Greater Lansing

Blinds, shades and curtain rods

Two things go wrong with this job. A measurement taken the wrong way, which costs you the blind because made-to-size cannot be returned. And a curtain rod hung on drywall anchors, which fails because the top corners of a window opening usually have no stud behind them and a pulled curtain is a sideways tug rather than a hanging weight.

What is actually wrong

Measuring is where this job is won or lost, and inside mount and outside mount are measured differently. An inside mount is measured at three heights across the opening and the smallest is the one that counts, because window openings are rarely square. An outside mount is measured for coverage and overlap instead. Giving a supplier the wrong one produces a blind that physically cannot be fitted, and blinds cut to size are not returnable.

Curtain rods fail more often than blinds, and for a specific reason. A rod bracket sits at the top corner of a window where there is usually no stud — window openings are framed, but the framing is around the opening rather than conveniently under the brackets. Add a heavy lined curtain and somebody pulling it closed twice a day and the drywall anchors give up.

The answer is reaching the header above the window, or using a toggle rated for a pulled load rather than a hanging one, or adding blocking. Which of those applies depends on the wall, and it is worth knowing before the holes.

Weight catches people out on curtains in particular. Blackout and thermal linings are heavy, and a full-height pair on a wide window is a serious load swinging on two brackets. A center support bracket on anything over about seven feet is not optional.

Cordless is the other thing worth saying. Corded blinds are a strangulation hazard for young children, the industry standard for stock blinds sold into homes is now cordless, and if there are corded blinds in a child bedroom they are worth replacing before anything else on the list.

Where this stops

When it is not a handyman job

This is at the top of the page rather than the bottom because getting it wrong costs you a wasted visit. Insured, and no contractor license is claimed or implied — the Michigan residential builder license is not held.

Measuring for blinds you are ordering yourself is offered gladly, but once you cut a blind to size nobody can return it — the measurements we give you are written down so there is no ambiguity about what was ordered against what.
Motorised and smart blinds are fitted where they run on battery or plug into an existing outlet. Hard-wiring a motorised system is licensed electrical work and gets referred — no electrical license is held.
No structural alteration. Widening an opening or altering a header is a builder job and the Michigan residential builder license is not held.
Nothing gets hung on a fixing that will not take a pulled curtain. Where that means blocking, that is what is quoted.
Pre-1978 housing with deteriorated paint around the window gets flagged rather than disturbed.

The work itself

What actually gets done

Measuring properly for inside or outside mount, at three points, before anything is ordered — and telling you which one your window actually wants.

Blinds and shades fitted level, with the brackets square so the slats sit true and the headrail does not bind.

Curtain poles and tracks fixed into the header above the window or into blocking, with a center support on a wide run.

Heavy and lined curtains hung on fixings rated for being pulled, not just for hanging still.

Bay windows, corner windows and anything where a track has to be bent or joined.

Cordless blinds fitted in place of corded ones in children bedrooms, which is worth doing on its own.

Valances, pelmets, cafe rods, tension rods and shower curtain rails.

Old brackets off, holes filled and the wall left ready for paint.

Cords shortened and secured where an existing corded blind is staying.

This work sits inside General Repairs, which carries the invoiced price bands for the trade with the sample size printed beside every figure.

Before you call anybody

Doing it yourself, and when that stops being the right call

Reasons to handle it in-house

One blind, inside mount, into a square wooden-framed opening is twenty minutes with a drill and a level. It is a good first DIY job.
Stock blinds come with decent brackets and a paper template, and the manufacturers have got much better at the instructions.
Measuring is free to do twice and you can take your time. The cost of getting it wrong is the blind, not the labor.
A tension rod in a recess needs no fixings at all, and for a light curtain in a rental that is a perfectly good answer.

Reasons to bring somebody in

A whole house of blinds is the case that makes sense — it is a day of somebody repeating a task they are fast at, rather than six separate evenings.
Curtain poles carrying heavy lined curtains are where DIY fixings fail, and they fail by pulling a chunk of drywall out rather than coming loose politely.
Bay windows are genuinely hard. Bending or joining a track and getting the brackets on a curve to line up is the one in this category that is a skill.
If the measurements are for blinds you are ordering made-to-size, having somebody else measure means somebody else is accountable for them.

What it costs

There is no price list for this, and here is what actually decides the number.

The same three words describe a twenty-minute job and a two-day one. Rather than publish a figure that is wrong for one of them, here is what moves it — so you can work out roughly which end of it you are at before anybody comes out.

Number of windows, far more than the size of any one. The second blind in a room is quicker than the first.

Inside versus outside mount, and whether the opening is square. An out-of-square opening is packing and shimming.

What is behind the wall at bracket height. A header above the window is the good case; nothing but drywall is the one that needs blocking.

Weight. Thermal and blackout curtains on a wide window need a center support and better fixings.

Bay windows and corner returns, where the track has to be bent or joined and the brackets are not in a straight line.

How to get a real number

Somebody comes out, looks at it properly, and you get a fixed price in writing with the work set out line by line and the exclusions written down as plainly as the inclusions. Coming out to do that is not charged for, and neither is working out what is wrong. If something is found once a wall or a floor is open, it is priced as a written change order and you decide before the work carries on rather than after it is billed. Materials are supplied at cost with the receipt attached, first-time customers get 10% off labor, and labor carries a one-year craftsmanship warranty.

If this is happening right now

What to do in the next five minutes, and what happens when you ring.

Before anybody arrives

Decide inside mount or outside mount before measuring anything, because they are measured differently and the wrong one is an unusable blind.
For an inside mount, measure the width at the top, middle and bottom and write down the smallest. Window openings are almost never square.
Pick up the curtains. If they are lined or blackout they are heavier than you think, and that decides the brackets rather than the pole.
Count the windows and say which rooms. Several in one visit is much cheaper per window than one.
If there is a corded blind in a child bedroom, deal with that one first. It is the only item on this page that is a safety issue rather than a finish issue.

Call the business line

(517) 505-7135

Answered Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. There is no out-of-hours line and this page is not going to invent one — outside those hours, leave a message with the address and what is happening, and it is picked up in the morning.

On the call you get asked what is happening, what else in the building is affected, and whether it is still getting worse. That is how it gets decided whether this is our job at all — and if it is not, you get told that on the phone rather than after somebody has driven out.

No trip charge
No call-out fee or minimum
No diagnostic fee
No charge for a return visit

True across all 84 written quotes this company has issued. Most contractors in this market charge to turn up.

Or send the details

When the right answer is not this company

You can smell gas: Leave the building and call the utility from outside. Not us, and not later.
Water you cannot stop: Your main shut-off first, then a licensed plumber. Every minute of this one costs money.
Sewage backing up, or several fixtures at once: A licensed plumber with a camera. That is the shared line, not a fixture, and a cable down one sink will not touch it.
Sparking, scorching or a burning smell at an outlet or a panel: Breaker off, and a licensed electrician. Electrical work here is repair and like-for-like replacement, and this is neither.
No heat, or heating and cooling equipment that has failed: A licensed mechanical contractor. That trade is not offered here at all, and knowing that in one phone call is worth more than a visit.

Questions people actually ask

How do I measure for blinds?

It depends entirely on whether you want them inside the window opening or mounted on the wall outside it, and the two are measured differently. For an inside mount, measure the width in three places — top, middle and bottom — and use the smallest, because openings are rarely square; then measure the height and check the depth so the headrail will actually fit. For an outside mount you are measuring for coverage instead, adding overlap each side and above. Write down which one you measured for when you order, because a made-to-size blind cannot be returned.

Why does my curtain rod keep pulling out of the wall?

Because the brackets are almost certainly in drywall with nothing behind them. The top corners of a window opening usually have no stud there, and a lined curtain being pulled closed twice a day is a repeated sideways tug rather than a static weight — which is exactly the load wall anchors are worst at. The fix is reaching the header timber above the opening, or fitting toggles rated for that kind of load, or putting blocking in. On anything wider than about seven feet a center support bracket as well, which is the other thing usually missing.

Should I replace corded blinds?

If they are in a room where a young child sleeps or plays, yes, and ahead of anything else on this page. Looped cords are a strangulation hazard and the reason stock blinds sold for homes are now cordless by default. Where a corded blind is staying, the cords get shortened and secured out of reach, but replacing them is the better answer and they are not expensive.

Count the windows and pick up the curtains

Say how many windows and which rooms — several in one visit is far cheaper per window than one. Decide inside mount or outside mount before measuring anything, because the two are measured differently and the wrong one is a blind that physically cannot be fitted. For an inside mount, measure the width at the top, middle and bottom and write down the smallest; openings are almost never square. Pick the curtains up before you tell us about them, because lined and blackout ones are heavier than people expect and the weight decides the brackets rather than the pole. If you are ordering made-to-size blinds yourself we will measure for them and write the numbers down so there is no ambiguity later. And if there is a corded blind in a room where a young child sleeps, deal with that one first — it is the only item here that is a safety issue rather than a finish issue. Coming out to look is free and there is no trip charge.

Get a Free Quote Call (517) 505-7135