Today’s guest post comes to use from Bob the Blind Guy, Robert Ikhtiari. Bob is an expert on window treatment installation, and offers some tips on how you can get at least some of that “honey-do” list done this weekend…
OK, I admit it. Yesterday, without them knowing it, I was listening in to my wife and her friend as they were having a conversation. It was interesting and funny since I can relate to the poor guy that was getting a tongue lashing.
It went like this:
My wife’s friend says, “If anyone ever figures out how to stop their man from procrastinating when it comes to their lady’s honey do list, could you please let me know?”
Right then and there I started snickering to myself. She continues with, “They should know by now that women get tired of looking at the same thing over and over and like to change things up a bit.” (She wasn’t talking about her man; she was talking about the house.)
“We are getting out of town guests for the holidays, and I really wanted to spruce our house up. Doing some research on the Internet, I learned of many inexpensive things to do that can make a space look fresh. I decided to get some new valances for my living room and kitchen, which includes the patio door. I purchased some valances online and really looked forward to putting them up,” she went on.
“I thought my husband would be proud of me on how little money I spent. Some new valances, a few throw pillows, and a couple choice accent pieces and I had a whole new look. He promised me he would put up the valances over the weekend.”
“That was about 3 weekends ago. I even threatened to do it myself. I thought that would get him since he hates when I so much as hang a picture. I tend to use big nails and get the “look” when he sees what I have done.”
“Still, no new valances. Well, that weekend (again when he was not hanging my valances) we went to dinner at a friend’s house. My husband overheard me telling my friend of my new ideas, and how he still has not helped me out even though I asked him over a month ago. Well, I guess that did it because the next day, lo and behold, my wonderful husband finally got around to hanging my valances,” she said.
“We went to the hardware store and purchased decorative rods and everything he needed to do the job. I left him alone, and he got to work. When he was done, I put out my new throw pillows and accent pieces. Even he had to admit that for little money, we had a whole new look and he would be proud to have guests come to our house.”
“He was patting himself on the back, (I patted him some, too) proud of how he can “do it yourself.” That is until 5 days later when the valance over the patio door fell down.”
After hearing this amusing story I had to tell them I was eavesdropping. Being a professional window treatment installer, I had many tips I could have given her husband, and this poor unfortunate guy would not have had to endure the humiliation of his patio door valance falling to the floor. These are the tips I gave him:
1) Position the rod so the bottom of the valance hangs between 4-8 inches below the trim.
2) If you don’t already have one, invest in a cordless drill. You don’t have to get a fancy one for $150. A $25.00 one will be sufficient and come in handy for other projects around the house.
3) Go to the hardware store and buy a small extension for your drill, a 1/4 nut drive, and some 1 3/4 or 2 inch screws with a 1/4 inch hex head. You can buy both for less than $5.00 total. Throw away the screws that came with the rod.
4) Mount the brackets at the height you determine to be best and about a inch to the left and an inch to the right of the trim. Use your cordless drill to drive the hex head screws through your drywall and into the wood frame behind the drywall.
5) If you keep the brackets close to the trim and use longer screws like I suggest, you won’t have to use mollys or anchors. Using smaller screws and anchors is the biggest reason valance either fall out or hang by a thread.
Corkscrew wall anchor
6) If you have to mount your brackets so that it’s impossible to hit a stud, then use corkscrew anchors. They are easy to install and are very strong. I always keep a supply with me and use them often.
The next time I saw her husband, he no longer had a sheepish look on his face. He was a man of knowledge now. His wife couldn’t thank me enough, because since her husband was so confident in what he was doing, he told her to change their more valances because, “I’m the man with the tools.”
About The Author
Robert is a window treatment installer who blogs about all things window treatments at bobtheblindguy.com . If you are looking for information on window treatments and ways to install them yourself, Bob The Blind Guy is your source. Get first-hand information from a professional with years of experience in the business.
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