Romans Direct
Fitting Instructions (To fix into the wall)
PREPARATIONS
Toolbox:
Bradawl
Electric Drill and drill bits for masonry.
Steel Tape Measure
Screwdriver of appropriate size and type
Stepladder
It helps to have another person on hand. They can be your
eyes when you are aligning the blind batten prior to fixing,
and can hold the batten whilst you screw the fixing in.
Professional Tip: Drilling into walls
Some plaster and wall materials are ‘soft’ and open up a
wider hole than you want. So, for your first hole use a drill
bit smaller than the width of your wall plug and drill one of
your holes. If the hole remains compact, then you can go
up to the correct size and drill again. If the hole ‘blows’ and
becomes too big use some filler and fix the plug into this.
Make sure you wait until the filler is completely dry before
fixing the screws and choose a small drill bit for your next
hole.
A concrete lintel is an exceptionally hard surface to drill
into. You need a powerful hammer action drill and new
sharp masonry drill bits.
If you have any queries or problems, contact Romans Direct
Support at support@romansdirect.co.uk or telephone 07017
406 470.
STEP 1 – Positioning the Batten
Take the batten with the blind attached and offer it to the
window and select the fixing position. The blind should be
fully unfurled. Check that it is central on the window and
that the blind is not dropping too low on the windowsill.
This is easier if one person holds the blind and the other
stands back and checks the position. The blind should be
vertical, although the acid test of correctness is whether it
looks right to your eye. (Once installed, there is room for
very slight adjustment of verticality through adjusting the
Velcro attachment to the batten.)
Alternatively, if there is no one else available to help and
you are finding it difficult to check positioning, you can lay
the blind flat on the floor fully unfolded and measure the
complete drop of the blind. Then transfer this measurement
to the window, starting from where you want the base of
the blind to come to and measuring up to the top of the
window where the batten will be fixed. Mark some faint
guide marks onto the wall above the window with a pencil
where the top edge of the batten is to be fixed. With your
batten fixing position worked out, you can now proceed to
step 2.
STEP 2 – Marking the holes for drilling
With your blind and batten correctly aligned, you are ready
to mark the holes for drilling. Person 1 should keep the
batten (and blind) held firmly in the correct position on the
wall.
Person 2: Take your Bradawl and peel off gently one corner
of the blind (from the Velcro) to expose a fixing hole.
Firmly twist the Bradawl through this hole into the wall to
mark it. If your plaster is particularly hard you may need a
gentle tap on the Bradawl with a hammer. If there is a
Fitting Instructions – into wall
centre hole in the batten, peel the blind back more to
expose this and mark the screw position through this hole
as previously explained.
Refix the blind back onto the batten.
STEP 3 – Continue Marking Drill Holes
Person 1: Holding the batten and blind in place - it is really
important that the batten does not move or the marks will
be incorrect and when drilled these holes will not match the
holes in the batten.
Person 2: Doing the marking. Go to the other end of the
blind, peel the corner off to expose the fixing hole and
repeat step 2.
STEP 4 – Drilling Holes
With the holes marked you are ready for drilling. Select a
drill bit, usually 6mm but smaller if you are doing your ‘test
hole’ (see ‘Professional Tip’). Drill the hole to the correct
depth for the wall plug and insert the plug. Repeat for the
other holes.
STEP 5 – Screwing batten to wall
Peel back one corner of the blind and push a screw through
the exposed hole in the batten.
Person 1: Offer the batten to the wall.
Person 2: Align the batten so that the tip of the screw sits
in the appropriate hole and screw into place. Refix the blind
onto the batten. Go to the other end and repeat the
procedure.
STEP 6 – Continue Screwing batten to wall
If your batten has a centre hole (or holes), after you have
fixed the end holes, peel the blind back to expose the
centre hole and fix the screw as in Step 5. Fix the blind
back onto the batten and repeat from the other corner if
you have two centre holes.
STEP 7 – Fixing the Cleat
You can now fix the cleat to the window frame or the wall.
You will use the cleat to wind the cords around when you
pull the blind up (to hold the blind in its raised position), so
position it at a height that will be comfortable to do this
(see diagram below).
It is easier to fix the cleat into wood, so if you have a
wooden window frame fix the cleat into the flat part of the
frame. Place the cleat in the chosen position to mark and
make pilot holes with the Bradawl. Screw into position.
Fixing Tip: If screwing into wood, to prevent splitting, make
a pilot hole with a Bradawl or small drill bit before inserting
screw into wood.
If you have to put the cleat into the wall you will need to
use a drill. Mark the positions of the cleat screw holes onto
the wall and using an appropriate (wood or masonry) drill
bit drill the holes. Insert the wall plugs provided and then
screw the cleat to the wall.
Adjusting the Cord Pull
With all the string re-threaded onto the cord-pull you can
now re-knot it. WITH THE BLIND FULLY DOWN, push the
cord pull up a little so you can grasp the ends of the strings
with your fingers. Apply a little tension to the strings and
pull down to move your blind up. This is to check that the
blind is pulling up evenly. If your blind is ‘wonky’, re-align
it by gently tugging each string until you find the one that
controls the ‘wonky’ end, loosen or tighten this string to
even the blind and then carefully knot the cords, trim the
ends and pull the cord pull down in place. Note: if you wish
to shorten the cord length of the blind you can do this using
this procedure. ALWAYS SHORTEN CORDS WITH THE
BLIND DOWN OR YOU MAY CUT OFF TOO MUCH CORD.
Alternative Method of Fixing
If you have no-one to help hold the batten and are finding it
difficult to fix using Steps 2-6, you need to take the blind
completely off the batten.
Lay the blind flat on the floor. Unthread the wooden cordpull and the blind cords can be unthreaded from the eyelets
on the batten. Don’t unthread the blind itself – this is
unnecessary. Separate the blind from the batten. Don’t
panic! A diagram for re-threading the blind is enclosed.
With the batten free, you can now proceed with steps 2-6.
With the batten now attached to the window frame, you
now need to re-attach the blind to the batten. Re-thread
the blind as per diagram. It is easier not to have the blind
Velcro stuck to the batten for this, so resist the temptation
to re-attach the Velcro just yet. Hold the blind in one hand
and thread with the other (a bit tricky, but you can do it!).
Re-attach the blind to the batten with the Velcro. Thread
the cords back through the cord-pull and knot them,
ensuring that the ends of the cords are in line in order that
the blind will pull up level.
Tip: If the last 1 or 2 cords are a problem to thread through
the hole in the wooden cordpull, try pushing them – one at
a time – through the hole with the Bradawl.
Fitting Instructions – into wall