Is it easy to put up wooden blinds?

Is it easy to put up wooden blinds? That’s a big “yes.” Wooden blinds are very easy to install. You don’t need any special tools or even any DIY experience, and you can hang a new wooden blind from start to finish in under half an hour quite comfortably, even on your first go, and far faster for later blinds once you’ve got into the swing of things and you’ve bought a few.

This means that even if you’ve just turned 18 and moved into your student digs and know absolutely nothing at all about adulting around the home, the only skill you need is the ability to follow simple instructions correctly; and if you do not possess that trait already, then boy are you in for a rude awakening come fresher’s week. Oh, also, masel tov on being able to afford wooden blinds at such a young age.

Now, I get that it’s all good and well for Her From The Blinds Company (me) who is actually desk-based and that would also be able to win Mastermind based on the depth and breadth of my knowledge about blinds saying “yeah mate, putting up wooden blinds is a doddle, my nan could do it and she’s legally blind” or similar, and frankly, I wouldn’t trust me either.

However, short of us holding blinds-hanging have-a-go days or maybe some form of speed trials (both of which sound like a great idea to be honest) I probably can’t demonstrate to you how easy it is to hang wooden blinds unless I actually come round to your home and supervise/direct you in doing so. I’m not up for that, BTW.

What I can do, is talk you through what you should expect when it comes to hanging wooden blinds, tell you how things should go and what tools you’ll need, and generally, try to gas you up sufficiently that you’re super-excited to introduce blind to window as soon as I’m done.

Let’s roll.

How long does it take to put wooden blinds up?

It takes around half an hour to put a wooden blind up without rushing, even if you’re new to the game.

If you’ve never hung a blind before, I suggest that you get the instructions out of the box your blind came in and give them a quick once-over to ensure that you have the few tools you’ll need to hand before you begin, and that you have a clear idea in your head about how everything is going to go down (up) first.

From there/when you’re ready to start, and based on doing things slowly and cautiously and referring back to the instructions as you go, you can still have your new wooden blind hung and ready to go inside of half an hour.

Even if you’re a DIY expert, by the way, I do suggest reading the instructions before you begin.

If you’re no stranger to the world of hanging blinds and/or you bought several blinds and are starting to grow in speed and confidence as you go along, you might well be able to hang each subsequent blind in about 20 minutes, albeit I would caution you not to rush simply in order to show off!

Is it easy to put up wooden blinds with basic DIY skills?

Yes. You don’t even need basic DIY skills to be fair, just the ability to follow directions and a moderate amount of common sense. The only potential fly in the ointment that I can possibly foresee is if you find the weight or length of the blind unwieldy for larger wooden blinds, in which case I strongly suggest having someone to help you, both for safety reasons and to ensure you get it right first time.

Shouldn’t be too hard to find a volunteer, because who doesn’t enjoy spending part of their Sunday afternoon supervising someone else with handy directions like “left a bit, right a bit, no that’s too far, come down…”

How do you put up wooden blinds in baby steps?

If you love a good visual and/or want a look at the exact instructions you’ll get with one of our wooden blinds to ensure you’re happy with things before you order, you can read the instructions for putting up wooden blinds (ours specifically) here.

For a short/basic synopsis of how to put up wooden blinds, keep reading.

The tools you need to put up wooden blinds are:

• A spirit level (you can get a spirit level smartphone app, I kid you not, it’s ridiculously entertaining for reasons that I cannot articulate, but take my word for it).
• A pencil.
• A drill.
• A screwdriver.
• A tape measure.

How to put up wooden blinds

First up, you need to attach the blind’s two box brackets (the bracket that goes at either end of the blind to hold it up) to the wall. Measure up, then mark the spots you need to affix your screws at, first making sure that the blind will be straight by using your spirit level.

Then, drill your holes, and screw the brackets in (using rawl plugs if you’re drilling into a masonry wall).

If your blind’s a big’un, it may also have one or more brackets for you to put up between the two end ones, to add stability and security to the blind and to help to support its weight. These are simply drilled/screwed to the wall or window frame in the same way that the end brackets are.

The end brackets we use for wooden blinds are called box brackets; the front of them opens and closes. When all of your brackets are up, open the two end box brackets, and then just lift your wooden blind up into the brackets and then close them again until the cover clicks into the fully locked position.

The last bit of the blinds-hanging itself is to attach the valance; this simply covers the top of the blind where slats meet headrail so that everything looks neat. Just attach the supplied clips onto the back of the valance, and hang it onto the headrail.

From there, you just need to fit one or two child safety features as mentioned below.

Is it easy to put up wooden blinds in a child-safe manner?

Yes, but the final thing you have to do when hanging a wooden blind is also the most important, and yet often, the easiest to forget or overlook. This is to fit the integrated child safety features that your blind will be supplied with, in order to ensure it is safe and compliant with the relevant laws and British safety standards.

These features are the breakaway you’ll fit into the control cord of the blind itself so that the cord cannot form a loop/noose, and the safety cleat that you need to screw to the wall to hold the cord tidily and safely out of the way.

Please, please don’t forget to fit the child safety (and general pet/adult/everyone else safety) features supplied with your wooden blind; hanging your blind correctly and using these features is what makes your blind safe. If you neglect to do this, the blind could pose a genuine danger to someone through no fault of either the blind or us as its seller.

Ok, serious bit over!

A couple of tips for putting up wooden blinds

I mentioned earlier that if your blind is medium to large-ish, having a helper might be helpful; but even if your blind isn’t a monster, having someone to help pass you things or tell you if everything is straight before you drill can be handy anyway, unless your only choice of assistant is someone who can best be described as “helpful” only when the word is pronounced in inverted commas.

• If you need to use a ladder, even a dinky little stepladder when hanging the blind, make sure you have someone to help/support the ladder too.
• Kick any pets present out of the room before you begin, for reasons that they will probably demonstrate in short order if you don’t.
• Make sure you have all of the tools you will need to hand before you start, and check that all of the parts and fittings that should come with your blind are present!
• Take your time, and refer back to the instructions as needed as you go.

If you’re unsure about anything I’ve said here, didn’t follow all of the terminology, or have any other questions, let me know. Also, and this is probably obvious, but I’ve based this info on how to put up wooden blinds based on our own blinds specifically, but it will tend to be very similar for wooden blinds of any type from any seller.