2,319 posts, read 1,028,388 times Originally Posted by keraT Is the $100+ quote the total cost for all the blinds or was that just for one set of blinds? If for one set, which size was that for? If that cost is only for one set of blinds for any of those size windows you can definitely get them much cheaper than that. If that cost is total cost for all the windows that is a great price for all. The picture windows in all of our units in the living rooms are 75" wide. We purchase vertical blinds for those at Walmart for $30 or less. Don't worry about the length being too long because you can always trim them down. Just make sure you get them the actual length or longer. Are all of your windows one big window pane or are some sectioned off by wood frames to 2 or 3 windows together? If sectioned off you can also get multiple smaller sets of blinds of shorter widths to go on one full set of windows and leave an inch to 2 inch space in between the blinds where the wood frames divide a window.
Another option for the wider windows is to go horizontal blinds instead of vertical but those you will have to get at the right length unless you are very good at trimming the bottoms off.I did a few quotes on that site and they are VERY reasonably priced. (Thanks for the tip ultra!). I have bookmarked that site for our future reference. And I am (personally) still recommending blinds over curtains. Going the Goodwill route or making them out of sheets is going to cause you nothing but headaches, frustration AND time trying to find something that will work. With Goodwill you will need to have them professionally cleaned plus it will be difficult to find something in a neutral enough plain color and/or that will match windows that are closer together plus nice enough that they won't end up being taken down by tenant anyway. Plus you have to remember that first impressions during a showing can be a deal breaker when they are paying good money for rent. Trust me, people will be much more opinionated with curtains/drapes as opposed to neutral colored blinds.
Curtains made out of sheets is too light of fabric if that is the only window covering they will have and they just don't block the light enough, if needed. Unless, of course, you double the fabric for each curtain but then you are getting into a lot more expense. We don't have that many problems with our blinds getting trashed. We have some of our blinds that have been up for 10 years and still look great. Otherwise, as a rule on average, we end up replacing most blinds every 5 - 7 years anyway just from normal wear and tear. And all of our units allow cats. If we do have a problem it is mostly just one or two slats and we always keep the extra slats when purchased to replace the few that may get broken. (that is why it is good to always purchase the blinds longer than the window) And we can always charge the tenant for replacement and/or repair if the blinds are not so old that they require replacing anyway. Otherwise, the window coverings are part of doing business with rentals and we would never rent a unit without them.....period.
We have 7 total windows in each unit (3 sides of building) and 1 of those windows is a patio door (horizontal blinds) and one is a 75" picture window. And it is very rare that all the blinds in a unit need replacing at once. They can be written off as an expense or as I mentioned, the tenant can be charged if they are prematurely damaged. If you were to get curtains/drapes second hand at Goodwill or make your own it would be difficult to determine the costs for tax write off and/or determining/justifying the replacement cost if damaged. Not to mention, that if you need to replace the curtains/drapes if damaged you would have to go through that whole headache process over again of finding more at Goodwill, etc or making more sets from sheets. All in all, blinds are neutral, more practical and make a room look polished and bigger.I posted info incorrectly. I knew I should not have tried posting at 3:30am! Bad case of insomnia but I guess I wasn't as awake as I thought I was Corrections in bold below
Originally Posted by Corn-fused mini blinds (not vertical duh) 21,531 posts, read 40,704,405 times 1,239 posts, read 588,379 times Thanks for the link. The quote is for each window, way too expensive. I didn't even bother going to home depot. My brother got his 2 years ago n he said average price he paid was $75/window. I went to WalMart hoping for cheap blind or curtains. You are right about the DIY route, I always fancy myself doing those project but the frustration n time isn't worth it. So the first WalMart didn't have blinds, no vertical once. But we did find curtains for $7 (40-50"). Figure 2 per window $15+ rod. We picked up several & in checkout found one nice curtain was marked down to $1. So I went n picked up all they had 5only. Then drove to next WalMart. Hoping to find more of this $1 curtain. This WalMart had long blinds, the type we were looking for but we already committed to curtains. Well turns out not all WalMart have same price. So no greate steal.
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