Blacking out windows

[Jimi]

Hi

 

I was wondering if any one knows of an effective way of temporarily blacking out windows. Our church hall has 8 large windows. Most of them have velvet curtains but 2 do not. My theatre group has a production on at the end of June which needs times of complete blackout. there's no way it is going to be dark outside at the time it is on, so I'd liket o find a way to black out the windows completely.

 

I've thought of making cardboard squares to cover them or possibly window vinyls (if they can be easily removed afterwards) or possibly even so sort of peelable paint.

 

I've had a quick search on the net, but I cant seem to find anything suitable that would be cost effective. Ideally I'd like to do it for under £50 and it has to be removable after the show. If it can be reused for another show, that would be a bonus.

 

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

//Jimi

[broadcast_techie]

Black paper and bluetac?

 

Completely different approach: cover the windows from the outside?

 

Kris

[J Pearce]

As above, black paper and a low tack adhesive (tape, blutak etc)

 

The other option if budget allows is large hardboard blackout screens cut to fit the window alcove (may need battoning to brace it dependant on size). An amdram group in Luton made some for the school hall they regularly use, they are very effective, and relatively cheap.

[djw1981]

We once used a staple gun and black cloth - work out what thickness you need then buy a roll and using a suitable platform / scaffolding (or ladders as we had to in some places due to poor access) ansd staple the material to the window frame. Thankfully, our material was the same widtha nd the windows, but you need to be careful not to stretch it or it becomes to thin.

[mac.calder]

This may seem a bit odd, but bare with me. It is an extreamly cheap and effective solution.

 

Get a spray bottle - fill it with water.

 

Spray the glass.

 

Get Aluminium Foil and press it up against the window - start from the top, and smooth it onto the glass. I usually make sure it is shiny side facing out - because I don't want reflection, but whatever floats your boat.

 

Make sure that the glass does not get too wet - you just want a nice even mist.

 

It will stay up for yonks. To get it down, get a squeegy (as in the thing used to wash windows) and drag it down the glass. Then, if it tears spray with water. Repeat with the squeegy and water till it is all off.

[Glyn Edwards]

I'm with Mac on this one, Tin Foil works wonders, and to my mind looks nicer than thin blackout material stretched and skewed. It's also nicer to take down as you don't get scratched by the staples etc.

 

Glyn

[DavidLee]

For years we have used black plastic sheeting cut to size and shape and Gaffer-taped to the window frames (PVC) of a local village hall. We bought a large roll of the stuff from a local plastics firm and have used it year after year for the panto matinees. This year we have finally made up some proper backout panels - framed up like flats and covered in grey blackout-curtain material (bought from an eBay seller I believe so I can't offer a supplier). These are a friction-fit in the window apertures and are made in two sections - a lower rectangular panel and a curved panel to fill in the top of the arch. These have worked very well indeed and are more effective than the black plastic, which always seemed to generate a few light-leaks however well we tried to fix it. Now blacking-out is a quick and easy one-person job and we only need to muck about with the black plastic to obscure the fire door at the rear of the hall.

 

David

[tom w]

A rather enterprising "coaching inn" type hotel which I used several years ago had a good blackout system: At 10:30 on Sunday night, the first of 10 nights in the same hotel. 2 pints drunk, last orders then early night.... As the last none-regular, none guest left, the staff scurried into the back and returned with lots of large pieces of 15mm rubber matting. Every door and window had velcro, every mat had velcro to match. 5 minutes later and the beer and music were in full flow. From the outside t'was totally dark and almost silent. Not cheap but very durable, re-useable. The downside: "Come on guys lets get some sleep, full on day tomorrow" became a tourettish cry of mine for 10 days!

[simplay13]

Thomann do a stage drape for £8. 3m x 1m . Even if you need to double up to get a full blackout it works out a very cheap option.

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/gerriets_buehnenmolton_r55.htm

 

Just staple it to the window frame.

 

Simeon Playford

[Bobbsy]

Here I thought I was the genius who came up with the aluminium foil trick but I see Mac and Glyn have beat me to it!

 

In my case, to get an absolute blackout I made the foil a bit larger than the glass panes and used tape on the edges--but, when I first had to do this, it was to convert an upstairs loo into a photographic darkroom (remember those?) so I needed REALLY total darkness.

 

It works well though, then comes down easily.

 

Bob

[Stutwo]

A nice bonus with foil on windows that we found (and I believe whoever did this actually pasted the foil up), is that the pockets of air expanded and popped tiny holes in the foil. This gave the whole place a fantastic "Planetarium" feel during daytime shows.