# Cellular blinds stretch a bit, right?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellular-blinds-stretch-a-bit-right/411813>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 15, 2007, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellular-blinds-stretch-a-bit-right/411813 "2007-07-15T01:56:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellular-blinds-stretch-a-bit-right/411813/1 "2007-07-15T01:56:52Z")

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I just about killed myself getting _one_ room darkening cellular shade up on one of my bedroom windows. (The house was built in 1928 and I guess the window frames are made out of extinct old growth petrified wood or something. Jesus!) So I finally get the thing up, and I put it down, and it doesn’t go all the way down! The windows are 65 inches tall and I got the 75 inch blinds - they’ll stretch on their own, right? Right?

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellular-blinds-stretch-a-bit-right/411813/2 "2007-07-15T03:00:47Z")

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Are you saying that you ordered blinds ten inches longer than your windows, and they still don’t reach? Does it look like there’s still more blind bunched together at the bottom? And it’s not enough for the blinds to stretch, the cords have to stretch too.

Yeah, installing blinds in old houses is a real pain. It turns out, none of my windows are actually rectangles.

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**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellular-blinds-stretch-a-bit-right/411813/3 "2007-07-15T03:13:35Z")

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They’re… springy. There’s not extra blind at the top and bottom, but there’s a lot of… spring. I can pull them down very easily.

I said fuck it with the windows and installed everything on the outside, so hopefully it will be REALLY dark. Except, of course, for the three inches of daylight at the bottom.

Bought them off the rack, didn’t order.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellular-blinds-stretch-a-bit-right/411813/4 "2007-07-15T03:26:29Z")

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[QUOTE=Zsofia]  
there’s a lot of… spring. I can pull them down very easily.  
[/QUOTE]  
Sounds like a job for an alligator clip and a lead donut.

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**Author:** ![justpassingthrough](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@justpassingthrough](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justpassingthrough)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellular-blinds-stretch-a-bit-right/411813/5 "2007-07-15T03:36:46Z")

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I installed the blinds at our new house (well, when it _was_ a new house) and called the manufacturer to complain about the bathroom shade that was at least 5 inches too short. I’d measured carefully and every other blind fit beautifully.

Turns out there was another 5 inches of fabric tucked neatly into the bottom rail–all I had to do was gently pull it out.

I hope your shade is as easily fixed.