Vertical Blinds As Room Dividers

Building walls is usually the way in which people subdivide spaces. This is a great way to make new rooms. However, when doing this, the spaces are permanently divides, and the cost for this type of work is often quite high. Furthermore, building walls often will require pulling construction permits, as well as installing electrical fixtures. In the end, would it not be easier to simply pay much less and use vertical blinds to subdivide these spaces? This is even more commonly the easier choice, when the subdivision is a temporary situation. Vertical blinds are easy to install, and they can be retracted easily.

Civic organizations, such as churches and government buildings, will have large meeting rooms where gatherings of all sizes will take place and where different functions could potentially be taking place simultaneously. These frequent occurrences require the flexibility to tailor the available physical space to meet specific needs. Oftentimes vertical blinds can provide the choice way to achieve these needs without the installation of expensive room dividers which occupy a large space whenever not in use and are aesthetically unacceptable. Vertical blinds provide the ability to retract in any direction – left, right, center opening and center stacking.

In addition to the ability of vertical blinds to retract in different ways, vertical blinds can also be custom made as two unique and independently operated units thus expanding their flexibility. This added flexibility allows the user many more choices regarding the purpose of the vertical blind as it pertains to a specific function. One factor to remember is that normally the width of a vertical blind is limited to sixteen (16) feet and whenever “butted” to a second vertical blind, it can divide a thirty-two (32) foot wide room and thus able to divide most rooms regardless of setting.

It should be considered that vertical blinds are usually independent operating. While it would be nice to interconnect two vertical blinds to be controlled with a single pull cord, you will never be able to control two tracks with a single chain. As a result, vertical blinds are relegated to be used as separate operating systems. However, the true simplicity and ease with which they can be manipulated make vertical blinds a real good resource when treating this situation.

As previously mentioned, the use of “butted” vertical blinds may actually be more desirable due to the ability to independently adjust the size of the desired opening and the additional savings realized whenever smaller blinds are shipped. Large items are always more expensive to ship because they require the services of a common carrier versus the relatively inexpensive method of shipping via UPS or FedEx. However, when compared to the cost of building a permanent wall, these costs are usually insignificant.

Regardless of the specific application for a vertical blind, whether as a room divider or as a window/door treatment, the issue of child safety should always be ever present when making the decision. Controls of the vertical blind must always be fastened as recommended by the manufacturer and to meet legal requirements. Vertical blinds normally have two controls - a cord operated carrier control which allows the opening and closing and a chain operated rotator system. These controls allow for the opening and closing of vertical blind and the rotation of the vertical blind louvers.

Another installation issue with this application for vertical blinds. Many large spaces may have excessively high ceilings, or the ceilings may, in fact, be shaped to not accommodate a vertical blind track. For these situations, one should consider installing a hanging strip first. This is a long and straight pice of wood, or metal if preferred, and then the vertical blind track would be installed onto this track.

Although noise control is difficult to fully eliminate, the use of vertical blinds with free hanging fabric louvers can and should be considered. One of the many benefits of using fabric louvers is the quietness achieved by the elimination of the sound of PVC louvers hitting each other due to wind drafts and the use of fans which can continuously move the PVC louvers. Fabric louvers are comparatively noiseless when moved.

The aesthetics of vertical blinds as room dividers will substantially improve by two (2) using valances which will cover the vertical blind hardware on both sides of the vertical blind. Although vertical blinds are typically fabricated including a valance, a second valance should be ordered for this particular application thus creating an acceptable and clean look when viewed from both rooms.

Article Source: http://www.articlemonk.com

Judith Persit works from home in a design studio and writes about bamboo shades. Learn aboutshades at her website.

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