Built-in Curtain Tracks that are flush with the ceiling

[goffredo]

We moved into an apartment that has long runs of curtain tracks that are inset into the ceiling. In the bedrooms, there are two adjacent tracks about 10cm apart, so that one can hang both a light-filtering curtain, and a thicker privacy curtain behind it, I suppose.

I thought this would be easy! But it looks like most curtain hanging systems aren’t intended for this curtain rail to be flush to the ceiling.

So, as you can see in our picture, Test Curtain is squished up against the ceiling. We clearly need some kind of hook thing that allows the curtain to hang 4 or 5 CM below the track so that it’s not touching the ceiling. What this thing looks like, how it interfaces to the curtain, and what it is called, I have no idea.

Also, Test Curtain hardly moves! If you fuss with each individual glider in sequence, you can snake it in little 10-cm increments at a time before it wedges itself crooked in some fashion inside the rail, and it must be manhandle to get it moving again.

I’m wondering if this is one of those unforeseen Swiss expenses that nobody tells you about … a CHF 120 Knipex special-purpose curtain track smoother & reamer tool that scrapes out old paint and gunk and smooths the inside of the glider track, and proprietary Swiss-made curtain gliders of stainless steel with ball bearings that are CHF 12 a piece, something like that.

My goodness, what am I doing wrong here? I thought this would be easy!

[Phil_MCR]

before you test with curtain, try one just tied to a piece of string and see if it snags. as you say, maybe you need to clean and also lubricate the track.

happy to sell you the swiss certified tools for the cheap price of 1’200 and lubricant for 120 Fr.

[bossybaby]

There are at least two styles of hangers: those in your picture, and the ones with a long loop at the bottom that allows the curtain to hang lower. I used to see them at Migros. In every apartment we have ever lived, flush tracks were the norm.

[inZug]

there’s also a silicon spray you can spray and helps with gliding. i have it at home and will look tonight…

[bluntside]

Talk to one of your neighbours and ask them how they dealt with the problem.

[KiwiSteve]

Flush rails are the norm. They are a wonderful idea being very adaptable.

Sometimes, cleaning or lubrication is required. The runners are cheap and available everywhere. Some work better than others. There is a knack to stop them bunching up

[marton]

Are the sliders the original obes or did you buy them?

You could also buy this type of curtain

[sichuan]

are the sliders original? Looks like improperly mounted - 90 degree rotated. Maybe they are just too narrow so can rotate accidentally?

I have these, IIRC bought in Ikea

view from the side of your picture

side view

the shaft is wide enough to make it impossible to rotate in the rail

[goffredo]

I am learning so much about curtain tracks!

Upon spending further time standing on a chair, certainly to my neighbors’ great amusement, inspecting my curtain tracks, I discovered a few things that corroborate some of the items in this thread.

First, the interior parts of the curtain rails are indeed a little schmutzig. The culprit appears to be some occasional bits of white crumbly plaster here and there, which delight in falling out into my gawking eyes during the cleaning process, which obviously were due to overzealous application, or under zealous attention, when the ceiling was plastered (and / or painted).

While I have yet to find the hand tool that I see in my dreams, and which I’ve sketched on a napkin in my free time while having coffee at the Coop Mensa, which fits perfectly inside the insertion slot of the curtain rail, and which allows one effortlessly and satisfactorily to glide it back and forth from end to end whilst plaining off any build-up and gunk inside the track … in lieu of such a wondrous tool, a bent wire hanger coupled with a liberal amount of profanity seemed to help clear the track out significantly.

While I also like the idea of silicon to lube the channel a bit, this is tempered with the fear of such a lubricant simultaneously attracting dust and lint more that would be attracted just by keeping the channel clean and dry.

Finally, I think the thing that really made the most material difference was picking the right damned glider. The IKEA one just doesn’t work well in the channel, but I found a pack of gliders at an Eskimo fabric store that move much better. And indeed, in subsequent research I was lead to vorhangbox.ch, that sells a few different kinds of gliders – “Piccolo, Midi or Maxi”, and offers some instructions for measuring, here. This company also appears to offer gliders that have SWIVELING hooks on them, which is cool.

And so there goes so many hours of my life spent learning about something as mundane as Swiss curtain gliders. If I should ever fire up the 3D printer and perfect my glider rail cleaning hand tool, a subsequent response shall most certainly appear here.

[tom8050]

@goffredo : welcome to swiss lifestyle. If you work on the Swiss Vitamin B, life will be painless (mostly). )

[sichuan]

yeah, the bar system is just so much easier to maintain, yet I haven’t seen it in any rented apartment in Switzerland

[goffredo]

A bar system would certainly be easier to maintain, but the recessed curtain tracks are so sexy! Even though they make everything difficult.

One thought I had last night was that, in order to clean the inside of the tracks of any left-over plaster bits and whatever else, perhaps either an L-shaped Allen/Hex wrench, or a bolt with a hex head, which is just the right size to fit into the entrance, and then pulled along the length of the track, would help. Anyway enough elaboration about this, on to the next big thing … aromatics … coming soon to a post near you.

[marton]

Would this be helpful?

[goffredo]

Thanks @marton! I think that might be exactly what I need. I have ordered a pack of them, and will follow up with details once I have had a chance to use it. Hopefully, it is able to scrape off the plaster that is causing some trouble with the curtain glides.