How To Install Enclosed Door Blinds for your Entryway

One of the best upgrades you can make to your door is by adding Enclosed Blinds. These blinds are in-between the glass panels which offers many benefits over traditional door blinds. We’ve helped homeowners across the country transform their doors with blinds between glass and the results are amazing. What is even better yet is how easy it is to do this project yourself. We of course offer our world class installation service for installing glass, but if you’re outside the coverage zone or you just love DIY projects, you can tackle this on your own in less than an hour. Take a look at our guide on how easy it is to install Enclosed Blinds from ODL.

1. Remove The Old Glass

First you will want to remove the inside frame. To do this, you’ll need to use a tool to get the screw hole covers off, then a screw driver to remove the screws from the frame.

It’s also recommended to have a helping hand stand on the other side of the glass for safety purposes. It’s unlikely the glass will fall, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

It’s more likely that the inner frame is stuck on the door pretty strong. To help with this, you can apply painters tape to the surface of the door surrounding the otter part of the frame. Then by spraying window cleaner to the outside part of the frame, it can help loosen up any paint or caulk holding the frame in place.

If you need to get more aggressive with it, you can use a utility knife or putty knife to wedge between the outside edge of the frame and the door itself.

After you get the inner frame lose from the door, it will snap out from the glass insert. Make sure your helper is holding the glass up from the other side of the door during this part. The glass insert will come out from the outside of the door.

You might need to use some of the same tactics to loosen the frame from the door on the outside of the door as well.

Once the glass is out of the door, use your utility knife to clean off the surface of the door to prep the new Enclosed Blinds insert to be installed.

2. Install the New Enclosed Blinds

Now that your old glass is removed and the surface is clean, you’re ready to pop in the new Enclosed Blinds insert. The good news is that installing the new glass is even easier than removing the old glass.

First you’ll take the glass which has the outer frame attached and place this into the opening in your door. You’ll want to place it in the opening from the exterior of your door. The reason why is because you want your interior frame to be the one where you install the screws (we wouldn’t want to give people outside your home the ability to remove your door glass).

Get your new Enclosed Blind insert in place and level with your entryway. Use a level if necessary.

Next, you’ll want to snap the inner frame into place from the interior of your home. You’ll notice channels in the interior frame that will align into openings in the exterior frame. By lining these up, you’ll be able to snap the two frames together.

After snapping them together, you’ll want to use the provided screws and your screwdriver to secure the two frames, and your glass, into place. Take this part slow and don’t over-tighten the screws. Try to tighten them evenly around the frame instead of fully tightening them all on one side first. This helps keep the glass level and also allows the frame’s seal to compress against the door evenly.

Polish off the installation by installing the new screw hole covers and cleaning off your glass with your favorite window cleaner.

This is a good point to remove the safety mechanisms from the blin operators and test your new blinds. If for some reason your blinds are not operating smoothly, give it a day or so for the air pressure on the inside of the glass to regulate and try again. Sometimes the glass can have small fluctuations in the beginning as it adapts to your atmospheric pressure.

If you want further proof that the installation is as easy as these 2 steps, checkout our installation video on how to replace your existing glass with Enclosed Blinds.

If your door doesn’t have glass in it today, you can also add Enclosed Blinds to your existing solid door. This is a great option for those looking to get extra sunlight into their entryway while still having total control over your privacy. The benefits are endless.