Help with curtain rod lengths please - can you check yours?

I've done heaps of curtains in the past, but always where rods were already in place, so haven't taken much notice of how the rods are attached/measured in relation to the glass surfaces.

Now I have to sort out the new curtain rails for this place and need some quick measuring from you guys!

If you have thermal curtains, and especially if you have wide windows, and your curtains are able to pull right back so that they don't sit over the glass when they are fully open...can you please measure for me the width of your window and also the width of the area of rod on each side of the window (from the glass edge) that the fully pulled back/gathered curtains sit on?

Trying to work out that 'stackback' distance so rods long enough to allow this, rather than the pulled back curtains encroaching onto the glassed areas and blocking any of the light able to come in....

Thanks in advance!

When you've finished, would you mind popping up here with your calculations and sewing machine and sorting our place out? Thanks.

for average curtains, you would need at least 20 cm either side, for thermal/thick curtains, I would recommend 30cm

kai;395702 wrote: for average curtains, you would need at least 20 cm either side, for thermal/thick curtains, I would recommend 30cm

It also depends on the window width as wider window = more fabric = more stackback.

A 3-4m wide window will require from 250mm to 500mm each side depending on weight of fabric, type of tape used and fullness of curtains (i.e. 150 - 200% of covered width in fabric.

In a previous life my ex made curtains so I was often installer []

Organix;395704 wrote: It also depends on the window width as wider window = more fabric = more stackback.

A 3-4m wide window will require..........

That is one HUGE window!
I was talking ordinary sized ones.

Hi, some of the curtain rods come as expanding so you can make them what length protruding past the sides of the window just by sliding them out. Telescopic I guess you would describe them. I got mine from Spotlight. Cheers

kai;395721 wrote: That is one HUGE window!
I was talking ordinary sized ones.

Ranchslider, lounge feature window.... There's no shortage of windows >3m as I can attest from my venetian blind servicing days

have ranch sliders, two of them, nope, none of the come close to 3m let alone 4m

Organix;395730 wrote: .... There's no shortage of windows >3m as I can attest from my venetian blind servicing days

Recently replaced timber doors & sidelites in my Brothers place with aluminium 4 sliding panel with 2 fixed sidelites, measured 5.6m

clarry;395823 wrote: Recently replaced timber doors & sidelites in my Brothers place with aluminium 4 sliding panel with 2 fixed sidelites, measured 5.6m

The house we built on the orchard in the BOP had a 3.6m window at the end of the lounge, with similar width twin bi-folds onto a deck. Too good a view to waste

We have a massive bifold in the lounge but have decided not to curtain any of the areas in the living space as private enough. Just doing bedrooms and den - although I like sleeping with my curtains open now after several years of not having them anyway...

Thanks everyone. Have ordered the rods, ended up allowing about 150mm per drop of material, so smaller window, not as big stackback area...largest one (2.8m) allowed 300mm each end, so should be fine (fingers crossed).

The rods cost more than the material, even at 20% off! [:0] But having said that, I got some great material for fantastic discounts, some has been sitting there for nearly 2 years waiting...hehehe [}]

Now just waiting for carpet to go in week after next (got a great discount on that too [}][}][}]) and then the place will look like a sweatshop as a friend is bringing her sewing machine around too and we'll sew in tandem.

Lucky we have got the new/second hand 1500mm square dining room table (8 seater suite) for both us and machines - and you guessed, it, got that at an AWESOME price off Trade Me

Womble on! []:rolleyes:

We have thermal drapes backed with woolen blankets purchased from the army surplus shop. Super blackout and very good insulation but a hell of a lot of material to bunch up at the sides when they are open. I would recommend allowing about a foot more stackback length each side than you think you need just in case you install heavier curtains later on.