How to fit roller blinds like a pro

Trying to figure out how to fit roller blinds on your windows? Drilling holes into your clean spot-less walls by yourself can be intimidating. What if after making the hole you realise it is too far from where it was supposed to be? It is everyone’s biggest nightmare with installing blinds, isn’t it?

Not only that, people often imagine worst-case scenarios such as what if my child pulls on the blind's string and it falls down and lands on them? Failing to install blinds correctly probably could lead to this and that's why we're here to help.

Let me give you a clear step-by-step guide to escape all these anxiety-inducing instances. Read further for a quick list of tools, safety measures, and the whole process of fitting roller blinds like a pro.

Tools You’ll Need To Fit Roller Blinds

Half the battle is won the moment you gather the right weapons to fight it. As soon as you get all the necessary tools lined up with you, the process starts feeling less and less overwhelming. All you need is the right equipment and follow the instructions in this guide. Just like that, the entire installation will become quick, easy, and convenient. Our blinds also come with the necessities such as screws, wall plugs and wall brackets to make the installation even easier.

Here is an itemised list for you before you awaken the fixing enthusiast within you:

The Essentials:

• Roller blinds
• Electric drill

For Installation:

• Wall fixings (or blind wall mounting brackets)
• Masonry drill bit (for drilling into harder surfaces)
• Philips head screwdriver
• Screws and wall plugs

The Extras:

• Metal tape measure
• Pencil
• Spirit level (to find the perfect surface level)

Collect these items before both of us sit together staring at the blank window preparing each other to begin.

Things to Consider Before Fitting Roller Blinds

There are a few very important things to consider before you take that drill into your hand to begin installing. Take care of these 3 specific things to save yourself a lot of guilt later:

• Using a spirit leveller, check whether the chosen window surface is suitable for window brackets or not. It has to be smooth, strong and levelled.
• Roller blinds come with a drawstring to operate which can be dangerous for kids and pets. Our blind comes with a safety clip or a child safety device to hold the chain to ensure that it doesn’t hang freely or get tangled.
• If you don’t want to adjust the blinds every time you open or close them, check for window handles. It's common to forget that you need to account for the breadth of the handles as well.Only after that, you can get the perfect distance of the roller blinds from the window.

How to Measure your Window Frame for a Roller Blind

The whole success of using a roller blind depends crucially on this step. Only if the blind sits free on the window, it will work like you expect them to. If you don’t want light (or people) to peep into your window, you should opt for a perfect fit roller instead.

To save you from making a mess of your window wall or recess with many extra holes drilled in the wrong spots, here are a few pointers to guide you:

1. If the blinds will be mounted inside the window frame:

• Use your tape measure to mark the distance between one end of the window frame to the other. You have to measure this from the inside of the window frame.
• Now measure and note down the width of the recess* from the top, middle, and bottom too. This will tell you the exact window size irrespective of the window shape.
• Similarly, measure the length of the window area as well from the left, middle, and right. Factor in the window handles or any other elements too. This will tell you how long you want the blinds to fall after installation.

*Recess is the small space created ahead of the wall within which the window sits.

1. If the blinds will be mounted on the outside of the window frame:

• Measure the dimensions of the window frame from the outside of the recess.
• Add 70mm to the dimension that you get. This will secure a perfectly tight fit of the blinds. 

Steps To Fitting Roller Blinds

Now that you have the appropriate tools and proper measurements with you, the rest of the installation is a piece of cake. Just a few more steps and you will be done in no time. Remember to choose on which side of the roller you want the chain to be. If you have a recliner or a couch near the window, make sure to put the chain on that side of the window.

Mount the Brackets for the Roller Blinds

There are 2 ways to go about this step. If the roller blind is going to sit within the recess, you will need to screw the brackets on the inside of the recess right at the top. This way, the roller and the blind fabric will hang right below it.

The second option is to fix the roller blind outside the recess. People with a window without any recess at all prefer this. In this case, you will need to drill and screw outside the recess. This way, the brackets will be fixed right onto the wall.

Ensure to leave enough space for the window handles to move without interfering with your hanging blinds and forming obtrusion.

Here is an exact step-by-step guide to mounting the brackets precisely:

• Based on the above instructions, put the brackets exactly where you want to hang them. Holding the roller up to the window helps to get a better idea of the same.
• Use your pencil to mark the spots where there are holes for the screw to fix. Be as accurate at this step as possible.
• Put the brackets on top of the pencil points and drill the screws onto the points. If the wall plugs are given, drill a hole first and then push in the plug. Drill the screw within the wall plug after.
• This is the stage to know on which side of the roller you want the chain (control mechanism) to hang.
• Repeat the same for the other end.

Fit Your Roller Blinds

• Once the brackets hang, insert the end without the control mechanism (the chain) into the bracket hole. It is known as the idle pin.
• Coming to the opposite end (the one with the control end and chain mechanism), tilt the pin end downwards to connect to the other bracket hole.
• Pull it down a little until you hear a clicking sound that tells you that the roller is firmly set in its place.
• Try pulling the chain to check if the blind and roll are working smoothly.
• You can even choose whether you want the blind to roll inside the roller or from over the roller. The latter will let you keep the blind further away from the window handles.

Install the Child Safety Clip

With this, we have moved to the last bit which is the most important fit in the whole installation process. It is a safety device called a child safety guard or child safety clip. It keeps the chain right in its place and saves it from getting tangled and becoming a risk for your kids and pets. Here are the steps for installing it:

• Let the chain hang till its largest length making it two perfect halves.
• Place the clip on the wall and mark a point using a pencil right inside the hole made on the safety clip.
• Once you are sure, drill the hole safely and screw the clip to fix it in its place.
• Re-ensure if the device holds the drawstring in a taught position and is free to move.

Final Thoughts

I hope we were able to make this process of mounting and fixing roller blinds by yourself a little less overwhelming. You need to be very sure of your measurements and handling of the drill. The rest of everything can be worked around.