Cellular Shades

How to Adjust or Replace Troublesome Cellular Shades

If the spring is wound too tight, you can ease some of the tension by, first, raising the shade as high as it will go, then lifting the rolled-up shade out of its brackets. Unroll the shade by hand until it is about halfway down. Then replace it in its brackets and test the tension. If it is still too tight, repeat the process.

If the spring is too loose (not enough tension), you can wind the spring tighter by doing just the opposite: Pull the cellular shade about halfway down, then lift it out of the brackets and roll it up by hand. Replace the rolled-up cellular shade in its brackets, then test. If it is still too loose, repeat the process.

However, there are times when simply tensioning the spring is not the answer – fore example, when the spring on the inside of the roller is broken, or when the ratchet-and-pawl mechanism on the end of the roller is defective (this is the mechanism that allows the flat pin to rotate, yet locks it in position when you want the shade to stay at a certain length). In all these cases, the solution lies in replacing the roller entirely (Buying a new roller is a lot cheaper than buying a whole new shade, especially if the shade was originally a custom made fabric one).

A new roller may also be needed when a cellular shade has to be cut down to a narrower width – either because it is being moved to another window, or because the roller was originally the wrong length for that particular window. (If the roller is too long, the shade tends to bind and doesn’t roll freely; if it is too short, the shade tends to fall out of its brackets when you try to raise or lower it.) Replacement rollers, usually made of wood, are sold in all stores that sell or make cellular shades, as well as many hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Although some dealers will cut a roller to length for you, in many cases you will have to cut it to size yourself after you get it home – but this is a simple task that requires only an ordinary hand saw. Measure the overall length you want the new roller to be (use your old roller as guide) by measuring from the end of the round pin at one end to the end of the flat pin at the other end. The measure the tip-to-tip length of your new roller so you will know how much of it has to be cut off.

To cut a roller down, always cut the excess from the end that has the round pin (the other end is hollow and has the spring on the inside). The round pin and its metal cap are easily pulled off by grasping the pin with pliers and pulling straight out (the pin is like a nail without a head that goes through the metal cap and into the wood). After it is off, use a saw to cut off enough of the wood roller to reduce its length by the amount required (as explained above). Then replace the metal cap and tap the pin back into the end of the roller with a hammer.

When attaching the shade fabric to your new roller, either tacks or staples can be used, but stapling (with a staple gun) is faster and easier and does a neater job. Take off the old roller by pulling out the staples that were used to attach the fabric to it, then stretch the shade material out on the floor. Place the top edge of the fabric on the new roller, lining the fabric edge up carefully with the line marked along the length of the roller.

It is important that the fabric be lined up exactly with this line if you want the fabric to roll up evenly. If the top edge of the fabric is not parallel to the line marked on the roller before it is stapled in the place, the fabric will tend to roll off the end of the roller on one side as the shade rolls up. Space the staples no more than five to six inches apart, starting at the center and working your way out to each end. Smooth the fabric out evenly without stretching it as you staple it in place.

To cut a cellular shade narrower so it will fit a window that is narrower than the one it was originally made for, first unroll the cellular shade and stretch it out on the floor. Mark the wood roller for the amount it has to be cut down, then pull the pin and metal cap as described above. Pull out all the staples that go into that part of the roller that will be cut off (there is no need to pull all the staples out, just those that will no longer be needed), then cut the roller down as described above.

Now mark the shade fabric to show how much must be trimmed off along one side. Mark the fabric at the top and bottom, as well as at several intermediate points along its length. Connect all marks with a straight line and cut along this line with a large pair of sharp scissors. Pull out the wood slat at the bottom before you cut through the slat pocket with the scissors, the cut the wood slat off to the proper length before sliding it back into place.