How To Cover Window Ac Hole

I have learned, over the past 79 days or so, that the flat I moved into in January is non a skilful summer apartment. No matter which fashion my boyfriend and I configure the four windows in our place—windows open up in the front and the back of the apartment, to catch a cross-breeze; front windows open only; all windows open, with shades drawn to keep out the sun—there's not hint of air menstruation to be had. Information technology is totally, completely still, and stifling hot.

Which means I—who, in my last flat, had the luxury of being anti-Ac and pro-breeze—have had no pick but to give up to air conditioning. We're fortunate that a window unit came with the place, slotted into a window in our chamber that looks out at a narrow alley. I don't know what we would do without information technology. The bedroom, in particular, has turned into a heat box. We've learned to turn on the Air conditioning for a half 60 minutes earlier bed, with the door closed, and so plough it off and train a heavy-duty fan on the bed all night.

Equally life-saving every bit information technology is for a New York City summer, this Air conditioning unit of measurement, like many Ac units, is ugly. Information technology's a sort of dull, yellowed beige color, and somebody (probably the previous tenants) sealed bits of it with duct tape. It does the trick, but I don't want to accept to look at it for the xx-3 and a half hours it'south not in use each twenty-four hour period.

Matt had the thought of building a embrace for it, and i 24-hour interval when he was at work, I decided to practice it myself. The result is nothing fancy, but it's lightweight and does a expert job of keeping the ugly bulk of the AC unit hidden away.

Behold, the easiest, cheapest DIY AC cover you can make at domicile (with materials, I might add together, from the art supply store).

Photography by Annie P. Quigley.

Above: The end issue.

Materials

Yous'll need:

• Measuring record
• Four strips of lightweight wood, cut to your window/AC dimensions. I used 2″ wide balsa and basswood strips from Blick Art Materials, $1.99 each. (I would've used all basswood, since it'southward much sturdier, but just balsa came in strips long enough for our wide windows. You can besides get forest cut so you're not hemmed in by lengths. More on that later.)
• Woods mucilage
• Small screws or nails (optional)
• Sail, a flour sack dish towel, or other simple cloth. This projection would exist however another prissy utilise for a sheet drib textile, but I used the cheapest painter's canvass I could detect at Blick: I paid $five.17 for a yard.
• Staples and staple gun

Method

1. Measure.

Mensurate the interior of your window where you lot'd similar the embrace to sit. For the height, exist sure to mensurate a bit generously from the pinnacle of the AC unit; for the length, subtract a half inch or and so to ensure your embrace volition fit snugly within the window. (I made my frame to the exact measurement the outset time and it didn't fit.)

An of import notation: We take deep windowsills, then I opted for narrow strips of wood that would stand up on their ain, like a frame, in front of the AC unit, and all the same get out quite a bit of bare windowsill. If you have shallower sills, and your unit overhangs them into your living space, retrofit this design with wider pieces of wood, so that y'all terminate up with less of a frame and more than of a deep box that can fit snugly over your unit. (The bottom can fit snugly between unit of measurement and sill.)

ii. Make a frame.

Cutting your four pieces of wood to size: two strips for the length you measured, two strips for the height. The wood that I got from the art supply store was sparse plenty that I cut it with an X-Acto knife (I wanted my frame to be actress lightweight), but you could likewise employ hardier forest and have it cut to your measurements.

Also note: If you discover a set-made frame that fits your measurements, even better. I made my ain considering I wanted it to fit perfectly, and no frame I could find was merely right.

In a higher place: Holding the frame in place while it dries.

Glue the four lengths of woods into a rectangular frame using wood glue, one corner at a time, using something with a correct angle (like a notepad) to ensure that all of the corners are foursquare. Concur each corner in place as it dries.

Leave the frame for at least half an 60 minutes to allow the glue harden. Then, if the wood is thick plenty, y'all can add some hardware to secure it if need be. Mine was fairly sturdy, and the forest was thin, then I added triangular supports in each corner, cut from spare pieces of wood and adhered with wood mucilage, instead.

Above: The finished frame.

3. Cut and position the cloth.

Lay out your material and measure out the length and width of your frame, with three actress inches added to each measurement. My frame measured 33 inches long by xvi inches high, so I traced a 36- by xix-inch rectangle. Cut information technology out and—this is important—steam or atomic number 26 the material. It'll be harder to go out wrinkles one time it'southward on the frame. (I learned this the hard manner.)

To a higher place: Readying the cloth.

Above: Measuring.

Lay your cloth over your frame and tuck it downwards inside. It should lay flat and tight along the bottom (this will be the front of the cover). Trim the sides if they overhang the forest frame.

Above: Making adjustments.

Another annotation: You could also stretch the cloth over the front and sides of the frame if you don't want to see the wood.

4. Staple it in place.

Above: Utilise clips or clothespins (these are bulldog clips I picked up at Blick; 59 cents each) to hold the canvas in place.

Above: Stapling the canvas in place.

Using a staple gun, staple the sail to one side of the frame as close to the lesser of the wood as you tin. Then, plow to the opposite side of the frame, pulling the canvass taut across and stapling it in place on that side. Repeat, working across opposite sides, always pulling the canvas taut.

(My woods was thin plenty that a regular sometime stapler did the fob, simply once I procure a heavy-duty staple gun I'yard going to exercise this role again. I'd similar to go the sheet much tighter and snugger.)

Above: Here's what to do in the corners: pucker the canvas into a triangle, then tuck to 1 side and staple.

five. Set into the window and adore.

Higher up: The finished product (at to the lowest degree, until I buy a staple gun and stretch the canvass tighter).

The End Result

Above 50: Our bedroom window, before. We'd already hidden the problem of the window's "view" (it looks out at a brick wall) with a thin paper shade that even so lets low-cal into our dark bedroom, merely the Air conditioning unit and its thick string stuck out. Higher up R: The bedchamber window with the new cover in place.

Above: The embrace is big enough to cover the whole Ac unit. When the unit is in use, I but accept the cover down and lean it against the wall.

Above: There's nonetheless enough room on the sill for a spray of flowers and ii round stones collected on a recent trip to Block Isle. (Excuse the effulgence of our rental lights.)

To a higher place: The new window in evening, with calorie-free coming from the kitchen.

All told, this project took me less than three hours (a walk to the art supply store included) and cost $15. It's a simple solution but already information technology'southward an improvement on the unsightly realities of summer in the city.

Trying this yourself? Try a chip of linen—even caning—instead of canvas. Paint the frame. And change the dimensions to whatever works for y'all.

More than DIYs that come in handy for summer:

• DIY: How to Make the Simple Cooling Cloths from The Lost Kitchen in Liberty, Maine
• DIY Essential Oils in the Home: All-Natural Insect Repellent
• DIY: A Summery Side Table by Two Young Paris Architects

Source: https://www.remodelista.com/posts/how-to-make-ac-cover-window-air-conditioner-cheap-easy/

Posted by: hayesancour.blogspot.com

Share this post