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  • From: SJC <indexer AT localnet.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] thermal shutters and shades
  • Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:14:10 -0400

keith bellinger wrote:
So, I'll go back to my book now but suspect that if I glue aluminum foil to the backs of my maps they will reduce heat loss by about fifty percent (if sealed well at all edges of course). There must be a modern film that I can buy instead that's easier to apply and probably more efficient. My book is outdated in that respect.
The maps sound like a neat idea. And it sounds like they are at least close to the right size already, that's a boon.

Don't know how it would glue or seal but there are several types of mylar sheeting that would likely be worth checking out. Maybe play with one of those "emergency blankets" that sell for a couple of bucks apiece; those are mylar. Those are very flexible, but for very much $$ at the other end are rather thickish sheets of the stuff. The biggest negative I've run into so far is they want to sell it on large rolls, sometimes hundreds of feet of the stuff, and I have not the $$, desire, nor the space to buy/store it in those amounts when I might only need 20 feet or so for a job. I sometimes get partial rolls where I get my foam; sometimes he gets them with just one end damaged and if the roll is wide enough there'll be enough undamaged to make it worthwhile. There is such a thing as mylar tape, too; I've seen it referred to but never seen or used it.

Recently a builder friend mentioned a product he'd seen down south somewhere (he'd been helping after Katrina) that he thought to be tyvek-backed mylar. It lodged in my brain that such a product might have application for movable insulation, as the mylar sheets are sometimes difficult, (some types crack easily, are stiff and don't bend or crease well, or are fragile to handle) and the tyvek would surely be a plus there. I know it makes great kites! They take a lot of abuse and I have some parafoils I made of soft tyvek that are almost 30 years old, flown several times a year, still in good shape. I was thinking it might be usable where a single-layer reversible application is needed. Haven't had a chance to check it out yet but you might look/ask if you're where they offload that kind of thing. I'm sure it would be pricey, as neither product is cheap by itself, together probably a lot worse.
Probably you're familiar with Reflectix? That's a pretty good insulator+reflector, I use it pretty often to make insulative items for vans and campers, but what I have here is likely to be too thick for backing a rollup blind. Whether it comes in different thicknesses, or bubble sizes, I don't know. They make one with no bubbles in it, just a loosely-woven reinforcing layer in the center of 2 foil sheets so it's a lot thinner, quite flexible and pretty durable, that might be worth asking about. That thin one is usually with the building materials rather than the HVAC stuff and I'm not sure exactly what they call it but it's made by Reflectix. All their products I'm familiar with come in manageable amounts/packaging. None cheap, of course.

SusanJane, in Maine




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