Easily Hang Sneeze Guards from Ceilings (COVID-19)

The global COVID-19 outbreak is affecting how essential businesses conduct productive and safe operations. During these unprecedented times, businesses are challenged to implement solutions that ensure the health of their customers and employees. Many local businesses, in conjunction with their facility maintenance partners, are installing sneeze guards (also called sneeze shields, cough guards, or sneeze screens) in strategic areas to help protect employees and customers from the spread of the COVID-19 virus. That leads to the question of how to DIY a hanging sneeze guard?

The sneeze guard material being installed may be as simple as hanging clear shower curtains or more complex installations of heavy, durable plexiglass shields (also known as an acrylic or plastic sheet) to create a hanging plexiglass barrier.

Sneeze guards are being installed in various places around the store, including check-out counters, customer service desks, drive-through windows, warehouses/distribution centers, restaurants, and even in office spaces.

Why hanging sneeze guards? Once you have your plastic, glass, or other material to be the shield, do you really want to drill permanent holes into expensive store counters? Do you really want to take up counter space with the base of the sneeze shield? An alternative is to safely hang sneeze guards from the ceiling.

But how do you hang them so they don’t look tacky? If you’re looking for hanging sneeze shields, here’s what to do once you have the plexiglass barrier. So if you’re looking for information on how to make a sneeze guard, simply find a plexiglass or acrylic sheet (the sneeze shield itself) and then follow these instructions on how to easily make and install hanging plexiglass shields:

1. Attach Wire to Sneeze Guard such as LoopLine Light

You can use a fishing line with small loops to make it easy to hang level without tying knots.

You’ll need to first figure out how heavy the sneeze guard is and find a material to act as a cord that can handle the weight of the hanging shield.

-First, figure out how much the sneeze guard weighs
-Next, determine what kind of ceiling you have:
-Based on that, choose a wire, string, cord, or rope:
-Then, attach the string to the sneeze shield

A banner hanger/topper can help to stabilize the hanging plexiglass.

You’ll connect the wire (a cord, string, or rope) to the plexiglass shield in one of two ways, depending on the weight of the sneeze guard. Either:

Quick, Not as Attractive: Connect it directly to the plexiglass sneeze guard. Drill (at least) two holes in the top of it. That’s how you’ll connect the wire to the sneeze shield. You could also attach a hook through the hole. We don’t recommend using tape to attach the cord to the sneeze guard.
Professional-Looking: Use a banner hanger. Connect the string to the banner hanger, which is attached to the sneeze guard. Note that depending on the weight of the shield, you may want to drill holes into the plexiglass itself and use a banner hanger to make it look more professional.

See the rest of the steps for hanging sneeze guards from ceilings