I am really starting to hate the homeowners association of the townhouse complex I rent in.
According to their rules, 'no inappropriate items may be put on glass doors and windows', and that includes tin foil. I just covered up my glass door yesterday because my room gets very hot when the sun is up as its directly facing it. How can I keep my room cool while complying with them? Since we rent and not own, I can't even dispute anything to them. I can't talk to them, I am powerless against them. I really really hate them.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Curtains.
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
Most places allow Solar Screen. It stinks that you are a renter though. You would probably have to leave it behind.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
What I have done in the past:
Taped a white sheet up over the glass, then taped aluminum foil onto/over that (with the foil on the inside, where it could not be seen through the folded-over sheet from the outside). Made it so that nothing but white sheet could be seen, as if it were a curtain. Didn't put the tape where it can be seen from the outside. Double-checked this.
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
You could go with Solar Screens (though yes, you would probably have to leave it behind) - if you have Ace Hardware there, they can make them for you pretty inexpensively. As far as curtains go, black-out curtains would probably offer the best for heat insulation. You also may want to use a fan to help push the hot air out of your room.
Posted by Lostinspace (Member # 11633) on :
You could also try glass tint. You can usually find it in the car section of the stores and you just put it on. It will help reflect the suns rays just like it does on a car.
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
We bought some styrofoam sheets from Lowes and cut them to fit in the window. You could do the same and then cover them with a sheet so they look like a curtain. The styrofoam cut the heat down so dramatically it was amazing. We got some that is about an inch thick. If its covered with fabric they'll never know what it is and it will do wonders in cutting down the heat.
Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
If the foam was pink or blue, it was probably actually a foam insulation, which I imagine would work wonders. It's a lot denser than styrofoam. If you need to cut it down, though, I would not do it inside. We occasionally use foam for theater sets, and it makes a huge mess.
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
It was a white foam panel - we had the lowes guy cut it down a bit so it would fit in our vehicle. It is definitely styrofoam insulation panel. Definitely cut it outside though because the little white styrofoam pieces are a pain to sweep up!
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
quote:Originally posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion: According to their rules, 'no inappropriate items may be put on glass doors and windows', and that includes tin foil.
So it is totally subjective, and up to them, what qualifies as "inappropriate"????
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
This one's understandable, though, since the point of an HOA is to keep the neighborhood from looking like...well...a place that has houses with foil in the windows.
That said, down with HOAs!!
Posted by Starsnuffer (Member # 8116) on :
You could put foil over your window cut into lovely doily patterns, or something like that. While it wouldn't provide perfect protection it would look nice while it was being mainly functional.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese: What I have done in the past:
Taped a white sheet up over the glass, then taped aluminum foil onto/over that (with the foil on the inside, where it could not be seen through the folded-over sheet from the outside). Made it so that nothing but white sheet could be seen, as if it were a curtain. Didn't put the tape where it can be seen from the outside. Double-checked this.
That's a really good idea.
Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :
quote:Originally posted by PSI Teleport: ...down with HOAs!!
I love the "Over the Hedge" movie and its spectacular caricature of an HOA president as one of the movie's two antagonists.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
When we bought our first house, that was one of the things we wouldn't budge on -- we would not buy a house in an area with a HOA.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
I have an HOA currently but it's spectacularly ineffective. Dead lawns abound, weeds, etc. They don't notice when I forget to pay my HOA dues (but I'll still pay them, I guess). There's a deal with a company that was supposed to install fiber optic network to deliver TV, internet, and phone, which has been delayed again and again (I suspect because they contracted with a new company with no experience or reputation - just a flashy website).
If it continues like this I'm going to suggest that we seriously consider disbanding the HOA. Then I can install my non-tan vinyl fence. Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
My apartment complex says you can't have any window coverings unless they show white (and only white) to the outside. This makes sense to me. At my last apartment, the people in the building across from me had what looked like large colorful throw rugs hanging in their windows, and I thought it looked awful. I wouldn't care much (and still don't, really) if they owned the place, but I can fully understand why a complex would try to present a unified face to the world.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by scifibum: I have an HOA currently but it's spectacularly ineffective. Dead lawns abound, weeds, etc. They don't notice when I forget to pay my HOA dues (but I'll still pay them, I guess). There's a deal with a company that was supposed to install fiber optic network to deliver TV, internet, and phone, which has been delayed again and again (I suspect because they contracted with a new company with no experience or reputation - just a flashy website).
If it continues like this I'm going to suggest that we seriously consider disbanding the HOA. Then I can install my non-tan vinyl fence.
What, you don't have a Tulpa? Might look into that...
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
quote:I love the "Over the Hedge" movie and its spectacular caricature of an HOA president as one of the movie's two antagonists.
I love it, too. I usually despise "kid" movies with a "message" but this one was just too cleverly done. And having a husband that spent years as a mason, we know all too well how miserable your life can be in the hands of an HOA.
Posted by Starsnuffer (Member # 8116) on :
Does anyone else think it's interesting when people change the indirect article to agree with the name of the letter of the acronym rather than the first word in the acronym? Mainly here in lesser-used acronyms, HOA I'm reading as home owners' association. Not HOA. So "in the hands of an Home owners associon" is what I read. I guess it's a matter of how you're thinking about the words/acronyms, because others you hear more often regularly have an "an" even if the first word clearly would be an A or vice versa. Anyway. interesting.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I think that the point of using "an" is more for verbal clarification than anything else. Like when people drop their r's except in cases where the r would separate two a/uh sounds. Try saying "a HOA" out loud. It's awkward.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
I choose between 'a' and 'an' based on how I would verbally pronounce the sentence. I would say "Aitch Oh Ay" so I use "an".
I do think it's interesting and sometimes I have to pause and think about how an author meant for a sentence to be pronounced. It's harder when they use abbreviations I am not familiar with.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Have you tried telling them that there ain't no 'aluminum' on your windows, that's aluminium you've got?
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Don't go there.
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
An Home Owners Association works if you retain the "silent H" like some of those "other" English speakers do.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I find that lining my hat with aluminum foil offers more complete protection than just lining my windows. I mean, the spybeams can go through walls, too, so to really keep them out of your brain, you'd need to cover not only the windows, but also the walls and ceiling.
Me showing you the foil lining in my hat --> Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
quote:Originally posted by MidnightBlue: If the foam was pink or blue, it was probably actually a foam insulation, which I imagine would work wonders. It's a lot denser than styrofoam. If you need to cut it down, though, I would not do it inside. We occasionally use foam for theater sets, and it makes a huge mess.
For those who have used this stuff, does it cut down in such a way that smaller pieces can then be taped back together? Or are the smaller pieces pretty much ruined?
--Mel
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
I haven't used the exact stuff MB was talking about but I don't see why it couldn't be taped back together. The styrofoam stuff we got could be taped with some duct tape I'm sure.
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