“What kind of blinds or shades should I install in the garage windows?” is one of the questions I’ve been stalling over for quite some time. Next, I have to figure out ceiling-mounted lights.
We have honeycomb-style shades in the house, and have had good experiences with them so far. Actually, I still have temporary paper shades in my office, also because of decision laziness.
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But fabric seemed like a big mistake for the garage. What about bugs? Would spiders make nests inside of the honeycomb structure?
What about sawdust? If or when I cleaned the shades, how much effort would it take to remove sawdust from the fabric?
With hard-panel shades, cleanup should be easy. Plus, there’s the angle adjustment to let in more or less light. Raising and lowering the shades might be a slight hassle, but if I can reach the window controls to unlock and open and close it, lifting and lowering the shades shouldn’t be any trouble.
What size to go with? Where to buy them from?
Ultimately, as part of my “I’m sick of delaying things” workshop cleanup process, I measured up and made some quick decisions.
I would be inside-mounting the shades, and so I measured the inner width of the window – 32″. At Home Depot, they have “faux wood blinds” with 2″ slats that seem to be well-reviewed. The 32″ blinds have a nominal width of 31.5″, which would leave some clearance on both sides. Seemed like a good idea.
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I bought the blinds, and they arrived about a week later, more than a week earlier than expected.
They were easy to install, and the instructions show how the length can be shortened if or when I desire it, as the shortest off-the-shelf length of 36″ is too long for my garage windows.
The slats definitely don’t look like wood, they look like textured plastic.
There are other sizes, with larger and smaller slats widths, and other brands including Bali and Levolor, but I didn’t feel I needed custom blinds for garage windows. A perfect width seemed good enough, and now I know I can also custom-adjust the blinds to the perfect length if that ever strikes my fancy.
There are other non-faux-wood slat options, but I went with a high-review-count product. Among the brand names I don’t know, I might as well go with one that seems popular, right?
“Home Decorators” does not seem to be a Home Depot-exclusive brand, but this particular style is said to be an “exclusive.”
The included screws were tough to drive, meaning my pilot hole wasn’t large enough. I could or should have subbed-in self-drilling Spax screws, but I didn’t have pan-head screws of the correct length on-hand.
Long story short, I’ve got new window shades up in the garage, and should provide for increased privacy.
These shades are pretty basic, but also cord-free and better-looking than the aluminum blinds I had cut to size at the home center for our first apartment.
If you’ve been putting off garage window coverings for the longest time as I have, these left me with a positive install experience. I’ll have to see how well they hold up over time, but I can’t imagine what could go wrong. There are more then 12,000 reviews at Home Depot’s website, with most being 5 or 4 star ratings.
Pricing varies, with the 32″ width (31.5″ nominal) x 36″ length being $33 each.
RCWARD
How many windows do you have in you garage?
Stuart
Two.
fred
I have blinds on the 4 windows and 1 door in my garage. They get filthy and after cleaning a few times – they are still grungy enough that I replace them about every 2 years. The culprit may be air/dirt infiltration around the overhead doors (3 car garage) and/or – my wife’s potting benches . But my advice is buy inexpensive – unless you have one of those show garages – with polished floor , air filtration and some way to prevent dust and debris from blowing in.
JoeG
Don’t forget spider webs.
Nettle
One easy way to clean them (if they’ll fit into your bathtub) is to add hot water (from the faucet) and a generous amount of Krud Kutter to the water. Soak the blind in that agitating them every now and again. I would say about 10-20 min. Very rarely do I need to actually wipe them. Then rinse off. Take the back outside. Hang them up and allow them to dry. Works great for most cheap-y blinds (inside or out).
Matt L.
Why shades at all? There is never too much light in a garage. If you are worried about people looking in, you could use clear privacy film either on the whole window or just the bottom if you enjoy seeing the sky. Less cost, less to clean.
Stuart
The windows face the street and I was surprised as to how much is visible.
I did consider privacy film, but I also read a lot of bad experiences. Blinds seemed more versatile.
fred
Even though my garage is well away from the street and neighbors – and none of the windows is visible (or at least should not be) from anyone – I think blinds on windows provide a more finished appearance. I do draw a line on this – no blinds on our garden sheds windows
Dave S
I used to buy blinds from Lowe’s (that were similar to what you got from HD), have them custom cut to width (if necessary), then have to shorten the height manually. But, not anymore! I’ve started ordering the exact size I need from http://www.blinds.com. (No, I don’t get a commission.) We’ve gotten “as good” or better quality as anything we’ve found at Lowe’s/HD, without the hassle. Plus, there are WAY more styles/options available. Best of all, you don’t have to fool with removing the extra slats yourself; the blinds come exactly as you need/want them. Depending on your exact window size and the options you choose, blinds.com can cost more or *less* than you’d pay at the big box. Check them out for future projects.
Stuart
I checked there too, as well as Blinds to Go’s website, but pricing was higher for corded blinds and a lot higher for cordless.
Maybe I could or should have went with corded blinds, but if I’m opening a window I can lift the blinds at the same time, and the same for closing it.
For home windows, yes I’d go with custom-sized blinds or shades. For the garage or workshop, these cheap blinds are quite decent. I saw $100 per blinds a while back and it gave me pause. $33 each? I decided to stop thinking about it and just go with it.
Yes I’m going to have to cut them myself or leave them too long and bunched at the bottom, and at this price you’re limited to basic white, but the quality seems better than I anticipated, with the only negative so far being the presence of some plastic sawdust in the boxes.
There’s what, one or two extra slats? I’ll leave them be.
fred
For the house I’ve always went with custom length and width. For the garage I’ve always bought metal mini blinds at Home Depot. They cut them to width and its easy enough to rework the string “ladders ” tossing out extra slats to customize the length. When I was ambitious 40 years ago – I’d do that for the garage. Now I just use long white twist ties to bundle up the bottom of the garage blinds.
I’m sure many of my former (remodeling business) customers who spent $200k or more on their kitchens – and also had movie-set garages – would cringe at the thought of twist ties – but I figure that its good to prioritize where to spend your money. Maybe If I were rebuilding the garage – I’d go with internal blind windows – easier to keep clean.
Jim Felt
fred.
We’ve had internal (1/2”?) blinds in several glass doors but not windows over the years. Only one failure but, of course, it required an entirely new integral window replacement.
Otherwise they’re pretty slick.
But they weren’t used in a shop area. For them I’ve usually used 1” metal mini blinds with wands because they’re easier to vacuum.
I’ve also used wire reed glass too but it’s mostly extinct.
Frank D
Those will be tedious too clean, not as bad as the little plastic ones, but still.
I simply sprayed my garage windows opaque.
No worries about blinds getting dusty, bugs, spider webs, cords, … lets the light in. Done.
The only trick is that you can’t see out.
For that reason one could consider a viewing strip via a band of masking tape … but then people can see again how many cars, which cars, …
Could do the same with privacy window vinyl.
Plaingrain
They should make honeycomb blinds with closed ends! (Breathable ends). I have been thinking of making a wooden shutter for the inside of garage windows. Perhaps with removable panels, then I can add a panel to vary light. Endless possibilities.
Aaron SD
How easy is it to cut to length?
Stuart
Here’s a PDF of the instructions.
You basically remove the slats, cut the “horizontal ladder cords,” raise the bottom rail, and then secure the excess cord length at the bottom.
Stacey Jones
Got the same ones in the bedrooms. Nice!
Leonard
Hey Stuart,
What about adding another piece glass/plastic on the inside? Hinged with a magnetic latch. You’ll be able to open it to adjust you blinds. Which you’ll do about a couple time a year. The glass, plastic will keep the dust off the blinds. Less cleaning. Might add some insulation value too.
Bob
Looks nice. I will be interested to see how white blinds hold up to the dirt/dust of a garage.
I like the internal blinds in the window idea. But agree its pricey to change out a whole window.
My garage gets filthy from sawdust, metal fabrication etc. The spider webs catch dust and it really looks bad. Rough plaster helps catch the dust too. I can’t tell if those pics of cool garages on garage journal are just for show or if these guys are constantly cleaning them?
MattJ
Got these for my son’s nursery. While there is no mistaking that they are plastic and not wood, I was very impressed with the cordless mechanism and overall finish quality for the price I paid.
loup68
I have 8′ twin tube garage lights that have extremely bright led tubes made by eledlights.com. One 8′ led tube has 6,600 lumens. Get daylight tubes that are 5,000 kelvin. Under a 16 foot ceiling height, use frosted tubes. You have to eliminate the ballast in the 8′ fixture. Do not get the 8′ four tube 4′ led fixtures that the big box stores sell. They have a “dead” spot between the banks of tubes and their tubes are not bright enough.
Daveinsavannah
What’s wrong with spending $6 or $8 for the generic blinds at Walmart?
I prefer the privacy at night. Too much of my gear was visible from the street.
Ken
Horizontal blinds are fine if you can accept their numerous drawbacks.
They are ugly
They are a dust magnet
Incredibly difficult to clean
If a slat gets damaged, have to replace the entire blind
Vertical blinds, on the other hand:
Look nice and a vast improvement over horizontal blinds
Don’t attract dust
Cleaning is a breeze, just remove the slat, wash in a sink and reattach
If a slat gets damaged, just replace the slat
Only real drawbacks are finding the correct size, especially for smaller windows.
They come in all sorts of materials like wood, plastic, metal, etc.
Adam
Good experience with the off-the-shelf roller blinds at Ikea for our shed windows. I used made-to-measure roller blinds for the garage from BlindsGalore.com, because I didn’t realize Ikea carried them. Both work fine, were relatively inexpensive, and I rarely open either since I put LED shop lights in both spaces.
Carol Frayne
We are in the deep south and southern sun comes into the garage window on one side and then as it travels around the house hits another two windows on the other side making the garage like an oven. It is hot and buggy out there it’s not a question of privacy but cooling the place down!