Skip to main content

Tuesday Time to Tackle: Replacing A Broken Vinyl Blinds Slat


I do have some talents, but to keep this blog positive, let's just say that keeping my blinds looking great is a talent I'm still in the process of developing.  

Remember guide dog puppy Reno?  Well, when I was raising him, he occasionally would look out the front window, and one time (probably about a year ago!), he broke one of the slats of the blinds. 




Replacing a broken slat is not that hard of a project, nor is it time consuming, yet I procrastinated the repair.   I finally decided today was the day to tackle this "deferred maintenance" project!  If you also have a broken slat, and if you happen to have an extra slat (usually found at the bottom of the blinds), follow these simple instructions:

1.  At the bottom of the blinds, on the underside, pop off the little plastic buttons.

I turned the bottom slat upside-down in order to take this photo.

2.  Untie the knot from the cord.


3.  Set the plastic buttons aside, then pull the cord up through the slats until you reach the broken slat.


4.  Slide the broken slat out.  Also slide out the replacement slat from the bottom.  Add replacement slat where broken slat was, carefully placing it between the horizontal cords. 


5.  Thread the cords (the ones that had been knotted in the buttons) back through the slats.  If necessary, use tweezers to pull the cords through the slat that holds the buttons.  


6.  Put the cords back through the buttons, and tie a knot in each cord.  Keeping the final slat level, put the buttons back in the holes.


Enjoy a more finished look.

 
photo visiting2_zps6d4521f3.jpg

photo ThankfulThought4_zps7d9599c2.jpg
Thanks for the satisfaction of completed projects.

photo signature3_zps16be6bca.jpg


Pin It

Comments

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...
4 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street.  While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...
5 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Oregon Edition, Part 3

  A western bluebird, sitting at the base of a house window, looks inside Thanks (1) to those who have sent well-wishes for my mom's recovery. Her wrist is healing up nicely. I met a friend from high school for lunch this past week. It was so nice to have a chance to visit with her for a couple of hours. She is one of those friends who it doesn't matter how much time has passed, we can pick right back up into meaningful conversations. Lunch ended all too soon, but I'm so thankful (2) for her, and I'm thankful (3) that she reminded me of the importance of reaching out to others.  Being in my parents' home this week, visiting with a long-time (I'm not saying old!) friend, and with Mother's Day tomorrow, my mind naturally reflects upon the women in my life. I'm thankful (4) for an incredible mom--a gentle woman who taught and loved and guided us (and still does.) I'm thankful (5) for grandmas who were different in their personalities but united in their...
3 comments
Read more