Fitting a Venetian blind help

[spoony77]

Hi people, so I need to fit a new Venetian blind and my window recess is 1780mm, and all the off the shelf blinds in stores are 1800mm wide. Could I somehow 'make' one of these blinds fit my recess by chiselling a bit of plaster away and then filling around it to tidy it up?
If I can somehow make this work it means a great saving of about £200 compared to a made to measure blind that's just 2mm shorter :/
Any advice appreciated.

 

[Koolpc]

I once made a Venetian blind....

I stuck my finger in his eye!!!

 

[GhostIntMachine]

What material are your blinds made from?

If the louvres are plastic or metal they can often be shortened with a mitre shear. Timber ones require the use of a mitre saw. Rounded corners add a bit of complexity! (But some manufacturers sell radiused "clippers" for this purpose although the only ones I've ever used were from IKEA. Bottom rails can be shortened with a mitre saw or even a hacksaw (and file) once you'vecremoved the end caps, as can the top channels. You can often take 10 to 30mm off on the non-control side maybe 5 to 10mm off the other side, depending on manufacturer (you need to look inside the top channel section to see how much), but watch that you aren't cutting into any of the mechanism in the top channel. Metal top channels and bottom beams often have push-on csaps which can hide any irregularities in the cuts. I altered the metal louvre blinds on our last office that way (blinds came from a closing down sale, so Hobson's choice)

BTW if your blinds are mm longer than the opening you may need to take an extra 5 to 10mm off to give yourself a bit of clearance and to allow for the opening not being straight

The same remove the ends, trim to new width and replace the ends approach also works with roller blinds, although trimming the edge of the blind smoothly is a bit more if a tongue in cheek operation

 

[matlob]

blinds2go will make them to size and not too expensive. Pretty much the same as Hillary's but you fit them yourself

 

[Old Salt]

I have used blinds2go, the blinds are okay but the fittings are a little flimsy. Work okay as long as your not heavy handed when securing the blinds into the fittings,

 

[aveatry]

Just cut the blind down, I have done wooden ones by tightly binding it closed and cutting through the whole lot then sanding down the corners.
Same with metal blinds but cut one at a time you can get little guillotine for the job. https://www.therange.co.uk/home-fur.../25mm-slat-cutter-for-venetian-blinds#8041894

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Normally you just cut them down to size - a bit of a faff but easy enough, I did one recently (aluminium from The Range), I started off with a hacksaw on the main bits but thought stuff this and went straight for the angle grinder, much more efficient/easier, the aluminium is so thin the hacksaw had trouble going through it without the whole thing distorting and locking the blade up, half the trouble is actually securing the thing whilst you cut it, the slats I did with scissors.

edit @aveatry could have done with that a few weeks ago.

 

[aveatry]

Normally you just cut them down to size - a bit of a faff but easy enough, I did one recently (aluminium from The Range), I started off with a hacksaw on the main bits but thought stuff this and went straight for the angle grinder, much more efficient/easier, the aluminium is so thin the hacksaw had trouble going through it without the whole thing distorting and locking the blade up, half the trouble is actually securing the thing whilst you cut it, the slats I did with scissors.

edit @aveatry could have done with that a few weeks ago.

Ah yes - good bit of info - I too found that it was frustrating trying to cut the metal top section with a hacksaw, I wedged in a bit of wood for support but on the next one I used an angle grinder with a 1mm blade which was much easier without any deformation but need to watch out for burning the paint.

 

[GhostIntMachine]

Hand mitre saw with a metal blade is pretty good, less fraught than a grinder I find.

You can also cut it with a power mitre saw BUT that is a dangerous operation unless (in fact, even if) you are very familiar with chop saws and you know what you are doing. The risks of having the thing you are cutting wrenched out of your hands and damaged, combined with metal being spat back in your face, means this is not for the faint of heart or tyros. I was going to write a descreption but thought better of it given thst I've seen other joiners screws this up - and they should know what they are doing!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

How do you get a blind with all it's slats attached hooked up to a mitre saw? I clamped the bits to a workbench to cut mine, slats unraveled everywhere!

 

[GhostIntMachine]

Can't you figure out how to dismantle stuff and put it back together? I can

Actually, some blinds allow you to partly open them (in a suspended position) then add timber blocks or packers between the top louvre and the channel section. The blind is then closed (they close from the bottom upwards which makes it easier...) and held together with masking tape (the pink or green sensitive stuff) whilst you make the cut. Saw need to be a type where you can control the cut depth (i.e. have a trenching facility) and it needs a sacrificial back fence in place which spans the gap in the middle as well as a snug fitting packer inside the channel section near the end. it is doable, but risky

The downsides to cutting thin metal profiles on a chop saw (apart from the obvious one of needing a sharp, not too aggressive blade) include the fact that you will be hit in the face by metal swarf the whole timevwhilst cutting maling a full face visir highly advisable, and that there is the ever present risk of snagging in the cut which can damage the work piece and make for a brown trouser day, or worse

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Taking a blind apart just to chop a few mm off the end? Get a life!

 

[foxhole]

You can get blind scissors which have the curved cut to match the ends of blinds which work on metal and plastic.

 

[GhostIntMachine]

Taking a blind apart just to chop a few mm off the end? Get a life!

Good advice. Why don't you take your own? I didn't say I'd take it apartt...