Measuring and installing your blinds

Whatever style of blind you decide to purchase, whether holland blinds, venetian blinds, roller blinds, honeycomb blinds or panel blinds, you’ll need to ensure that the blind is properly installed to make the most of its appearance and performance.

If you’re handy, you may well have the confidence to take a DIY approach. If you’re not, it’s worth appointing an installer to do the job for you. Most good retailers should be able to recommend a blind installer and there are a few things you should look for in an installer. As a start, images of previously completed installations and testimonials from satisfied clients are great way to judge an installer’s proficiency.

Measuring and installing your blinds

Good installers often have a background in a trade such as cabinet making and are used to dealing with precise measurements. And a really good one will be able to think creatively to find solutions to common challenges such as windows with no reveals or locks that cause obstructions, skirtings in reveals or out-of-square reveals (common in older buildings).

Whoever is installing your blinds, there are a few tips to bear in mind. Firstly, the most important element of any good installation is accurate measuring. A metal measure should be used and measurements should never be ‘rounded up’ or ‘rounded down’. Measurements should be as accurate as possible, so an installer who talks in terms of millimetres rather than centimetres is clearly the real deal. Measurements should be presented in terms of width x drop. Every window needs to be measured individually, as any variation, however small, will affect the final outcome. It’s also worth noting that measurements on house plans are rarely accurate, so ignore those and re-measure!

How an install is measured and approached will also depend on the type of blind. For example with venetian blinds it’s essential to measure the window cavity before mounting brackets for the blind on either side of the cavity, opening the catches and inserting the blind.

Meanwhile roller blinds can either be face mounted – fitted outside the window frame, or recess mounted – fitted inside the window frame. For face mounting, measure the width from the outer edge of the frame to the opposite edge, then the drop from the top of the frame to where the blind should end. If your windows don’t have frames, measure the opening and add at least 100mm to ensure that the fabric overlaps with the opening on either side of the window. At least 100mm should also be added to the drop to ensure that the blind covers the opening vertically as well as horizontally.

For recess mounted roller blinds, the width from the inside of the window frame from the left side to the right side should be measured, as well as the drop from the top to the bottom of the inside recess. It’s also crucial to make sure there’s enough depth to mount the blind snugly inside the frame so that at no point is it visible outside the profile of the window.

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