panels. Fasten a pull rod onto the last slider. This lets you slide the drapes along the track with ease without tugging on the fabric, which can rip the fabric where the hooks are located.
