One of the questions we often get from AV and home theatre dealers who are starting to work with shades is: how do we go about measuring for shades?
On the surface, this sounds like a simple question, right? “Well, you find a window and you measure it.”
As with most things, however, it is a bit more complicated than that. Not much more, but a bit.
To help people, we have developed a new white paper on Simplified Measuring for Shades. You will find it below.
Every window shade that leaves the Draper factory is a custom-made product, designed to fit the precise window for which it was made. That means the first and most important step of successfully manufacturing the perfect window shade is measuring the window opening.
Getting Ready
Before you measure the window opening, you need to decide how the shade is going to be mounted.
Inside Mount means the entire shade, including hardware such as brackets or a headbox, will be mounted inside the window opening. The shade fabric also hangs within the window opening. This is the mounting style recommended for most installations. Inside Mount has a clean, built-in look, and also keeps attractive window moldings on display. It is also typically used when window treatments are layered. However, the window opening needs to be deep enough to for the shade hardware, and there will be a light gap on each side of the shade. Consult Draper’s product literature for the type of shade you’re ordering to make sure of hardware size and light gap.
Outside Mount means that the shade brackets will be installed outside the window opening, allowing the shade cloth to overlap the window. This mounting style is typically recommended when the window opening isn’t deep enough to hold the mounting hardware, or when there’s an obstruction inside the window frame. It can also be used to hide an unattractive window, or make the window seem bigger. It typically reduces light leakage.
To finish reading this white paper, or to download a free PDF copy, click here.
