How do you remove an interior valance?

Wetstuff · 03-17-2018, 01:37 PM

2002 Sightseer — it needs some refreshing. One plan is to do away with all the upholstered valances over windows, doors, etc. ...to be replaced with a matching wood valance or self-contained shades.

Often my response, when something is not obvious, is to call for a larger hammer, but this deserves another approach. I assume this is old ground for one of you and hopefully, you will be happy to share your knowledge.

Thanks. Jim

workinrvers · 03-17-2018, 04:15 PM

ours was mounted to the wall with "L" brackets. Need to be part contortionist to remove some of the screws though LOL. We took ours down and attached new material in a color that was pleasing to us, not too hard a project.

BobC · 03-17-2018, 04:28 PM

I just went through this with my 2002 Suncruiser, but mine had the night/day shades. However the basics should be the same.

There were screws holding the shades to the top inside of the valance in addition to a clip. Your blinds may just be secured with clips which will probably need to be removed once the blinds are down.

The valances, except for some obvious L brackets near the bottom of the vertical pieces, are secured with several screws up into the bottom of the overhead cabinets. They may be hidden in the weave of the fabric so you'll have to probe around for them. In most cases I was able to see one or two of them which gave me an idea where the others might be. One of your's looks like it's mounted to the ceiling. It may be screwed up into the ceiling.

Probing with a putty knife or other thin blade should tell you where the screws are.

An electric screwdriver or drill with a long Phillips bit is the easiest way to get them down. When I re-install mine, I'm thinking of mounting the shades to the valances first and then mounting the valances with screws from the inside of the overhead cabinets down into the tops of the valences.

Wetstuff · 03-18-2018, 09:58 AM

Thanks, Folks... I am a big fan of magnets; I'll go on the hunt for screws. My wife is a fan of a 'plain-n-clean' look, so I need to get these all off and do a full interior repaint before we re-hang something. I'll report back. Cheers.

Jim

Jim_HiTek · 03-18-2018, 01:16 PM

Mine are also Day/Nite shades and the shade assembly is screwed into the bottom of the valance as well has clipped into a plastic clip. The valance in turn is screwed to the bottom of overhead cabinets OR in the case of valances without an overhead cabinet, there are L brackets the valance is screwed to which in turn are screwed to the wall.

I would also recommend a 6" long Phillips screw driver for your battery drill to make the job easier. Find the screw with a magnet, make a mark with a marking pen on the valance where you can see it, blind center your drill bit at a screw position lining up with the mark, and zip, done.

It really helps getting the furniture as much out of the way as possible.

workinrvers · 03-18-2018, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

Mine are also Day/Nite shades and the shade assembly is screwed into the bottom of the valance as well has clipped into a plastic clip. The valance in turn is screwed to the bottom of overhead cabinets OR in the case of valances without an overhead cabinet, there are L brackets the valance is screwed to which in turn are screwed to the wall.

I would also recommend a 6" long Phillips screw driver for your battery drill to make the job easier. Find the screw with a magnet, make a mark with a marking pen on the valance where you can see it, blind center your drill bit at a screw position lining up with the mark, and zip, done.

It really helps getting the furniture as much out of the way as possible.

forgot about the upper screws mounted to the cabinets, not sure how because those were the hardest to find and remove!

We replaced our day night shades (with those stupid strings!) with Carefree Convertible blinds from Lowes (NO more broken strings!

).

Wetstuff · 03-19-2018, 10:40 AM

Good one... 'A new tool is something I can do!' Thanks.

Jim

Wetstuff · 03-24-2018, 02:55 PM

I won Round #1. I had to use my 'Hand me a bigger hammer' tactic... and bust the ends of the valance to see better, but still didn't see much.

Once I got the movable portion of the shade off .. I removed the end mounts but still didn't have a clear vision of what was holding the valance to the cabinet above? Of course, dumbass did not bring out his magnets, but I somehow stumbled into the two screws fixing the valance in place. They simply drove two screws thru the upholstery - they had gone into hiding.

Hopefully, the pictures describe it better. (I am a visual person) Cheers.

Jim

firemama · 04-29-2018, 06:12 PM

I have a valance delimma that I am hoping someone out there can help me with! I have had no problem removing the obvious mounted valances. My issue is with the very large valance over my flat screen TV in our Sightseer 33 (2011). Unlike the others, it appears to be attached differently. It is not "L" shaped as the others. This one seems to be flat attached to lumber. What is weird, is there are no obvious screws! Nicely wrapped and upholstered. But I can't figure out how they put it up! PLEASE HELP if you have the answer!!

Wetstuff · 04-30-2018, 06:57 AM

I don't know specifically F-M, but if it is not offset like mine, it may simply be held on with brads shot with a pneumatic gun. That's what they did on that 'sunrise headboard' on the back room. I got that off real fast.

If you post a picture, maybe someone will have an idea.

Jim

BobC · 04-30-2018, 08:41 AM

If you have access, slide a thin blade between the valance and "lumber" to see where it's being held. If it is held by nails, staples or screws, you can probably cut them with a hacksaw blade. The same goes for double-sided mounting tape. Assuming you're going to re-install the valance, any scarring will be covered.

If it's held by nails or staples, gentle prying may also work.

RzRzRzR · 05-01-2018, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by workinrvers

We replaced our day night shades (with those stupid strings!) with Carefree Convertible blinds from Lowes (NO more broken strings!

Do you have a part number or link to those?

BobC · 05-01-2018, 09:58 AM

The Day Night shades in our 2002 Suncruiser were pretty grungy and we were going to replace them until my wife found some online posts about washing them. After I removed the shades, she sprayed them with Clorox Clean-Up Bleach Cleaner and then rinsed them well in the tub/shower. We stood them on end to drain for a while and then sun-dried them. Some stains were still visible while they were wet but they all looked great after they were dry.

I broke the strings in one when re-installing them so I still have some work to do.

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