Hi All,

So my wife is designing our bedroom and wants a pelmet covering the top of the curtains. It is basically flat but then she wants an ornate top and then the whole lot painted. To keep the weight of the whole thing down (it is about 2.4m long) I was thinking of getting 6mm ply/ MDF for the front, sides and top and then use some say 1"x1" battens in the corners to screw the ply to and essentially make a bottomless/ backless box then fix the ornate beading to it. Looking online, looks like all the ones I could fine use 18mm MDF and just screw them together (e.g. the front board screwed directly into the edge of the sides).

TBH the other technique seems a lot easier/ quicker but wanted to solicit feedback here. Maybe there is a better approach?

thanks

Lee.

On 08/09/2019 14:53, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi All,

So my wife is designing our bedroom and wants a pelmet covering the top of the curtains. It is basically flat but then she wants an ornate top and then the whole lot painted. To keep the weight of the whole thing down (it is about 2.4m long) I was thinking of getting 6mm ply/ MDF for the front, sides and top and then use some say 1"x1" battens in the corners to screw the ply to and essentially make a bottomless/ backless box then fix the ornate beading to it. Looking online, looks like all the ones I could fine use 18mm MDF and just screw them together (e.g. the front board screwed directly into the edge of the sides).

TBH the other technique seems a lot easier/ quicker but wanted to solicit feedback here. Maybe there is a better approach?

thanks

Lee.

I'd agree with you. In the "old days" pelmet front/tops were often
hardboard.

On Sunday, 8 September 2019 14:53:53 UTC+1, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi All,

So my wife is designing our bedroom and wants a pelmet covering the top of the curtains. It is basically flat but then she wants an ornate top and then the whole lot painted. To keep the weight of the whole thing down (it is about 2.4m long) I was thinking of getting 6mm ply/ MDF for the front, sides and top and then use some say 1"x1" battens in the corners to screw the ply to and essentially make a bottomless/ backless box then fix the ornate beading to it. Looking online, looks like all the ones I could fine use 18mm MDF and just screw them together (e.g. the front board screwed directly into the edge of the sides).

TBH the other technique seems a lot easier/ quicker but wanted to solicit feedback here. Maybe there is a better approach?

thanks

Lee.

18mm won't go anywhere. 6mm should be alright but no guarantees long term, it's thin & can go out of whack. Hardboard of course has even worse rigidity - it isn't. ISTR one pelmet bing supported by the rail using clips that miss the curtain mechanism.


NT

How do you hang the curtains. Also would not a top make it less draughty?
Brian

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"Lee Nowell" wrote in message
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Hi All,

So my wife is designing our bedroom and wants a pelmet covering the top of
the curtains. It is basically flat but then she wants an ornate top and
then the whole lot painted. To keep the weight of the whole thing down (it
is about 2.4m long) I was thinking of getting 6mm ply/ MDF for the front,
sides and top and then use some say 1"x1" battens in the corners to screw
the ply to and essentially make a bottomless/ backless box then fix the
ornate beading to it. Looking online, looks like all the ones I could fine
use 18mm MDF and just screw them together (e.g. the front board screwed
directly into the edge of the sides).

TBH the other technique seems a lot easier/ quicker but wanted to solicit
feedback here. Maybe there is a better approach?

thanks

Lee.

Yes ours was and inside of the top and front had some dampening polystyrene
on ours, probably not got for elf and safety these days.
Brian

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Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"newshound" wrote in message
...
On 08/09/2019 14:53, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi All,

So my wife is designing our bedroom and wants a pelmet covering the top
of the curtains. It is basically flat but then she wants an ornate top
and then the whole lot painted. To keep the weight of the whole thing
down (it is about 2.4m long) I was thinking of getting 6mm ply/ MDF for
the front, sides and top and then use some say 1"x1" battens in the
corners to screw the ply to and essentially make a bottomless/ backless
box then fix the ornate beading to it. Looking online, looks like all
the ones I could fine use 18mm MDF and just screw them together (e.g. the
front board screwed directly into the edge of the sides).

TBH the other technique seems a lot easier/ quicker but wanted to solicit
feedback here. Maybe there is a better approach?

thanks

Lee.

I'd agree with you. In the "old days" pelmet front/tops were often
hardboard.

On 08/09/2019 14:53, Lee Nowell wrote:

So my wife is designing our bedroom and wants a pelmet covering the top of the curtains. It is basically flat but then she wants an ornate top and then the whole lot painted.

Cut a couple of end pieces from 18mm MDF or 3/4 inch pine plank.

Cut a 1"x1" notch out of the front top corner of each end and join them
with a suitable length of 1x1. Pin & glue 6mm MDF to make the front and top.

On 08/09/2019 19:33, wrote:
On Sunday, 8 September 2019 14:53:53 UTC+1, Lee Nowell wrote:
Hi All,

So my wife is designing our bedroom and wants a pelmet covering the top of the curtains. It is basically flat but then she wants an ornate top and then the whole lot painted. To keep the weight of the whole thing down (it is about 2.4m long) I was thinking of getting 6mm ply/ MDF for the front, sides and top and then use some say 1"x1" battens in the corners to screw the ply to and essentially make a bottomless/ backless box then fix the ornate beading to it. Looking online, looks like all the ones I could fine use 18mm MDF and just screw them together (e.g. the front board screwed directly into the edge of the sides).

TBH the other technique seems a lot easier/ quicker but wanted to solicit feedback here. Maybe there is a better approach?

thanks

Lee.

18mm won't go anywhere. 6mm should be alright but no guarantees long term, it's thin & can go out of whack. Hardboard of course has even worse rigidity - it isn't. ISTR one pelmet bing supported by the rail using clips that miss the curtain mechanism.


NT

They used to use hardboard with vertical "ripples" about an inch wide. I
guess that makes it a bit thicker and hence stiffer.

On Sunday, 8 September 2019 22:26:57 UTC+1, newshound wrote:
On 08/09/2019 19:33, tabbypurr wrote:

18mm won't go anywhere. 6mm should be alright but no guarantees long term, it's thin & can go out of whack. Hardboard of course has even worse rigidity - it isn't. ISTR one pelmet bing supported by the rail using clips that miss the curtain mechanism.


NT

They used to use hardboard with vertical "ripples" about an inch wide. I
guess that makes it a bit thicker and hence stiffer.

I'd quite forgotten that. Hideous stuff IIRC.


NT

On 08/09/2019 23:44, wrote:
On Sunday, 8 September 2019 22:26:57 UTC+1, newshound wrote:
On 08/09/2019 19:33, tabbypurr wrote:

18mm won't go anywhere. 6mm should be alright but no guarantees long term, it's thin & can go out of whack. Hardboard of course has even worse rigidity - it isn't. ISTR one pelmet bing supported by the rail using clips that miss the curtain mechanism.


NT

They used to use hardboard with vertical "ripples" about an inch wide. I
guess that makes it a bit thicker and hence stiffer.

I'd quite forgotten that. Hideous stuff IIRC.

Yes, we had pelmets like that. I used to attach Meccano pulleys there
and to furniture and run cable-cars up and down.

SteveW

Thanks all. With regard to hanging the curtains I was planning on screwing the rail to the wall rather than hung off the pelmet.

In message , Lee
Nowell writes
Thanks all. With regard to hanging the curtains I was planning on
screwing the rail to the wall rather than hung off the pelmet.

That is how my father did the job, c1953. The brass rail was fixed to
the wall, and the pelmet built around the rail. Pelmet top and ends
were perhaps 4 or 5 inches wide, 1/2 inch thick with a hardboard front.
No back. Pelmet and rail were still there when my parents moved out 30
years later.

--
Graeme