Installing Curtain Rods

It’s probably needless to say, but there are many tasks around our new house. Enough so, it can be easily overwhelming. The trick I use to pick a task, in this situation, is to find something relatively small and inexpensive. Pick something that is so easy you can finish it in just a few hours. My wife “helped” me pick this project, and she was right to do so…

The blinds were pretty old and falling apart. The second day we were living in the house, we found this one splitting open and allowing people on the street to see right in. I made a temporary patch with duct tape and made a trip to Lowes that weekend for some curtain supplies. Here is the process I used to install the new curtain rods:

Step 0: Preparation

It’s important to have all the correct supplies before you start a job.

Step 1: Demolition

No need to break out the sledge hammer for this one :( but since the blinds are junk, we don’t have to be nice to them! Start with a knife and cut the blinds close to the top, this will help get them out of the way.

Next, remove the set screws that hold the blinds in place (this may very depending on the type of blinds you are removing).

Once the set screws are out, pull the blinds towards you and they should pop off easily. Again, since we don’t care about them, just toss it in the trash pile.

Step 2: Installing New Hardware

Now comes the part where many people mess things up. It’s important not to simply eye-ball the distance from the window to the brackets. Measure out and up from the top corners of the window. Depending on the circumstance, the distance will change. In this application, I chose 4 inches out and up. Also, I did not bother finding studs for the brackets; the rods are small and light enough that it’s not necessary.

Once you have the first bracket in place, measure the spot for the next bracket and mark the location. I use a laser level as well, in order to make sure the brackets are in line. This ensures that if your measuring was slightly off, you will at least have level curtain rods.

Step 3: Final Touches

The hardest part is done!

I just added 1 pull-back for this particular window, since there is only 1 curtain. Simply pick a height that looks good to you and use the laser level to position the pull-back.

Now is where my wife stepped in and added the curtains of her choice.

Final Notes

After the wife’s approval, I repeated the above steps to install the curtain rod for the adjacent window. In this case there are 2 pull-backs, so just use the laser level to put them at the same height (which is the same height as the first!).