Can Blinds Between Glass Be Repaired?
Written by Todd Fratzel.
Blinds Between Glass
Doors with Blinds Between Glass
I wrote and article about French Doors with Built In Blinds awhile ago and numerous people have asked how to repair these type of window treatments if they get damaged. The answer is not one most people want to hear. Almost all of the doors and windows sold today with blinds between the glass are not easily repairable.
Most manufacturers are installing the blinds inside a sealed thermal window assembly. Because of this the only way to get at the blinds and therefore repair them is to take apart the thermal glass assembly, thus rendering it useless. For a majority of these windows and doors you’ll need to buy the sealed glass assembly and replace it.
This doesn’t mean the entire door or window must be replaced. This just means that you’ll be replacing the entire insulated window assembly just as you would if you broke the glass.
Blinds Between Glass Detail
At least one manufacturer is building units that the shades are enclosed in a separate piece of glass and snapped into place. This allows for you to remove them, change them or replace them without needing to replace the main glass assembly. Having said all that we have two French Doors built by ThermaTru with blinds between the glass and so far after 4 years we’ve had no problems.
If you end up having trouble with the blinds I’d start by contacting the manufacturer to see which type of system you have. At the very least you should be able to buy a replacement assembly to replace the damaged blinds.
If you own a Therma-Tru door then here is the Customer Support Link.
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[...] Can Blinds Between Glass Be Repaired? Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog, built-in mini-blinds [...]
We have 10 yr old french doors and single doore with bars between the glass. Can we buy a replacement with the blinds inside of the 2 glasses and put in the doors after removing the old glass? I look at them and it appeared the distance between the glass with the bars is not as wide as the blinds. We looked at Lowes.
We just installed the french doors with blinds between the glass and a rock has spider webbed it. Do I have to replace the entire door or can we replace just the outside glass? PLEASE tell me what I want to hear LOL thanks in advance!
Linnea – Most of the brands that we’ve dealt with will require the entire glass unit to be replaced. The glass is typically a multi-pane glass that’s sealed with the blinds inside it. You should be able to get just that glass unit and replace it entirely without ever taking the door off the hinges.
Just what I wanted to here THANK YOU so much for the help! I will contact our local Home Depot as to where I can find the replacement glass for the multi-pane!!
Linnea – You’re very welcome.
Where were you able to find just the replacement panels? I have been looking for them for my French doors and I have not been able to find somewhere to just order the panels with blinds. Thanks
Susan – I’m fairly sure you have to order the entire glass assembly with the blinds in it.
we have a peachtree door with enclosed mini blinds. They will only go half way down. the magnet seems to be misplaced in the track. it will not click back into place…any tips on fixing this…the door isn’t even a year old.
Lauri – Have you tried “turning” the blind control arm? The one problem with these blinds is they really should only be moved up and down when the blinds are in the open position. Many times you need to “open” the blinds before trying to move them any further.
We have a french door with built-in blinds in our master bedroom. My son was closing the blinds and the latch came detached from the blinds. The thing you push left or right to open and close at the top of the door just slides back and forth now. It isn’t attached to anyting. You can still raise the blinds up and down, but they won’t open or close. Is there a way to fix this without replacing? I don’t know the brand of the door because it came with the house when we bought it. Thank you so much for any help you can give.
Sherry – A picture might help solve this. There are a few styles on the market including some that use magnets to “attach” the level to the mechanism. If it’s one of those you just re-align them and it works. If not you may have to replace the unit.
I had the same problem today and after reading your answer I pushed tab to the top and the magnet re-aligned. thank you
which the best external blinds or blinds between glasses
i have to make a report about this
but i did not fond except the advantages off this two type
Todd, I have a 10 month old sliding patio door with blinds between the glass. It appears the magnet is not working or slipping. The magnet comes loose half way up the window. I can only get the blind half way up before the magnet lets loose. How can I fix this? Its a Jeld Wen.
Dan
Are the blinds in the open or closed position? Not the up and down portion but are the blinds set in the open (let light in) position? They must be in that position and not closed before trying to move them up and down.
I am having the same problem. I tried it in the “open” position and the magnet lets go on all of my blinds about half way up. The blinds fall back to the bottom and the magnet goes back to the top. Not sure how to fix this.
Sounds like something is likely broken. You may need to replace the glass unit.
I found the solution to my issue, which was displaying the same symptoms as you… When reattaching the handle, you have to keep it raised/angled away from the glass and move it above where you initially feel it try and grab the magnet inside the blinds and move it another inch or two up and you feel it grab that magnet MUCH more firmly and then the mechanism worked perfectly after that.
Dan,
Above you wrote: “At least one manufacturer is building units that the shades are enclosed in a separate piece of glass and snapped into place. This allows for you to remove them, change them or replace them without needing to replace the main glass assembly.” Can you tell me who these manufacturers are? This seems like the better way of constructing a patio door.
Thanks,
Rob
I too am having problems with the magnet letting go on my blinds about half way up. I moved the blinds to the open position and it did not help. the blinds drop back down to the bottom and the magnet “inside” goes to the top and the handle goes to the bottom. Is there another fix for this?
Yep. ODL does the same thing. Brand new and can’t open blinds even in open position. $300 waste.
Hi Tod, is there a youtube link I can veiw to know how to replace the panel with a in between glass blinds. I have a french door that came with the house and over period of time one of the strings inside the pannel has broken. The blinds look like sandwitched pigion sad to say.. I want to replace the panel myself. I have seen videos of removeable panels but I was unable to find one for replacement for built in units. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
I don’t have a youtube video on that. Let me do some research and see if I can find one for you. It’s my understanding that most of these units have the glass sealed with the blinds in them. So it should be just as easy as replacing a normal glass unit.
You are right, I think its just as simple as replacing a normal glass unit. However I am having difficulty locating a vendor to order the replacement panel. I know I would be reluctant to recommend one vendor or the other if I were you but I would greatly appreciate it if you can guide me in finding one where I can order a repalcement panel. I promise I will not hold you liable one way or the other.LOL.
Mujlo – It really needs to be the same brands as the original. Otherwise, the glass won’t likely fit the opening. What brand do you have?
I wish I knew! It came with the house I bought. And the door has been painted. Where on the door should I look to see what brand or manufacturer, any ideas?
Sometimes the hinges will have the manufacturer stamped on them. Sometimes in the corner of the glass you can see a very faint label.
I have a 36×94 and 1 and a half thick of double pane glass sliding door. Can I install blinds between the glass??
Typically they are only in French Doors and you typically have to have a door that was built originally for the blinds.
I purchased 3 french doors and added the mini blind at my local
Lowe’s Store. I believ they are MasterCraft. One of the Mini
Blinds which attach to the door dropped due to the plastic bracket
broke off. Where can I purchase the plastic bracket which holds
the Mini Blind in place with a sheet metal screw?
Thank you in advance…….Frank Garcia
Are you talking about “INTERNAL BLINDS” or an externally applied blind?
I just spent the last hour at least fixing my inside french door shutter blinds. My issue was that my shutters are sealed in the glass, and the magnet kept skipping about halfway down. This caused the shutters to be stuck on the left side about 3/4 of the way up. I was incredibly frustrated because I thought this is going to turn into something that stays broken forever and I am assuming it is an expensive fix to replace that entire glass.
The way I was able to fix it was as you guys stated above pretty much with one minor difference. First, I made sure the shutters were in the open position from the top adjuster. Then I kept sliding the lever over and over for about a half hour. I almost gave up but right when I was about to give up because it was not catching it caught for a second and the shutters on the left side of the window (not the left door, just the left side of the shutter was stuck – the right side would move freely until it got to the point that the left side was holding it up) and they came down about half way. I kept messing with it, and unfortunately for me it caused them to raise back up and get restuck.
Anyhow, to make a long story shorter, I removed the magnet from underneath the slider. I physically pulled the lever out towards me until the magnet underneath it was able to pop out. Then using just the magnet without the lever I kept twisting and turning it where it was getting stuck/slipping while moving it up and down. Finally, the entire shutter fell down inside the window 7/8 of the way down. Then I very gently with small movements kept bouncing it until it came all the way down. Then I put the magnet back where it belongs and decided I am not going to mess with them again. It did not actually fix it, but at least it closed them entirely and I don’t have to mess with them any longer.
i have vinly french doors the blinds broke they seem to be seald how can i get them apart to fix blinds doors are good dont know the brand of doors.if i have to replace door can you just buy one door thanks
jeff again if i can fix blind where do i get information on how to get the glass apart what is used to seperate the glass thanks
You can’t separate the glass, it’s sealed for energy efficiency. You may be able to order the glass without ordering a new door. To do this you need to figure out what brand it is..usually says on the glass in one of the corners.
Hi Todd!
My question is when I raised the blinds because I love to let the light inside the house(I don’t really do it that often,other times ill just open blinds) but when I raised them as I was sliding them back down they got hung on 1 side.
I played with it sliding the magnet up and down back and forth until it finally slid them back most the way. Now they are hung about 5 inches from the bottom and I just can’t get them down.
Can you take the screws outside the frame of the glass and maybe pull em down that way or am I going to have to get a new blind piece inside there???
I just don’t like having it to where you can see inside my home.
Thanks so much!!
Janet – Unfortunately most of the manufacturers place the blinds inside the sealed panes of glass. That means there’s no way to get to the blinds without messing up the seal.
Thanks Todd…I guess we will have to replace it!!
Thanks so much!! =)
We just moved to our new home and we have 3 sets of pella patio doors with the blinds in them. One day I was opening the blinds – pulling them up – when something inside ‘fell’ and hit the bottom of the inside glass. I concluded that the counter balance magnet slipped to the bottom. I contacted Pella and they told me to do the usual slide the magnet up and down…which I have done many…many times, to no avail. Its pretty sad. I’m guessing I will need to get a new door? I did take the one door off the track and tried to fix it by turning the whole pane upside down…nothing slipped down like I thought it would and things are back to square one!
I’m sure I will have to buy a replacement panel..don’t want to but what are my options?
Sam – I have to concur. Did Pella offer to send anyone out on a service call?