WGO shades and valence removal... help

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carson

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Sep 1, 2006
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Location
Florida, USA
  Found today that my main window shade string broke. pix below.

  How to remove the shades for repair...that is the question. A valence on top..how is it fastened?

  2 upright valences.. how are they removed? I just quickly looked but could not come to a quick solution to that problem. Perhaps someone has done it and can give me a hint.

carson FL

 

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Ours are fastened with 4 angle brackets.  Remove the 4 screws holding them to the wall and the entire assembly comes off the wall.  Open the blinds and look inside the valence.
 
Sounds great, Ned. When I pull up the shades they fill up the valence and no room to look up there. How now?

  The side pieces have several screws into a metal frame work. Before I start dis-assembly I would like to have my ducks in a row.

carson

 
The lower angle brackets on our valences are near the sill, the top ones are visible with the shade all the way up.  It's not just the top valence that comes off but the entire box for the shade, which includes the shade.
 
A picture is worth a lot of words.
 

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Tnx for the pic, Ned, nothing like it in my rig. Maybe the 4 screws on the uprights on mine will release the whole thing. Will have to try those on my next visit to the rig.

   This seems to be the month of problems: New batwing to be installed, repaired several drawer slides, replaced spray nozzle at toilet, rear ladder to be repaired, A/C control cable at dash faulty, windshield leaking a bit again after monsoon lately, home pool filter cracked, hydraulic brake line failure on rig (now repaired), spotlight in bathroom burnt out, etc, etc... I need a vacation.  ;D

    Any other input on my original problem?

carson FL

 
Any other input on my original problem?

If it is the same as on my 2005 Itasca, you will find two screws holding the top part of the blind to the top valence. These need to be removed and entire shade comes down. No need to remove the valence

You need to move the shade material over to see the screw heads underneath it.  The screws could be at the back of the shade material or if you are lucky in front of the shade material.
 
Thanks, Harry. That sounds easy if it applies to my setup. I hope so...

I'll report back in couple of days or so.

carson
 
I have removed ALL of my shades (replaced with MCD shades) and valences (in the process).  In every case, I first had to remove the shade from the valence. They are held to the valence by screws that go clear through the shades.  With the shades down, I could pull the cloth at the top aside to find the screws -- one on each end on shorter shades, plus one in the middle on longer shades.  Once the shades are down, it is pretty obvious how the valences come down. Some are mounted to the wall with brackets at the bottom  AND with screws through the top into cabinets above. Others have a metal bracket at the top.
 
Here is a little feedback in my situation.

  My shade is 60" in length. I could not see any screws up in the top anywhere. I then proceeded to remove the right hand vertical valence: 4 metal screws and it came right off.

  Then I was able to see what held the shades up; A plastic clip fitting over the metal top bar on each end. Just used thumb pressure to release one side, then the other and the whole shade dropped down.

  So far so good. Then I found that there are 2 strings from each side, terminating in a fastening device at the bottom of each bottom side...tension adjustable. One string was broken half way up the left side.

  The reason it severed was easily recognizable. At the very top, theses strings go thru small plastic grommets, at right angles, which, over the years, had become worn and grooved, causing the failure.  My first idea is to see if there is a Blind and Shade place in the area that can restring/repair the shades.

  I know there are a few posts on the forum re restringing, but I need the grommets replaced, new string and not work on it myself for weeks..  I was unable to turn the grommets to find a new area of string contact.

  I guess what I need here, is a "restring expert".

  I hope my April and May problems will stop soon.  ;D

carson FL

 
Window shades are usually easier to get at then they first appear.  Restringing is another question, however.

Your May problems will stop soon, in 11 days it will be June :)
 
I found a place close by. He'll fix it tomorrow for me. June 1 is coming soon, so I'll have to hurry.  8)

carson ... I'll report back

 
More feedback...  Took the shade to the repair shop. Actually a manufacturer of blinds and shades. (Sad story.. due to lack of home construction in our area right now, the nine employee shop is down to the owner keeping it open).

   He fixed it promptly with me being his third hand. New string and rotated all 4 nylon grommets so that the strings have a new surface to ride on. Took us about 1/2 hour.

   The charge? 15 dollars, I almost fell over. Give him a 20 and thanked him with all my heart.
Would have taken me a week, I am sure.  ;D

carson
 
Carson - the big guys and the little guys are being hurt and it's a sad thing to see.  I really feel for the small business owner that isn't well capitalized and just getting by.  I have a shade I need to restring (unless I can luck out like you did!)  Glad you got it fixed with little pain  :)
 
Thanks, Tom, I knew it was there. I took a chance on this job and won. Like I said in my post, I probably would have labored at it for quite a while. After watching the pro do it I I am glad he did it it, not me. My patience is getting shorter as I age.  ;D

carson
 
More feedback... for those who like drivel.  :)

  Today was the day to re-install the repaired blinds/ shades. Even though it was raining, thunderstorms all around us, I proceeded. First job was to lay out the blinds on the sofa..  keep all the strings in their proper place.  The shades are 60" (that's 5' or 1.584 meters) long. The space, where they snap in is extremely tight. Have to go by feel, seems to be the way to go.

  I discovered soon that my 6'1" body wasn't long enough to span both ends. In other words it is a 2 man/woman/people job, lying on their back and finding the proper slots to snap them back in. I suppose I could build a scaffold but decided against that; life is too short. I'll just have to find one of my long-armed neighbors and entice him to help. My DW at 5'2 won't do.

  Enjoy the story, I am.  ;D

carson FL

 
Here is a little more feedback on my original problem.

  As told before, the re-stringing went well.. Now the problem was how to re-install the shade. I think I mentioned it was 60" long...beyond the reach of my 2 long arms. I waited until I had a second person to help me with snapping in the upper part... (The guy who installed my new Batwing antenna.. took 5 seconds to do it..no charge..)

  Next, how to connect the 2 little strings on the adjustable fastener at the bottom.  see pix below.

There must be a procedure that is easy, but it did not seem apparent to me....tried several times..no go.

  Next I propped up the blinds toward the top with a piece of pipe (22") (pix)...that didn't work. The little cords would not co-operate.

  My next attempt will be to employ my DW to pull on the proper string on one side while I do the other side. Between the two of us we should be able to place it into the proper UP position and then secure those little fasteners at the bottom at the right point.

  I consider myself to be able to fix anything, except broken hearts, but this one proved that some jobs require 3 hands/arms.

  When I get it fixed, I'll report back with another piece of dribble.


carson FL  80.2? thunder showers



 

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