Don’t Be Blind to How Important It Is to Properly Measure for Blinds

Truth be told, blinds are an expensive home addition. Sometimes you might dismiss a design that you really like and fits your interior design just because you can’t afford to buy it and hire an expert to install it for you. But don’t be so quick to settle for a cheaper alternative that’s just not what you had in mind in the first place. There’s a very simple solution that you can certainly afford if you are not too lazy to do it, one that will save you much money– DIY installation.

All you need to do is follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer, and you’ll be on the right track. Bear in mind that you will need to be extremely precise though, as in this case every millimetre counts. Make a tiny mistake in the blinds’ dimensions and you could end up with a bad drought in winter, or you could leave just enough space for a sun ray to peek through the blinds and annoy you. Yup, dimensions matter big time, which is why the most important step in the self-installation is knowing how to measure blinds. Now let’s get through the basics.

First, you need to be prepared with the proper tools: a steel tape or a laser measurer, a lever for extreme accuracy and a pencil and a piece of paper for marking down dimensions. Then, you need to decide whether you want an inside or an outside fit. This decision should be based on the width of the window recess. Windows with a very deep recess, which is more than 60mm, can provide enough space for the blinds to fit inside. But if you have a shallow window recess, a much more appealing solution would be to fit the blinds on the outside.

For inside mounts, the window glass is all the blinds need to cover, therefore, measure it in length and width. Take a measuring tape and put it where the glass meets the casing. Measure the width at the top, at the middle and at the bottom. If the three numbers don’t match, take the smallest figure as a reference point. Unless it’s clearly stated by the manufacturer, do not measure for clearance. This should be taken into account when cutting the blinds for size. Then, measure the height at both sides and at the centre. Here, take the largest figure into account. The dimensions for an outside fit are bigger than for the inside one because the blinds need to cover the window’s casing. Measure along the outside edges of the moulding surrounding the window. Determine the exact distance from the top of the casing to the bottom of the window sill.

Knowing how to measure blinds is essential, whether you’re doing a DIY installation or you have someone else doing that for you. The dimensions of the blinds need to be predetermined by the size of the window and then sent to the blinds’ manufacturer. Before sending your measurements, double check them to make sure there are no mistakes.