When you become a Dad, you’re aware that you’re taking on more responsibilities, you’ll need to help out with your new child, pitch in with the housework and keep a roof over everyone’s heads. But one responsibility lots of new Dads aren’t always prepared for is DIY.
This catches lots of men by surprise, but it makes sense, children need lots of child specific things which need to be replaced every few years like their beds and as a general rule children will run wild and destroy everything in your home if given the opportunity, so it helps to brush up on your DIY skills for when you inevitably need to break out your tool kit!
For Dads with limited DIY experience, this can all be a bit daunting, you’ve got by so far on hiring handymen and getting your Dad to help you with quick fixes, but don’t worry as there are plenty of low steaks DIY tasks you can do to get your comfort level up like hanging shelves or installing blinds.
Today, we’re going to focus on blinds, they’re very easy to install and if you have a child coming you’ll need a set for their bedroom, which makes this a perfect task for getting your DIY confidence up and help prepare you for the next 18 years of Daddy DIY. We’ve spoken to the blinds experts at DotcomBlinds to help walk you through the steps start to finish and by the time you’re done you should be ready to take on more tricky DIY projects around the home!
Measuring For Roller Blinds
When it comes to buying roller blinds, the first thing you need to do is measure for the blind. Luckily as we said this is an easy task and should make you feel more comfortable branching out with your DIY capabilities.
To measure for your roller blind, all you need is a tape measure!
Once you have a tape measure, you just need to measure the recess of the window (where the wall dips in before the window) and take the measurements from side to side and top to bottom of the recess.
Now you have your measurements, it’s time to move onto the next step.
Finding Your Roller Blinds
So now you have your measurements ready, you need to find the right roller blinds for you. Luckily this is the easiest part of all!
All you need to do is go online and find a blinds retailer than can make blinds to measure. Once you’ve found a retailer, you should be able to browse different blinds and order some fabric samples to see how the blind looks in real life.
Once you have your samples, you and your partner need to pick which colour and fabric you want for your new blinds. When you’ve made a decision go back to the retailer’s website, find the blind you chose, give them your measurements and order your blind.
Installing Your Roller Blinds
After you’ve ordered your blinds you’ll need to wait a few days for them to be made and delivered to your home and once you have them, you’re ready to take on the hardest part of this project: installing the blinds.
While this is the most challenging part of the project, it should still be easy enough for you to do as a DIY novice and the only tool you really need is a drill!
First things first, open up your box and check you have everything, you should have: 1x Roller Blind, 2x Brackets, 2x Bracket Covers 1x Child Safety P-Clip and some screws.
Now you need to drill the brackets into place in your recess, the easiest way is to position one at either end of the top of the recess and drill them into place.
When the brackets are drilled into place with the screws, gently slide the bracket covers over the brackets.
Next, you just need to slide the roller blind into the brackets, starting with the side that does not have the chain, then slide in the end with the operation chain.
Once your blind is firmly in place, you’ll just need to drill the child safety P-clip into the wall, you’ll want it to be in line with the blind’s chain. Once it’s drilled in just wrap the chain around the P-clip.
And there you have it, you’ve installed a new Roller Blind in your home and you are no longer a DIY novice and now you’re ready to take on some more DIY tasks like building your own furniture!