FITTING BLINDS: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
Posted on 25 October 2017 by Phil Coleman
How long will it take you to fit my blinds? is a question we get asked several times a day.
While I love the idea that fitting blinds could seem complicated (some jobs can be) with the right training and the right tools it is generally pretty straightforward.
If you are fitting blinds for the first time then it could take a while. A basic understanding of what you are drilling into is important as different types of fixing are required for different types of buildings.
Even so-called ‘experts’ get it wrong. I was on-site at a bakery last week that is part of a multi-million pound Leicestershire food company and they had had blinds installed by one of our competitors that had fallen within days of being installed. This was simply because the wrong fixings were used. This was not a DIY installation, mind, this was fitted by a ‘professional’ blind company.
So you must understand what you are drilling into and use the right fixings.
Ignoring the example above which I hope is an exception to the rule, a well-trained fitter will carry a mixture of different fixings and know very quickly what he is drilling into and what is the most suitable fixing to use.
When a fitter arrives at your home the first blind will always take the longest time to install because the blinds fitter will need to set up and get ready.
They will initially need to bring in everything they need to start fitting your blinds.
- Dust sheets
- Drills
- Toolbox
- Steps or ladders
- Your blinds
Once everything is in, fitting blinds the blinds are fairly quick.
Times may vary from job to job depending on moving furniture etc.
Blind 1 will generally take 20 – 30 minutes including bringing everything in.
Every blind after that will take 10 -15 minutes.
These times will be right for most types of blinds such as Vertical, Roller, Wooden Venetians etc.
The only exception could be if the blinds are very big or awkward to work at like over a kitchen sink.
As a company, we have rules in place for these types of installations that make things smooth for our customers and easier for our installers.
For fitting blinds that are wide or heavy, we send 2 installers;
- Vertical Blinds over 2500 mm wide
- Roller Blinds over 1800 mm wide
- Wooden Venetians over 1800 mm wide
- Aluminium Blinds over 2000 mm wide
- Roman Blinds over 2000 mm wide
- Awnings up to 4500 mm wide, over 4500 mm then 3
- All blinds on stairwell or landings (for health and safety reasons)
- Blinds over kitchen sink wider than 1200 mm
These rules will make all of our installations run smoothly for you and our installers.
With regards to our Awnings as you can see from above we always send at least 2 fitters.
Installation time for an awning will be approximately 2-4 hours depending on size and complexity.
This may have blown some of the mystic around fitting blinds, but I think it is always useful to have all the information you need before placing an order.
Generally, blinds that are installed badly can be annoying when they come down, but sometimes they can be dangerous. This was an awning we were called out to that was installed by a garage door company with the same fixings they use for their doors.
Doors do not have the same wind loading as an awning can experience so they stay up for 3 weeks. I’m just glad no one was sat under it when it came down.
