# Clear Shower Curtain Liners make a great Sun Porch!



## meanwhile

We could not find crystal clear plastic to buy (other than the small pieces for doors or windows) and so we bought up clear shower curtain liners, commercial strength, extra long ones, from Lowe's for $6.00 - $7.00 each. We have a long porch, 9 feet wide by 36 feet long. The porch has double french doors open to the dining room and also three windows that open to other rooms.

We hung regular cheaper plastic on the bottom half, and kept the crystal clear plastic on top. We used strips of cardboard to roll in the edges and used those nails with the plastic shields. 

We also put three layers of cardboard (picked up oven and refrigerator boxes) on the floor (as they get filthy from dogs and boys we will pull up one layer and use for kindling) to keep cold air from underneath and to insulate more.

We enclosed this porch mainly to have a space to keep firewood box dry and keep dogs out of the house BUT! It works so good that this weekend, during the hours from about 10 a.m. till about 3:30 p.m. we were able to heat that end of the house with the porch! I never would have thought it would hold heat from the sun like that but it does. We were thrilled and surprised. 

We could keep the French doors open, it added a whole "room" to the house, the dogs were happy, I did not have to use the propane heater so I was happy, the boys put the firewood box out there, and my husband set up a chair and table for morning coffee time.

So - if you cannot find good clear plastic for use in projects, try Crystal Clear Shower Curtain Liners! Be aware there is a color called "opaque" and one called "smoke" that from the outside looks clear but it is not. Find the ones that say "cryster clear."

We also found smaller liners to use as window covers. It will be clear so we can see through it and they are studier than the plastic in rolls. 

Have a good week and we hope someone can use this idea too.


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## OneDayx2

What a neat idea! Have been trying to think of something to hang over our big windows to help keep the cold out. Going to look for them at Lowes. Thanks for tip.


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## Windy in Kansas

If the plastic rapidly breaks down due to UV you might try this door curtain material from Farm Tek: http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie...1&langId=-1&division=FarmTek&productId=287558

I might also add for a more permanent solution Lowe's sells corrugated plastic panels that are clear and not too badly priced.


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## meanwhile

I tried to find the flat clear panels since the corrugated ones are not as clear. We found only one place that sold them and the price was $140.00 for ONE 4 foot by 6 foot panel! Yes, for only one panel. We used two clear shower curtains last winter for a window cover and it did not break down but it was on the north side of the house. You are right - it might break down on the sunny side of the house.....we will see. I will check out the site you sent too. Thank you.


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## meanwhile

Windy in Kansas - thank you for the link! That is a good price too. I could not see how they hung up the curtain though? Does it have hooks on it? Thank you.


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## Windy in Kansas

Sorry for the late post. I have never used the drive through curtains or material. It is what many warehouses use on their overhead doors so truck can come and go without losing too much heat.

The corrugated panels at my local Lowe's Store are crystal clear. I suppose it is all about the supplier for a particular area. They are usually stacked in with the green, white, and brown ones back in the far left corner where I live.

I hope the shower curtains last well as they would probably be the cheapest other than sliding door storm door shrink plastic. They might even be cheaper than it.


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## wy_white_wolf

Solar Gary has posted a few reviews of different glazings on his website http://www.builditsolar.com/References/materialspecrs.htm.

I think he used the stuff from Lowes (or very similar) for his latest solar water heater.


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## meanwhile

Thank you - I will take a look there too. So far, the shower curtains are working great. Even though the porch is not air tight, since we used green wood when it was built, and we did it ourselves so it is not completely straight......but anyway......yesterday even with only a bit of sun the porch was warm enough to open the French doors and one window. It was too cloudy today......I will check out Solar Gary's site too. Thanks


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## SolarGary

Hi,
I always thought that this one was pretty neat:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Sunspace/SolarRooms/PorchEnclosure/VinylPorch.htm

Gary


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## meanwhile

Hello - yes, that sun porch is very nice! I bet those curtains cost a fortune? Do you know who makes that type clear / canvas curtain? 

Today our "shower curtain porch" was warmer than inside the house. We opened up the French doors again, and one window and it heated the front rooms of house until about 3:45 when we had to close it up again. It will be interesting to see how it works this week since we will be very cold here, Western NC, this week. 

Today we also used two more shower curtains to hang over two windows. We used strips of the blue styrofoam insulation to create a picture frame type frame to go around the window, then we flapped the shower curtain around the styrofoam and tacked it to the window trim. It seems to be tight but we just finished it so I do not know how it works to keep out the cold air yet. 

Have a good week.


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## green5acres

I have done the same for a few years now, but I got my plastic sheeting from Walmart. The heavier gauge I bought and if I remember correctlly it was 1.99 a yard. I have reused it a few years now, and is still in great shape.I also rolled it in cardboard and then nailed it. There are many days in the cold winter when the sun is out that we just go out there and eat lunch or hang out. Right now, we are painting inside the house and a lot of excess "junk" is out there and I know it will be good and dry til I can get it back in here. The plastic is also VERY clear. All my wood stays dry too! DEE


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## meanwhile

Thank you green5acres, I did not think to look at Walmart for the extra clear plastic. We have all our plant markers and label junk out on the porch to keep dry! It is so nice out there, and warm that we put two chairs and a tiny table out there to have coffee in the mornings. This week will really let us know how well it can work since it will be very cold here this week........I see you are in NC too. Where are you? We are near Asheville at 2300 feet and expect to be in the 20's all week (nights) and only about 38 for the high on Tuesday.......we will see how warm it can get out on that porch. Have a good week and stay warm.


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## sammyd

We built a sun porch last fall. I used 10' 2x6s at an angle from the floor of our deck to the side of the house. Made a frame from 2x2s and put heavy clear plastic on both sides then screwed that to the 2x6s.
I used 2" pink foam covered by 3/4" plywood for the floor then laid carpet tiles over that.
It works OK except the condensation gets a little thick on the plastic because the dryer vent is inside the porch. 
But even without the dryer running it gets warm enough to open the patio doors when it's sunny even up here in WI.
We use it as a greenhouse/coldframe too.

I like the idea of a real heavy plastic, would probably hold up better than what we used.


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## Windy in Kansas

meanwhile said:


> Do you know who makes that type clear / canvas curtain?


If one were to purchase the aforementioned clear material from Farm Tek or another source a tent or awning shop should be able to sew up the curtains for you to your specifications. They might even have a direct source for high quality clear material for additional cost savings. 

While the initial cost of having the curtains sewn might be great they should last for many, many years.


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## meanwhile

Hello and wow! This is amazing. Today it was 38 degrees outside in our front yard, at about 12 noon but on the shower-curtain porch, it was up to 58 degrees! It is not even 57 degrees inside my laundry room today! We are thrilled. The porch is not even completely sealed since some of the sides were hard to hang the shower curtains around but it is still holding heat. 

We saw a cafe yesterday that has the canvas and clear plastic curtains and we are going to call the company that made them to see how much it would cost to have one made for the porch (for next year) but for this year......the $86 or so dollars we spent was well spent and we are enjoying the heat from the porch. 

Have a good week.


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## Explorer

green5acres said:


> I have done the same for a few years now, but I got my plastic sheeting from Walmart. The heavier gauge I bought and if I remember correctlly it was 1.99 a yard. I have reused it a few years now, and is still in great shape. DEE



My Walmart has rolls of about 20 mill clear plastic that is 10' wide by 25' long in the paint dept for about $20.00. The regular clear is about 3 mills.
They also had clear vinyl shower curtains for just under $7 each.


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## meanwhile

Thanks Explorer - I will check with our walmart for the roll since I need some more plastic for two big windows. Thanks and have a good week.


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