Measuring your windows is easy. If you choose to do it yourself, following these directions will help you to take a good measurement, and will ensure our products will install well and look their best. Most handy homeowners have all the tools and skills needed to install our blinds, shades or shutters. We have selected top quality easy to install products. To work properly, correct measurements are a must! Verify all of your measurements, to be sure, by measuring twice for each window.

If you prefer to have your treatments professionally installed or measured, please contact us, and we will assist you in contacting a local contractor to help you.

Before taking any measurements, look at your window and decide if you want to mount the window treatment inside the window recess, or outside on the wall or molding. If you have any questions or concerns about measuring or where to mount your window treatments, contact us. It is important the measurements are accurate as you are responsible for these measurements. Outside the window mounting is useful in all of the following situations:

• You have shallow window frames (under 3 inches)
• You have irregular or nonrectangular windows
• You want to have greater privacy or light protection
• You want your windows to look larger 

Note: For Roller Shades, Outside and Inside Mounted shades will be provided with a bracket to bracket measurement. This means that the shade will have the width of the distance between the outside of each bracket. Because the brackets take space, the shade fabric will actually be narrower than the total shade width. At the same time, Inside Mounted Shades will have two deductions. The first of these is that the fabric will be narrower than the full shade by as much as 1 1/4". There will also be a factory deduction to accommodate the brackets and control system. This inside mount installation deduction is from 1/4" to 1/2". This means that there will be an additional deduction taken to the width of the product to fit INSIDE the window casements.

Measuring for Blinds and Shades

We recommend the following for inside mount:

• Use a steel measuring tape
• Take three width measurements- from side to side near the top, and side to side near the bottom and side to side at the middle
• Take two height measurements- top to bottom near the right, and top to bottom near the left
• Measure to the nearest eighth of an inch - don't round up or down
• Write Your Measurements down Width first, then Height
• Use the Smallest Width
• For height of horizontal blinds, use the largest height. For other products, use the smallest height 

Measuring for Shutters

Measuring for shutters is basically the same as above, however, please make sure to take the three measurements- the width at the high part, the low part, and the middle.

If your measurements of width are different by more than 1/4", a Z-Frame may help to hide the imperfections of the window shape. If the difference is more than 1/2", then an outside mount is more advisable.

Note, if you have a window molding around the window, you should use an inside mount using one of our L-Frames, and if you have a window sill, or a top molding, you may wish to use a No Bottom or No Top- or both Shutter. You may need to extend the shutter from the wall using buildout material (locally available), and a great installation on a rough wall will require caulk- hidden by the shutter.

Keep these in mind:  

• Inside mounted blinds and shades have deductions taken by the factory (1/4" TO 1/2") - take actual window OPENING Size
• Extension Brackets are for clearing casing that is deeper than 3/4" from wall
• Valances on inside mounts are not flush with wall (they usually stick out about 1-2 inches)
• Sliding Glass Doors usually use a one way draw

Window Measurements...

When measuring for both inside and outside mounts, the finished measurements of the window treatment are from the top of the head rail to the bottom of the bottom rail (or in the case of verticals the bottom of the vanes) for the height. The width is from the left edge of the window treatment to the right edge. Inside mount treatments do have a deduction to allow for their installation- they will arrive slightly smaller than the measurements you provide, so they can be properly installed.

An Important Note Regarding Windows...

Don't be surprised to find that your windows aren't square - most aren't. If they're a little out of square, it probably won't be noticeable. If your window is a lot out of square, you should strongly consider an outside mounting to hide the window, and allow for installation.

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