Blinds, Shades and Shutters - Plantation blinds

My wife and I are looking to put in about 20 plantation blinds. Needless to say, the quotes that we have recieved have been very expensive, so I think I am going to do it myself. Just a few questions before I get started:

Can anyone recommend a reputable website with fair prices and good customer service?

Is there going to be much of a quality difference between the higher priced and lower priced products?

On a scale of 1-10, difficulty of DIY installation?

Thanks in advance!

I would not recommend measuring or installing yourself..

When you first measure them, you will have to decide which type of molding will best suit your situation.. I have seen designers with 100 measures under their belt make crucial mistakes.. There are dozens of other little unforeseen problems that will never cross your mind..

Have you ever installed doors? if so, imagine the hardest door you ever installed, make it twice as frustrating and do it 20 times.. and after your all done when ya step and look at em, all those uneven light gaps will drive you nuts.. thats pretty much what you can expect..

you get what you pay for when it comes to shutters.. Some are made of pvc, these are nice because they stand up to all sorts of fluctuations in weather.. They arent so nice when you get a good up close look at em, they look plastic..

With the wood ones, there are a lot of choices a manufacturer can make that will decide how good of a quality your shudder is..

a quality place will have several warehouses that they keep wood stock in.. theses houses will be kept at different temperatures and humidity levels to mimic different climates.. If you live in the southwest your gonna want wood that was kept warm and dry before and after it was made.. Florida will need wood that was kept hot and humid and so on and so on.. If your buying wood ones online and the company doesnt ask you what state they are goin in, walk away..

It also matters what part of the wood your skinny slats are cut from.. slats should be cut from the center of lumber and never from the outer portions.. slats cut from the outer portion are sure to bow and bend..


I prefer norman shudders myself, they are distributed by graber.. They are made in china with cheap labor and strict standards so the price is reasonable..

Thank you so much for the reply, but I think there is some confusion. We are planning on getting plantation blinds, not plantation shutters, which I am assuming you are talking about?

We are planning on 2 1/2" wood blinds (my wife calls them plantation blinds...is that not correct?).

Thanks again.

ooops..

sorry about that..

Installation is easy as pie.. Anything under 4 feet just gets 2 box brackets at each end.. Anything larger gets the help of a center bracket..

It's a sad fact that these days home depot can sell you a hunter douglas product for cheaper than the local Blind/shade dealer can buy them from hunter douglas..

where you quoted any hunter douglas blinds?

I would have to dig out the quotes (which I almost just threw away due to the outrageous costs).

Thanks for the help!!

I wonder if the Home Depot blinds are of the same quality as those bought from dealers. Hunter Douglas does not show Home Depot as a dealer of their blinds.

For instance, you can pick up Delta faucets at the big box stores that look just like the ones sold by plumbing supplies and bath/kitchen dealers. The Delta rep told me that these are builder grade and have plastic rather than brass fittings.

You're right Twelvepole, they're not the same quality. Products sold at the big box stores are made just for them.

Bmheck, you have to understand, professional's charge for their expertise and time. The prices are not outrageous, they need to make a living, they're in business to make money and can't afford to give things away. Unfortunately, we can't all afford custom or professional help, which is why the DoItYourself.com forum is here. :D

I can certainly understand that. I have priced out the products needed from a couple of different places. After all the materials are paid for I will save over $2k installing these myself. Now maybe it is just me, but I think $1k per person for a days worth of work (assuming two people hang all the blinds in one day, which I think is doable) is better reserved to doctors, lawyers, genius engineers, etc...not someone with a handheld drill and a kid getting paid $10/hr. that is with him. That to me is outrageous.

Thanks again for all the help.

Mother in law wanted 2" wood blinds in the lake place. I measured, ordered and installed all 11 sets. Less than two days total work involved. Blinds came to about $1100, if I remember correctly.

From my experience you get the same quality product from home depot.. It seems to take a bit longer and comes packaged a bit differently, but when it comes down to it its the same product..
What shadeladie says above is true but home depot does sell Hunter Douglas products straight from Colorado or wherever the main plant is.. You will not see this advertised in any print.. Thats a deal H.D. made with home depot out of respect from the local dealers that are charging twice as much.. Home Depots numbers simply make it feasible for Hunter Douglas to sell at a low profit.. a few months ago I priced a silhouette from home depot, It ended up being $70 cheaper than what the local dealer could buy it for..

Bmheck,

What is it your lookin for? real woods or faux woods? and what color.. Maybe I can help ya be prepared so you can walk in and tell them what to do.. Most likely your helper wont be too competent..

Also, are you installing these as an inside mount or outside mount? If inside, how deep is your recess? You may want to make special requests depending on any mounting situating so let me know.

Pics would be great, I love that stuff!!!!


The average homeowner will not foresee things that a professional decorator would have at the local blind dealer... At the depot, they dealt with some "dude" or some "chick" thats just learning and has never been on site or seen a these things installed.. These people were trained by others that were just learning..

So you best be prepared or ya may get something that isn't exactly what ya hoped for..


by the way.. Home depot uses a company called service magic for all their home services.. this is a service that contractors subscribe to that give them the ability to bid or pass/accept a proposed price on your installations..

These guys would charge $8-12$ per shade to install with a minimum charge of $40-$65.. Location and competition will decide how much Home depot would be charged, and home depot decides how much they want to add on top of that..

You installing them would save at least 300 bucks, It would take the installer 2 hours to unpack them, cut them out of plastic, remove a billion stupid rubber bands and bubble wrap, Tear off tags and stickers, open up all the lil packs of screws (if they suit you), take the knots out of all your cords, and pass out all the blinds, valances, clips, and brackets to their appropriate window.. Then it should take him about 3 minutes per shade to put up.. lol