Have you ever put up one of those basic, cheap mini blinds? Well at 9:30 last night I was putting one up. Kind of late to start a project for me, but I knew it would not be very difficult. Why? Two reasons; I’ve done these many time before, and new what to do without reading the instructions* and I knew what screws to use! The key is knowing what screws to use.

 

When you open the package you’ll see that the manufacturers generally include#6 x ½” or perhaps they splurge to#8 x ¾” pan head. Yeah, right. When was the last time you were able to install anything through drywall with such short screws? I suppose they tell you to use drywall anchors in this case. Yeah, right. I think that window blind manufacturers have never really looked at how a window is framed in to a house. I think they do not realize that right behind the drywall are studs, lots of them supporting the wall and the window frame. I’m no framer, so I can’t tell you exactly what’s there, but I know that if you use a long enough screw, you’ll find plenty of real wood for it to bite in to. I use#8 x 1-1.4” or 1-1/2” drywall or deck screw, whatever I can find first. They fit the blind brackets just fine, bite right in and grab hold well. I have blinds of many types all over my house that were very easy to mount this way. They would have been a pain using anchors, and I cannot imagine them holding up nearly as well.

 

So my advice is to put the screws they give you in to your coffee can and save them for something else. Come see Charlie in our nut & bolt corner, and he’ll fix you right up with what you need!

 

-Clark

 

* Okay, okay. Yes, I’m a guy and no I wouldn’t have read the instructions anyway!