[140478]

I was curious what you might have done around dealing with light discipline during a SHTF event.

I've considered black plastic but feel that even with that light could illuminate to the point it would be obvious.

I've considered painting the windows but then you loose out on removing if necessary.

Wood is always an option.

Have you given thought to the concept and is there anything that is simple to deploy and retains the greatest visibility.

Thanks for your thoughts?

SF

 

[Nomad 2nd]

I have blackout curtains.

 

[Aerindel]

I have blackout curtains.

Ditto.

Really handy as I usually sleep during the day.

 

[bunkerbuster]

I have blackout curtains.

DITTO.....:thumb:

Plus custom cut plywood to screw down cover most windows if we need to.
Plus, bricks mortared in behind the drywall surrounding some windows in case we use one as a gun port.

 

[TheLoneMommy]

I have black out curtains. If you are looking to hide the light just put the self stick velcro around the edges of your windows and curtains, at dusk you velcro the curtains shut....no light leak. You can get velcro in rolls cheap.

 

[BrettTheOkie]

Once I used some heavy, Army-issued wool blankets as make-shift blackout curtains. At the time I felt that it would be wise to make it look like I wasn't home to anyone observing from the outside.

It actually worked pretty well, the place looked completely deserted from the outside.

 

[Exarmyguy]

Cover your windows with precut 3/8 AR500 steel plates.

 

[PromptCritical]

I use blackout curtains and have dimmer switches for a few select lights. The yard light on the barn now has a switch to easily shut it off as well.

 

[hardcalibres]

Sandbags......

 

[Aerindel]

Cover your windows with precut 3/8 AR500 steel plates.

Depends on what your walls are made of.

Probably a better idea to cover the area around the windows with bullet resistant material so you can see and shoot through your windows and have something to hide behind.

If you can afford it. AR500 isn't super cheap as building materials go.

 

[Mazarine33]

InWWII my grandfather served both at Camp Maxey and as a civilian defense officer. The town had what he called air raid drills, in case bombing ever started in the US. He told how he and other CD guys would go around the neighborhood and rural areas to make sure people had their windows blacked out. My grandmother said she used black fabric to make heavy curtains with black lining and hung them right against the window frame so no light would show outwardly when closed but would allow the curtains to be drawn open during the day.

I don't know what specific materials she used, but I would assume something heavy with a very tight weave.

There may be information available in historical archives for the CD that would have better information.

 

[hardcalibres]

Many here will already know, but it is worth mentioning that adequately blacked out for detection by unaided eyeball is not necessarily blacked out enough if someone is looking at your windows with a night vision device.

 

[williammandella]

I've messed around with several things, but settled on roll up shades about a foot wider than the window casements with dull black nylon glued to the side that faces the window. With window blinds the same width of the window installed up against the inside of the windows, and the pull down shades up against the wall, it looks from the outside like you are looking into a window, past the blinds, into a dark room, when you are really seeing the black pull down shades inside. At night, between the pull-down shades and the blinds up against the windows, no light gets out, and the setup looks good from the inside since the black nylon side of the shades face the window. It's easy to raise the blinds and shades if I want to let light or air in.
In the winter I have pieces of inch thick blue insulating foam cut to the size of the casement the windows are mounted in that push right up against the blinds that are in front of the windows. The side of the insulating panel that faces the window is also painted black. The panels pop out to be stored behind a couch or under a bed, and the shades roll up to store in the decorative boxes that cover their mounting brackets, kind of like a smaller version of the box that covers drapery pull mechanisms.
The British blackout panels were usually made of a fabric covering, stretched over a wooden frame, and painted black, but the panels were also good for stopping glass from blowing into the room if a bomb hit nearby, which hopefully won't be something I have to prepare for.

 

[lasers]

One thing to keep in mind is how obvious do you want your blackouts to be? There is a house on the highway a few miles from me and at random times they put up Styrofoam in their windows and at night small amounts of light get out(the Styrofoam is up for a few days then down for a week then up for a week, then down a day and so on) The way they do it makes the house look very suspicious. If they left it up all winter it would make sense but the way they do it makes it appear as if they put the Styrofoam up when they do something in the house they don't want to be seen doing. It may be totally on the up and up but because of the area and the condition of the home the first thing I think of is they are cooking meth, and others make the same joke when driving past it. In normal conditions their blackout method makes the house stand out even more.

My plan is in several stages.

Close the curtains then hang heavy blankest over them. They can easily be removed and from outside it doesn't look odd.

If thing get worse, close the curtains then put up sheet metal with the white side facing out on the inside of the curtains. This adds a bit more security, still doesn't look odd from outside and if done right blocks all light. If needed a small peep hole can be drilled in the sheet metal to look out. When not in use the hole gets covered.

If things get worse yet the sheet metal would go on the outside of the windows to protect the windows. This will make the place look obviously boarded up which may be a good thing or bad thing depending on the conditions

I haven't done it and don't intend to do it on this house but light tubes https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Ligh...ocphy=9019361&hvtargid=pla-568081365822&psc=1 Look like they could be a good solution to letting light into a boarded up home without giving any sign someone is in the home.

I have also thought depending on the situation I may put up sheet metal on the windows but leave the top few inches open. Light could come in during the day but at night I could block the small gap at the top to make sure no light comes out.

If you do block your windows it is a good practice to go outside at night with the interior lights on and see where light is leaking out so you can block it. A small sliver of light may leaking out may draw more attention in the wrong circumstances than an totally uncovered window and light would.

The darker your area the better you light blocking has to be. If you live in town and their are working streetlights you can let out quite a bit of light and no one will see it. If you are in an area where there is no other light the glow of a candle through a nail hole can act a a beacon for a long ways.

 

[lasers]

Another thing to keep in mind is which way your windows face. Depending on your home's layout it may be worthwhile to only use certain rooms at night with few or no windows or windows that face a direction they won't be seen from. It may also be worthwhile to hang blankets over hallways and passages without doors to keep the light controlled inside the home as well.

 

[hedgerowpete]

i plan to use wall paper paste and glue news paper to all the windows and then once from the outside it looks like an old house and no curtains i was going to paste a layer of aluminium foil to the inside newspapers and then its 100% light proof,

 

[ManVsLawn]

Due to a combination of the FL sun, the extreme heat, broken A/C in ramshackle house, and being a poor college student, we used to tape up thick aluminum foil to many windows and glass doors.

It stopped a lot of the light and heat.

Not very pretty from the outside but cheap and effective.

 

[Exarmyguy]

Depends on what your walls are made of.

Probably a better idea to cover the area around the windows with bullet resistant material so you can see and shoot through your windows and have something to hide behind.

If you can afford it. AR500 isn't super cheap as building materials go.

Well I was sort of joking . If I could afford sheets of AR500 I would armour the walls around windows and doors not block the windows with it.

 

[Optimist]

AR500 shutters? You'd need good hinges, stoutly mounted....

 

[Aerindel]

Well I was sort of joking . If I could afford sheets of AR500 I would armour the walls around windows and doors not block the windows with it.

Gotcha.

You never know if people are joking or not here....or trying to cover up a bad idea by saying after the fact it was a joke (not referring to you).


Anyway, my point is that unless your walls are very strong material, bullet proofing your windows is the last thing you armor. Keep the visibility, armor the places you will be actually standing.