Replacement slats for vertical blinds are one of our most popular products here at Lifestyle Blinds. And, it’s not hard to see why. When you invest time and money into finding the best window covering for your home, you want to get many years of service out of it. Choosing the right fabric, opting for a made-to-measure to achieve the perfect fit, even selecting a colour that can evolve with your style – all of these considerations take time. Replacement slats are designed to make your window blinds last for longer and solve the issues your family are having. Knowing what they are, when they’re needed and how to order them makes the entire process considerably easier. And, that is what we’ll be going over in this blog post today.
What are replacement slats?
While once reserved for offices and healthcare facilities, vertical blinds have begun to find their place in homes over the past few years. Perhaps this is due to more people renovating traditional properties with larger windows. Or, perhaps it is a bid to make a room look larger by visually elongating the walls. Either way, more and more of us are falling in love with vertical blinds. These window coverings feature multiple vertical slats (or louvres) which clip to a top rail and are connected at the bottom with a chain. They have two modes of operation. You can either rotate the slats in unison to expose as much of the window as you like. Or, you can use the pull cord to draw the slats against each other and over to one side of the window.
High-quality vertical blinds are designed to withstand repeated use. The fabrics and materials used are durable and hardwearing, as standard. However, wear-and-tear is inevitable, as are stains or soils caused by unavoidable events. Small children spill food. Muddy boots stomp into the home. Even direct sunlight can cause the chemical bonds in dye to break down, accelerating fading and making blinds look older than they are. Replacement vertical blinds are a cost-effective solution to this. They are manufactured from the same fabric as your full set and to the same dimensions. When delivered, all you have to do is unclip the old, damaged slat and replace it with the new one.
Benefits of replacement blind slats
Finding effective ways to elongate the lifespan of your windows is always beneficial – no matter how fleeting your interior style can be. However, this isn’t the only benefit of replacement blind slats. They are also:
- Cost-effective – If you had to replace your full set vertical blind every time something went wrong with an individual slat, it would cost a considerable amount. Choosing to swap out individual sections saves you money. It also makes it easier to make your initial investment last for longer.
- Easy to install – All of our blind products are made-to-measure and provided with full installation instructions. It is important to us that you don’t spend out on professional fitters. You can approach the simple fitting and repair jobs yourself.
- Styled to suit your room – Many of us spend a lot of time planning, designing the rooms in our homes. The last thing you want to do is have to change that after a short period of time. Especially, just because a few slats in your blinds are letting it down. Being able to replace individual sections means your interior design efforts won’t go to waste. And, you’ll be able to embrace them for longer.
How to measure for replacement slats?
As we mentioned above, one of our key focuses is to make sure that the ordering and installation of our blinds can all be done at home, by you. This saves you money, time and optimises on convenience – something that every busy household needs. Knowing how to measure for replacement blind slats is easy and quick. Watch the video below or follow our instructions here.
We recommend using a metal tape measure to get the most accurate sizes.
- Before you measure, check the top hangers on your existing slats. This is sewn into the top of the fabric and is used to hook the slat into the track. We need to make sure that these hangers are compatible with your track.
- If the hanger looks like the one in our video above, you are okay to proceed with measuring. If you are unsure, please send a photo of your hanger to sales@lifestyleblinds.com and one of our experienced team will be able to advise.
- Remove one slat from the current blind that you have.
- Lay the slat on a table or on the floor, making sure it is completely flat.
- Measure the width of the slat first. This should either be 89mm (3 ½”) or 127mm (5”).
- Next, measure the drop of the slat from the top of the fabric to the bottom of the fabric, excluding the sewn-in top hanger hook. This is your ‘fabric size’.
- Next, count the number of hooks on your rail to determine how many slats you require.
- TIP – If you have multiple blinds with the same drop measurement, you can group the quantities together and order them as one set. This will normally work out cheaper.
- Decide which bottom-weight option you require – white weights and chains, beige weights and chains or sewn in weights with no chains.
How Lifestyle Blinds can help
We have tried to make it as easy as possible to measure for replacement slats for vertical blinds. However, if you do have any questions or find yourself up against any hurdles, please do get in contact with us here today. We have an experienced, professional and friendly team at Lifestyle Blinds. We are on hand to ensure you order the right blind products here today.
