Peep Out Of Our Peephole, People!

July 27, 2014 1:50 PM

My partner and I just moved into a new apartment in Queens. There's one small issue, and it's our peephole. It's missing the cover on the inside. Where can I get a replacement?

Here's what it looks like on the inside. The screw holes are about 1.5" apart. It's not dire, because it only looks in on the living room/kitchenette area, but it would sure be nice to have a cover.

Some place I can order from online would be great.

posted by SansPoint to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

If you can't find anything right away, a quick hack would be to get a cheap, round necklace pendant and hang it just above the peep hole with a nail. Then you could swing it aside if needed.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:05 PM on July 27, 2014 [2 favorites]

Even cheaper temp replacement is a flattened beer bottle cap, plus there is the added bonus of drinking the beer.
posted by elizardbits at 2:52 PM on July 27, 2014 [5 favorites]

How about a button magnet?
posted by notreally at 3:05 PM on July 27, 2014

Peepholes are pretty standard -- try a neighborhood hardware store? Right next to the skeleton keys and swag hooks, I'd imagine.
posted by zvs at 3:21 PM on July 27, 2014

For example this whole set up is $8, at Home Depot.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 3:27 PM on July 27, 2014

Have you actually tried standing out in the hallway and looking into your apartment via the peephole? It's almost certain that it has a wide-angle lens, in which case, there's essentially zero visibility in the reverse direction anyway. The privacy issue you're concerned about likely doesn't actually exist.
posted by kickingtheground at 7:15 PM on July 27, 2014 [6 favorites]

are you sure yours is even supposed to have a cover? none of the peepholes i've ever lived with had them. (seriously, i didn't even know it was a thing!)
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:23 PM on July 27, 2014 [9 favorites]

Whether or not someone can actually see in (and mine has a cover because yes, you can see in through it) people standing in the hallway can see that your lights are on through the uncovered peephole, assuming the hallway is poorly lit, as are most hallways in NYC. If that makes the OP uncomfortable then that's that. It made me uncomfortable to discover that I could see my own lights were on from the hallway when my peephole cover got stuck in the open position.
posted by elizardbits at 5:59 AM on July 28, 2014

I've never heard of a peephole having a cover. All of the apartments I've lived in (including the one within the city limits of Boston) had uncovered peepholes; ditto for almost every hotel room I've ever stayed in either -- either no peephole at all, or one or two (for ADA compliance) uncovered ones.

However, I've never lived in an apartment in NYC, and I'm aware that NYC has all sorts of special laws for apartments that other places just don't have. That said, I would think "the landlord must ensure that the tenant feels safe in his/her apartment" is a basic aspect of landlord/tenant law found anywhere. Therefore, I would think this would be your landlord's or super's responsibility. As a temporary fix, you can use any of the suggestions given upthread. But you should contact your landlord or super and ask if s/he could either (a) remedy the problem, or (b) allow you to deduct your materials cost from your next rent payment should you decide to buy a new peephole and replace it yourself.
posted by tckma at 8:41 AM on July 28, 2014