Hi James, I'm sure you've already made your decision by now, but the first thing that came to mind is these are HEAVY!! Difficult for a child or older person to use. And yes twice the cost. I've seen tenants go through six of the vertical louvres (sic?) in a month while others last for 10 years. Imagine the replacement cost of the faux wood blinds. Keep in mind the cost seems to becomes exponential by window size. I've recently seen the distributor we use carry 2 inch slats in metal. Very nice looking. You may be able to find these in a home depot. Similar look at a much lower price. And don't rule out cellular, very nice look. good luck!

I recommend not cutting the string, because the end of the cord will start unraveling. Its difficult to push into the route holes. The factory usually burns the end so it doesn't unravel.

Also, why an the heck are you playing "Bad to the Bone"???? lol Classic and very funny. B)

I found a video on youtube that talks about fixing mini blinds. If you can save some parts of the blinds, then maybe this video will help.



I just want to say that I have done what this video said to do and it works. we will be saving the blind when just a few slats are bad.

I use plastic vertical blinds. They look nice and are easy to wipe clean. I'm not sure but I think mini blinds and wood ones are prohibited where I live for safety reasons.

The entire window covering industry is moving towards Cordless Lift System on Fauxwood Blinds. This child safe feature had always been very expensive. Currently Hunter Douglas and Graber brands both offer the cordless feature. For more information feel free to contact me directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. :woohoo:

I have found over the years there are pros and cons to both-they are:
Mini-blinds- Take into consideration the style of window, slats get bent at window hardware from fumbling to open & close windows, never look the same after no matter how hard you try to bend them back in shape. Nothing worse than looking at a community of mangled window slats
Plastic versions are flexible and more resistant to liquid cleaners.
Wood blinds-fresher look, foam version not durable for the money, Sun damage causes distortion