was almost an epic fail!!! Some how I managed to get it done, with a little help from Mark (((sigh))). If there is one thing you should know from reading this blog it is that I believe I can do everything by myself. I like power tools, and when I want something done I do it... First of all I wanted Mark to put them up on Friday, but he didn't :( So on Saturday I decided to take the task on myself. I am going to take you through the steps, and then I will tell you how to make it easier if you decided to take the task on yourself.
First I would like to say the directions for these blinds were garbage! All it had was stupid pictures with no words so you had to imagine what to do...did I mention I don't have much of an imagination? LOL
Before picture. Our blinds have been broken for a year and a half but the window is an odd size and the price of blinds was out of this world! Lucky for me I caught an unbelievable Cyber Monday deal on new ones :)
If you are replacing old cheapo blinds (like mine) You will slide the plastic piece out and then you will be able to slide your old blinds out of their mount.You will pull the blinds straight out towards you. Be sure to grab them from the top and it will also be easier if you draw the blinds up. I couldn't do this since mine were broke.
In my case I had to put my mounts a 1/2" over on each side (that would total the 1" difference and you want the blinds to be centered) I used the mount from my old blinds to be the guide for my new ones. I took the mark and went over 1/2" and made my new mark to mount the new hardware. If you haven"t removed your old hardware go ahead and do that now. You should be able to remove it with a standard screwdriver.
:::Side Bar::::
Up until this part everything was going smooth. It was the next part that sent me into a melt down. So here I am going to explain what went wrong and save you from the same mistakes. First of all these mounts are really tight since they mount inside the window. It is very hard to turn the screw driver which lead me to getting the screws crooked. So I decided to go get the electric drill (MISTAKE) I ended up striping the screw and couldn't get it out. Back to the shop to try a different tool...this time a ratchet wrench once again fail. So back to the shop for another tool...a different drill which I decided to put a drill bit smaller than the screw to make a guided hole. This would have worked except I had a screw stuck and half way hanging out of the hole which wouldn't allow the blind to slide in the mount. So I decided to try the second mount. In the mean time I had texted Mark in the middle of a melt down over getting the screw stuck and stripped out. At this point I had stopped and took a few minutes to yell and scream, then I decided I needed some food to get my strength back up (LOL). Needless to say Mark came home from hunting and fixed the first mount. I had already got the second one in correctly by this time...so we will fast forward to the correct and easy way to do this.
:::Back to installation:::
So after you get your old mounts down it is time to put the new mounts. For you ladies you will need a electric drill with a wood bit (gold bit) that is a little smaller than the screw you will be using.
Take your new mounts and hold them where you will be installing them. Then take your drill and then drill your holes where your screws (probably 2) will be going using your mount as a guide.
After you drill your guide holes it should be easier for you to screw the screws into the casing of the window. It makes a WORLD of difference!!! (it took me just a minute to get the second mount on compared to all my problems with the first)
Now that you have your two mounts installed you can slide your new blinds into them. Hopefully you will read this post before you start the process and you wont have to have a melt down like I did :)
Now to the next step which I sorta messed up...yet again. Since my window is an odd size my blinds were way to long and there was no way around not taking slats out :( If you buy your blinds in the store you can usually get them done at the store. (please do this if at all possible) I ordered my online so I didn't have that luxury. As you can see they were excessively long. Once again the directions were no help at all, so I had to wing it...YIKES!
Seriously this situation was just as bad as the first mounting bracket, but once again I think my hard time can help you :)
First of all make sure you are not cutting the main cord that links the blinds together. It will be the one that goes all the way around and into the bottom of the blind. There are rubber clips at the bottom of the blind that hold those cords in place. Trace them and make sure you do NOT cut them. When you are looking at your blind you will see you can pretty much slide the slats right out of the cords. Take out as many as needed. In my case it was 16 slats. After you take all the slats you need to out you will see there are pieces of string that hold those slats in place they run horizontal. You will need to cut those so you can move the bottom of the blind up. Be SURE to leave the very last horizontal one so you can slide your base (the bottom piece that you can see in the picture under the gap where slats have been removed)
After you have them out you will pop those plastic pieces on the bottom out and the cords will be exposed this is ok. you will then have to take the bottom piece and slide it into the last horizontal strings.
Now that you have that done you will pull the excess cord and tie the bottom into a knot. You will take the other string (from the pieces you cut) and tie it around the bottom of the blind (make sure it's even on both sides) Trim the excess string.
You will also trim the extra from the mail cord that you tied (knot it twice) and then place your plastic pieces (the ones you popped out) back on.
the only place where this caused me a problem is on one end I had to totally remove the main cord out of the guide holes (holes the cord feeds through) to move my main bottom piece into the last horizontal string. I had a very difficult time getting the string back into the hole. Finally I found a paper clip and used that to guide the string back through the hole.
it turned my house into a mess!!!
But they are way prettier than the ugly old ones :) Completed!!!
I hope this will help some of you ladies if you ever decided to try to this yourself. Did I mention these blinds were $120 bucks and I only paid $17.99 that right there made it worth all the troubles!!!
First I would like to say the directions for these blinds were garbage! All it had was stupid pictures with no words so you had to imagine what to do...did I mention I don't have much of an imagination? LOL
Ok First if you have window treatments you will need to remove those and sit them aside. Then you will have to remove the old blind if you have one (if not you skip the next few steps)
Once you have the blinds down you will have to remove the old mounts (the white pieces on the left and right of the window) Before removing the mounts you may want to think about your new blinds. In my case the new blinds I bought were 1" wider then the old ones so I was going to have to place the new mounts in a different location from the original ones. **If the blinds are the same size you may be able to use the old holes instead of making new ones (but you will have to use the new hardware with your blinds)**
:::Side Bar::::
Up until this part everything was going smooth. It was the next part that sent me into a melt down. So here I am going to explain what went wrong and save you from the same mistakes. First of all these mounts are really tight since they mount inside the window. It is very hard to turn the screw driver which lead me to getting the screws crooked. So I decided to go get the electric drill (MISTAKE) I ended up striping the screw and couldn't get it out. Back to the shop to try a different tool...this time a ratchet wrench once again fail. So back to the shop for another tool...a different drill which I decided to put a drill bit smaller than the screw to make a guided hole. This would have worked except I had a screw stuck and half way hanging out of the hole which wouldn't allow the blind to slide in the mount. So I decided to try the second mount. In the mean time I had texted Mark in the middle of a melt down over getting the screw stuck and stripped out. At this point I had stopped and took a few minutes to yell and scream, then I decided I needed some food to get my strength back up (LOL). Needless to say Mark came home from hunting and fixed the first mount. I had already got the second one in correctly by this time...so we will fast forward to the correct and easy way to do this.
:::Back to installation:::
So after you get your old mounts down it is time to put the new mounts. For you ladies you will need a electric drill with a wood bit (gold bit) that is a little smaller than the screw you will be using.
Take your new mounts and hold them where you will be installing them. Then take your drill and then drill your holes where your screws (probably 2) will be going using your mount as a guide.
After you drill your guide holes it should be easier for you to screw the screws into the casing of the window. It makes a WORLD of difference!!! (it took me just a minute to get the second mount on compared to all my problems with the first)
Now that you have your two mounts installed you can slide your new blinds into them. Hopefully you will read this post before you start the process and you wont have to have a melt down like I did :)
Seriously this situation was just as bad as the first mounting bracket, but once again I think my hard time can help you :)
First of all make sure you are not cutting the main cord that links the blinds together. It will be the one that goes all the way around and into the bottom of the blind. There are rubber clips at the bottom of the blind that hold those cords in place. Trace them and make sure you do NOT cut them. When you are looking at your blind you will see you can pretty much slide the slats right out of the cords. Take out as many as needed. In my case it was 16 slats. After you take all the slats you need to out you will see there are pieces of string that hold those slats in place they run horizontal. You will need to cut those so you can move the bottom of the blind up. Be SURE to leave the very last horizontal one so you can slide your base (the bottom piece that you can see in the picture under the gap where slats have been removed)
After you have them out you will pop those plastic pieces on the bottom out and the cords will be exposed this is ok. you will then have to take the bottom piece and slide it into the last horizontal strings.
Now that you have that done you will pull the excess cord and tie the bottom into a knot. You will take the other string (from the pieces you cut) and tie it around the bottom of the blind (make sure it's even on both sides) Trim the excess string.
You will also trim the extra from the mail cord that you tied (knot it twice) and then place your plastic pieces (the ones you popped out) back on.
the only place where this caused me a problem is on one end I had to totally remove the main cord out of the guide holes (holes the cord feeds through) to move my main bottom piece into the last horizontal string. I had a very difficult time getting the string back into the hole. Finally I found a paper clip and used that to guide the string back through the hole.
I hope this will help some of you ladies if you ever decided to try to this yourself. Did I mention these blinds were $120 bucks and I only paid $17.99 that right there made it worth all the troubles!!!
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