Duette Vertiglide™ shades are a perfect solution for your customers looking for an alternative to vertical blinds on patio doors and other large openings. Vertiglide shades use Duette fabric in a vertical orientation that stacks in just six inches on a one-way draw or six inches per side on a split draw — even on shades as wide as fourteen feet!  Your customers love the smooth performance and great look Vertiglide provides.  Here's a way to make sure they are set at the proper tension when installed and an easy way to show your customers how to reset the tension on the rare occasion there is a need to adjust the shade after installation.

Here's a look at all of the components of a typical One-way stack Vertiglide shade.  As you can see, there really aren't any complicated parts.  That's why it usually installs in 15 minutes or less.  The component we're looking at is the cord tensioner, highlighted in red.

Tensioner Placement

Vertiglide shades that stack to the left and split draw Vertiglide shades that stack both to the right and left will have one tensioner, which fits into a channel within the headrail from the right.  For Vertiglide Shades that stack to the right, the tensioner is placed from the left.

The tensioner will only fit into the channel in the correct position, so there is no need to worry about getting it set incorrectly.  When the tensioner is in place, it can be held between your finger and thumb and moved freely along the width of the headrail.  To make it easier to see, these pictures show the tensioner without the fabric in place.  When the fabric is in place it is just as easy to reach.  When assembling the Vertiglide, the tension is set loosely until the shade is set into the window.

Setting The Tension

Once the shade is in place, the tension must be set.  If you do not set the tension the shade will not operate properly.  When new, an tensioned Vertiglide shade without tension will "pull itself" toward the stacked position. After it has been drawn across the window for a while, it may attempt to do the opposite and "push itself into a drawn position.  Either way, your customer will be prevented from stopping the shade effortlessly in any position across the window.  That's what the tensioning does.  To set the tension, push the tensioner with your index finger across the shade until it is taut (toward the stack on one-way shades, toward the left on a split draw). 

Once it is taut, hold the tensioner between your index finger and thumb and pull it about six inches further toward the stack.  This should be just about right with most fabrics.  To test the tension, draw the shade across the window until the magnetic catch is engaged.  Release it from the magnet.  The shade should move back slightly from the magnet and hold itself in position.  The shade should move easily along the track and stop at any position in between, you may want to add a little more tension in some windows and with some fabrics (particularly opaque fabrics).  It would be unlikely to need less tension. This setting holds Vertiglide shades reliably. 

Servicing:

Spending a few minutes with the proud new owner of the Vertiglide shade to show them how the tension is set will eliminate the  need for service calls later.  On the rare occasion that tension is released it is easy to reset by the owner of the product with no need for a service call.  With these settings upon installation, it's unlikely that a tension problem will ever be called to your attention.

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