Window Blinds Info and Tips

Sabretooth asked:


I have a very serious problem with hot weather due to a medical condition and I have just moved into an old house that is about 150 years old.

I have to put black-out blinds on all the windows to prevent heat radiation from the sun transferring heat into my house.

I had to measure my windows today. This is what it was like!

1) In the United Kingdom, they use imperial and metric, I have seen them working in inches in DIY stores and yet technicians use millimetres, so I have to write the length and height down in both metric and imperial just in case.

2) The windows do not have normal fittings so; I have to write down which window had what fitting.

3) The person that did a rough measurement messed up his handwriting. I had to it again.

4) Then due to the house being so old, the windows are not strait such that one side is longer than the other. In order to keep blind covering window, I write down the longest of the 2 sides and so I have to measure both.
5) Due the tape measure being bent, I had to use sellotape to tie in rule to the wall if I could hold it to it in long measurements.

6) As I done this, I had to stand on sinks, over televisions knocking them over by accident.
Things smashed, I had to balance over the banisters and had to stretch too high.
I had to stand on the ledge and on a chair to reach to the top and it hurt.

7) I had to move televisions, chairs and blinds out of the way to do it. Then I had to put them all back.

I made sure I measured 3 times to be accurate.

The whole job took me 3 hours and I was swearing and felt like crap afterwards.

What is it that I am not doing right, everyone else manages things like window measurements every day, and I persistently struggle with all kinds of things like this all day, day after day after day?

Below are my measurements which are wacky…
I also have to mention what fittings are on the windows since they will get in the way too.
Cooker room
Height – 101 cm, 40 inch
Length – 73 cm, 29 inch
No fittings

Downstairs bathroom
Height – 88 cm, 35 inch
Length – 76 cm, 30 inch
No fittings

Kitchen
Height – 136 cm, 54 inch
Length – 97 cm, 38 inch
2 nails in the window frame, but inside the window cavity

Downstairs lounge
Height – 140 cm, 55 inch
Length – 136 cm, 54 inch
Blind roller on window frame but inside window cavity

Stairway downstairs window
Height – 140 cm, 55 inch
Length – 74 cm, 29 inch
No fittings

Small stairway upstairs window
Height – 41 cm, 16 inch
Length – 49 cm, 19 inch
No fittings

Large stairway upstairs window
Height – 192 cm, 76 inch
Length – 99 cm, 39 inch
2 nails in window frame but inside the window cavity

Bedroom
Height – 193 cm, 76 inch
Length – 116 cm, 46 inch
2 ‘L’ shaped pins on the frame outside the window cavity

Upstairs lounge
Height – 193 cm, 76 inch
Length – 116 cm, 46 inch
2 ‘?’ shaped pins on the frame outside the window cavity.
Upstairs bathroom
Height – 180 cm, 71 inch
Length – 104 cm, 41 inch
2 ‘?’ shaped pins on the frame outside the window cavity

On top of all that, I do not even know if I have the money in the bank to pay for the curtains, and I do not know if I have enough to sort out the air conditioner.
Most news person said that we could have the hottest summer on record, and also said the weather office said that it will be hotter than it should be.

If this is not something everyone else has a problem with so much, like with measuring windows and creating heat defence, why does it have to be so difficult with me?
Is my attitude wrong, or is there something else fundamentally wrong with the way things are done.
How should I go about doing these kinds of things then, because this is one example out many, many things that I have to deal with every day in my life?

Any ideas? They are already threatening to have me sectioned.

Moray Eel asked:


Just to start things off I’m completely ignorant of DIY / construction so please bear with me I’ve recently moved into a property and need to fit a blind in the kitchen. I’ve been told that there’s a steel joist above the window and this will be cause problems to fit a blind (if top fixing). My question is firstly, is it possible to drill into the RSJ to fit a blind, and if so, is it a DIY job or do you need to get the professionals in with specialist drilling equipment to get through the steel?

Shake That Thing asked:


I had previously purchased aluminum blinds that were supposedly room darkening. Unfortunately, as soon as the sun came out it went right through them and that kept me awake. I’m on a low budget, but I want to make sure that this time I get blinds that actually block out the sun. I plan on getting curtains also, but I still want blinds that will do the job on their own…please help.