Tilting Shade Repair
Problem:
For a long time, one of our kitchen shades has been intermittently slipping on one side, resulting in the shade being tilted. I thought it would be nearly impossible to do anything about this, short of replacing the shade, as I incorrectly thought the mechanism was built into the rod from which the shade was suspended. I did an internet search and found that my type of shade uses a “Roman Lock”.
Analysis:
The picture shows 2 separate devices for the pull strings. The one on the left is the Roman Lock. There are 2 gears inside that which open to allow the string to slide up and down, or lock when you pull both strings to the outside, then release tension. The string going through the channel closest to the window was slipping. So instead of the entire shade slipping down, just one side slipped, resulting in the tilt. I suspect the thing was wearing out in such a way that the window side channel of the mechanism has more space (was looser), than the center channel and channel side away from the window. I didn’t know what they were called exactly, but I found them on Amazon.com.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047PUMKM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They were only $6.99 with 2-day “Prime” shipping.
Tilting Shade Repair:
After receiving the new “Roman Lock”:
- I marked one of the cords to remember which was which.
- Removed the cord knobs and lock rings from each cord.
- Removed the cords from the old Roman Lock.
- Melted the cord ends with a soldering iron to prevent fraying.
- Unscrewed and removed the old Roman Lock.
- Used a thin piece of copper wire as a stylet to guide the cords into the correct channels of the new Roman lock.
- Replaced the stop rings on the cords.
- Replaced the knobs on the cords.
- Screwed the new Roman Lock into the top bar of the shade.
- Adjusted the position of the cord stops.
Tilting Shade Repair
Old defective Roman Lock.
I have to confess I had to redo a few steps, because it doesn’t work if you do the steps out of order.
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