Roller shutter belt is torn - change in 12 steps
- Material and tools
- Replacement roller shutter belt in 12 steps
- Change belt without opening roller shutter box
- Possible difficulties
Roller shutter belts wear off over time and can tear. In this case, an exchange is necessary, which can be carried out in a few steps. Read about the materials and tools you need, how the change works and what special features to look out for.
Due to the daily use as well as the appearance of aging material fatigue occurs on the belt. The tape is getting thinner and thinner until it finally breaks. If you notice that there is a risk of tearing, then you can also replace the roller shutter as a precautionary measure to prevent the roller shutter from dropping uncontrollably and quickly when the belt tears. On the other hand, if the roller shutter belt is in a good condition overall and the damage is limited to a single point, then it can be repaired without having to open the box.
Material and tools
You need these materials and tools:
- new roller shutter belt
- Knife for cutting through the belt
- Folding rule or measuring tape for measuring the belt
- screwdriver
You can determine the required length of the roller shutter belt by either measuring the old belt or calculating the value. In the latter case, multiply the height of the window by 2.5 and thus obtain the optimum length for the new belt.
Tip: In the trade belts are offered in different lengths and widths. The width must match the width of the old belt, the length can be shortened if necessary. If you need to replace several roller shutter straps, you can also buy by the meter and cut off the required length.
Replacement roller shutter belt in 12 steps
Step 1:
To replace the roller shutter, the roller shutter must be in the lowered position and the belt must be severed. If the strap is already torn, then you can skip this step. Otherwise, let the blind go down and then cut the strap.
Step 2:
Next you have to open the lid of the roller shutter box. This is located above the window and can be opened either from the inside or from the outside. There are different types of roller shutters and prefabricated roller shutters. If it is a top roller shutter, then the box is accessible from the inside. Prefabricated blinds, however, are opened from the outside. You must be careful not to damage the box. The cover may be fixed with screws, for example. If the cover has been covered with wallpaper, make sure you have loosened all screws before removing the cover.
Tip: Lightly tap the wall above the window with the back of a screwdriver. You can tell by the sound whether the roller shutter box, the house wall or screws are located here. The lid of the roller shutter box usually protrudes a few centimeters beyond the lateral edge of the window vertical.
If the box is opened from the inside, then the lid can both be on the wall above the window in a direction parallel to the window or it can be mounted directly above the window in the vertical direction. Here, the individual designs differ.
Step 3:
In the third step, the roller shutter must be unhooked or unscrewed. Here, the individual construction forms differ. If the roller shutter is hung on a steel axle, then it can usually be unhooked in a few simple steps. In other designs, the roller shutter can also be screwed to a wood shaft.
Step 4:
After unscrewing or unhooking the roller shutter, remove the belt remnants from the glass.
Step 5:
In the fifth step, attach the new roller shutter belt to the window. It is important that the belt has the correct length. By the meter you can cut with a sharp knife so that you can choose the right length here.
Tip: Since the roller shutter straps in a household are generally the same age and exposed to the same loads, it often happens that damage to various straps occur within a short time. By the meter is usually cheaper than the corresponding number of meters in single packs. Therefore, it is often worth buying by the meter in stock.
Step 6:
Next you have to fix the roller shutter again. To do so, proceed in the same way as in step 3: either hang the roller shutter or screw it tight.
Step 7:
In the next step, the box of the rewinder must be opened. This is located at the bottom of the window. The box can either be flush mounted or screwed to the wall. Thus, it can be easily accessible or screwing turns out to be more complex.
Tip: Often the belt twists and must therefore be "untwisted" in this step.
Step 8:
After you had cut off the belt in the first step or after the belt is torn, a part of the belt has retreated into the box. Now you have to remove the strap completely. Here, too, the different forms of construction differ. Thus, the roller shutter belt can be hung, clamped or screwed. You have to be careful, because the drum of the Gurtwicklers is under tension. If the belt is removed, then this voltage is released. Carefully give the belt drum clearance, releasing the tension and releasing the spring lock.
Step 9:
In this step, you will execute several small substeps. First of all, thread the roller shutter belt under the brake flap. Then wrap the belt once around the drum. Now you hang the roller shutter belt.
Step 10:
Press the spring tension again. Now the Gurtwickler winds up the excess belt automatically without further help.
Step 11:
Close the box on the rewinder again and check whether the belt really has the right length. To do this, operate the blind. If you find that the strap is too long, repeat steps 7 through 10 with a shortened strap.
Step 12:
Close the shutter box. In some cases possible: replace the belt without having to open the roller shutter box.
Change belt without opening roller shutter box
The roller shutter box must be opened in the procedure described above to hang the new belt can. If the belt is torn, then the belt is usually in the box zurückgeschnellt and thus no longer tangible. However, if this is not the case, then the roller shutter belt can also be repaired without having to open the upper box. However, in this case, part of the old belt remains in the system. Proceed as follows:
- Unscrew the stoppers on the roller shutter. They prevent the roller shutter from being fully inserted into the box. To be able to repair the belt without opening the box, however, the shutter must be able to be fully retracted.
- Attach a sturdy rope to the bottom of the roller shutter. This serves to be able to pull the shutter later without pressing the belt back out of the box.
- Pull the roller shutter all the way up until the shutter has wrapped around the shaft and remains in the upper position. It is important that the rope always remains taut.
- Cut through the roller shutter belt. It is important that you keep the strap at the upper part so that it can not retract into the roller shutter box.
Connect roller shutter belt - Now connect the new belt with the old belt. For this purpose, commercially available fasteners are offered. If these are not at hand, then the two ends can also be knotted. To do this, cut a slot in the old strap that is at least as long as the strap is wide. Through this slot you now thread the new belt. Now also cut a slot in one end of the new strap and insert the other end of the new strap through this slot. If you then pull the connection taut, a node has emerged. Now you have to press the knot flat so that it can later be pulled through the openings of the roller shutter box.
- Now pull on the rope to pull the roller shutter out of the box again. It is important that you tighten the belt and hold tight.
- Measure the correct length for the belt. Since a part of the old belt is used again in this case, not the entire roller shutter belt is needed. To measure, pull the belt down tight. He should protrude about 40 cm above the belt brake down. Cut it off at this point with a sharp knife.
- Open the rewinder box and remove the old belt.
- Attach the new belt in the rewinder box and close the box again.
- Finally, the stoppers are attached to the roller shutter again.
Possible difficulties
Often difficulties arise when opening and closing the roller shutter box. Especially if the lid is covered with a wallpaper, plaster was placed over the lid or it was even covered with tiles.
Case 1: Wallpaper over the shutter box
In this case, you first have to determine exactly where the roller shutter box is located. If you run your finger over the suspected places, the transitions are usually easy to track down. Then, at the transition between the box and the wall, lightly scratch the wallpaper so that it does not tear when the cover is removed. As a result, you later have to repaint an area as small as possible, or you will succeed in avoiding the transitions.
Tip: If you are repainting a room, make sure that the roller shutter box is easily accessible and that as little as possible the wallpaper is damaged when it is opened.
Case 2: plaster over the roller shutter box
Again, you can easily scratch the transitions. However, it often comes in this case to cancel individual pieces. If this causes holes in the plaster, the box must be plastered again. Smaller pieces can often be re-glued with color matching acrylic. Here comes the approach to the individual case.
Case 3: tiles over roller shutter box
In some cases, when tiling the bathroom, the roller shutter box lid was also covered with tiles. In this case, the procedure is a little more complicated, but also possible. Using an electric cutter, scratch the joints and carefully remove the tiles. If this succeeds, then the same tiles can be re-attached later. If they break, on the other hand, either new tiles must be installed or you decide on a color-coordinated roller shutter cover. The latter is offered commercially and is made of plastic. It allows quick access to the box.
Tips for quick readers:
- if still intact, cut strap
- Open roller shutter box
- Unhook or unscrew blinds
- Remove belt remainders from the glass
- Hook in new roller shutter belt
- Hang or screw shutters back on again
- Open the box of the rewinder
- Remove or remove belt
- Thread new belt
- Wrap belt around the drum
- Hook in the belt
- Close the rewinder box
- Test blinds, shorten strap if necessary
