Okay so I got a quote for some shades and they are like crazy expensive man. I heard if you just DIY you could save thousands of bucks, and, according to the Internet, it’s easy to do.
Is that true? What if you’re not handy, like at all? Asking for a non-handy friend.
I assume you mean something like blinds.com or whatever where you can send them dimensions and pick out your blinds, and they mail them to you, and you install them? That’s very doable, you should only need a screwdriver to install them and a tape measure to measure for them.
I just took my blinds down and re-installed them to do painting, and my brackets just screw into the window jamb. So you just screw the bracket into the jamb, and the blinds pop right in. I’d guess you could install them in appx 30 minutes or less per window.
Option C: measure and order the blinds, and pay a handyman like $30/hour to install them.
Option D: murder/suicide with the guy who quoted you $15k for blinds.
I ordered some samples…
What kind of “shades”?
Curtains? Venetian blinds? Blackout? Roman? Vertical? Horizontal? Roller? Motorized and remote-controled?
Anywho, you could probably buy them yourself (that way you are not limited by what the store sells), then have a handyman install them.
I suggest procuring the handyman (with an agreeable estimate) first.
ninja’d by the handymathman
If you’re talking about saving thousands of dollars, I’d totally go this route. I don’t know if blinds.com is the best, I ordered some Bali brand skylight shades years ago from some website and they were really nice.
Diagonal, imo.
yeah dude the quote was more than $15k…
Holy cow! Yeah, if you can save $7k+, that’s some serious piano fundage right there.
For $6k I will fly out and install them for you. Just sayin’.
The people that sell and install these things are obscenely overpriced and dont have a clue how to actually install them. Worse than amateurs.
If you have “standard” windows and don’t care about some of the really fancy-shmancy set ups (e.g., no “excess” in the slats used); yeah, DIY is going to be way cheaper.
You might want to go to a few of the home improvement stores to get an idea of what some of the different options might be. If possible, visit a brick-and-mortar window store and look at some of the stuff there, too.
this thread is relevant to my interests.
i bought my apartment almost 10 years ago. the shades were broken. i have yet to do anything about that and got confused by the cost. i just want some generic shitty blinds. nothing fancy.
They’re motorized, and I have 3 bedrooms. Would be cheaper if I got manual ones.
When we moved into this house we got blinds for most of the windows from some blinds store. It’s not that expensive (few thousand dollars at the time for the whole house) and it doesn’t take significant handiness to put them all up.
I will say in hindsight we have far too many blinds where I’d prefer we just got curtains. Although I’ve also become increasingly vocal that I don’t want to live in a bunker…
I was expecting something more along these lines.
4 Ways to Make Sunglasses - wikiHow
METHODS
OTHER SECTIONS
Co-authored by Josh Goldenberg
Last Updated: November 11, 2022
Do you need sunglasses but don’t have enough money? Do you need sunglasses tomorrow, or else? Maybe you’ve just always wanted to try to make them for yourself. Be advised that only the first method is appropriate for making emergency sunglasses. The other three are just fun ideas for an arts and crafts project.
Method1
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2.Get a roll of duct tape.* Tear off a foot long section. Then, fold it length-wise so that the sticky side is completely covered.[1]
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4.Make the eye-slits.* With scissors or a knife, cut two eye-slits in your duct tape mask. They should be small enough so that a lot of light can’t get in, but big enough so you can still see.
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6.Create the fasteners.* Punch holes on each end and thread a piece of string or a shoelace through them. This will hold your sunglasses in place.
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8.Test your sunglasses.* Notice how little sunlight gets in your eyes. These sunglasses work similar to the way the blinds on your windows at home do.
Method2
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2.Make a template.* Take apart a pair of cheap sunglasses and use the parts to create a template for your cardboard sunglasses. An easy way to do this is to lay each part on a photocopier and make a copy.
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4.Attach the earpieces.* Using glue, attach the arms to the frame. Be careful not to use too much glue, or it might soak the cardboard and make it too soft.
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6.Cut the lenses.* On a sheet of acetate, use the cut-outs you made earlier when you cut the eye-holes to trace out the shapes of the lenses. Cut the shapes of the lenses out of the acetate sheet, leaving a little extra around the edges.
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8.Paint the cardboard frame.* Using any color you like, paint the frame. Acrylic paint is best for this, but if you don’t have any, watercolors will do.
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10.Glue on the lenses.* Using a little glue, attach the acetate cut-outs to the frame. Again, you don’t want to be heavy handed with the glue or you’ll risk softening the cardboard too much.
Method3
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2.Melt some plastic.* Heat your oven to about 400 °F (204 °C). Put a pan containing the plastic in the oven and heat it until it is completely melted.
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4.Let the plastic cool.* Allow the plastic to cool enough that it is still pliable. Do not let it harden.
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6.Mold your sunglasses.* Carefully shape the plastic into sunglasses with eye-holes. This allows you to fit the accessory to your head quite well.
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8.Make the earpieces.* Cut off the earpieces in a shape like this. _/_ Then, drill small holes in the ends of the shapes /\ and /. Finally, screw on the earpieces to the main plastic part of the sunglasses.
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10.Make the lenses.* Cut out the acetate sheets to the size of each lens with a little extra around the edges. Then glue the acetate sheets to the plastic mold.
Method4
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2.Make a template.* Take apart a pair of cheap sunglasses and use the parts to create a template[2] for your wooden sunglasses. An easy way to do this is to lay each part on a photocopier and make a copy.
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4.Attach each shape to pre-cut blocks of wood.* Each block of wood should be approximately the length of the cheap sunglasses. Don’t worry about depth, as you’ll need a margin of error.
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6.Cut away the shape of the sunglasses.* It’s quickest to use a scroll saw or some other powered saw for this. However, you can use a coping saw to do it by hand. It will take longer, however.
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8.Fit the lenses.* Place the lenses on top of the openings where they should go and trace their shape with a sharp pencil. Use a drum sander attachment in a drill press to sand near, but not over the lines you just traced. You could also probably do this with a rotary tool with a drum sander attached. The reason you are doing this is to leave a groove for the lenses to sit.
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10.Remove excess wood and shape the frame…* With a wood chisel, cut away the excess wood from the back of the frame. Make sure you don’t cut too much away. Next, observe the curvature of the original frame, and attempt to copy it on your wooden one. You can use a drum sander attachment on a drill press to do this, or a rotary tool with the appropriate attachment.
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12.Make the hinges to attach the earpieces.* For this, you can cut away the hinges from the cheap sunglasses you’ve been using. You can also cannibalize the hinges from another pair that no one wants.
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14.Apply mineral oil and buff with beeswax.* With a piece of cloth, apply a coat of mineral oil to the wooden frame. This is helpful because of the amount of time the frame will be in contact with the skin. Finally, buff the frame with beeswax for a smooth finish.
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16.Pop the lenses into the frames.* The final step is to snap in the lenses for the last time. Don’t force them in, or you might break them. Simply push gently until the lenses pop into position.
We bought a house 4 years ago with super nice curtains. They are different in each room, really nice materials, and fit the design of the house perfectly. I really love them, but I used to work at a flooring store that also sold top notch handsewn curtains and I bet the previous owner spent around $30,000 on what is installed in this house. Window treatments are silly expensive.
We have some top-down bottom-up blinds that I like, you can let in light but still have privacy. Ours are open at the top but you can get blinds where you can do either opaque or translucent like the link below.
When I get around to doing windows I’m contemplating adding functional exterior shutters.
Thanks for sharing, that’s certainly less bad. I think I’ve just realized I don’t really care if, Heaven forbid, someone spots me in the window. My wife and her family grew up in a relatively rough area so for them it’s as if someone seeing you through the window is equivalent to handing out your house key and weekly planner.
I want blackout shades because I want sleep
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