a 'what blinds' thread
Discussion
ambuletz said:
The best i could do with the lighting at this time of day (no i don't live in purgatory, or the hyperbolic time chamber in dragoball z)
I've done that with the curtain so you can get a clearer view of everything. (to be honest sometimes i do that so i can get all the light into the room too, and look out the window)
You want a pitch black bedroom this works. A roller blind with blackout curtains. Oh, and get some new curtain hooks and dress your curtains properly, no wonder they look untidy I've done that with the curtain so you can get a clearer view of everything. (to be honest sometimes i do that so i can get all the light into the room too, and look out the window)
Shuvi McTupya said:
Do you live in a convenience store? I have only really come across domestic metal roller blinds on the continent!
I have a ski apartment that has them - so when I renovated my house I decided to fit them,I have new windows with integral venetian blinds - between the panes of glass (no dust) burt they don't go completely dark.
The bedroom ones were relatively cheap - the ones on the patio doors cost a bit more....
I've got vertical blinds in a few windows, which work well, except I need to replace the weights at the bottom, I get the ones on Ebay etc, but they seem to be made of chocolate and where you clip in the chain that snaps off if you even look at it hard. (seem to be made of some sort of brittle weighted resin)
I don't suppose anyone here knows of any replacements that are not like this, yet don't cost the earth.
I don't suppose anyone here knows of any replacements that are not like this, yet don't cost the earth.
I've got one of these in my home office / small bedroom. Seems to work really well and easy to fit.
https://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/duo-blinds/19995/duos...
https://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/duo-blinds/19995/duos...
IanA2 said:
My sleep mask post was actually quite serious. We had almost committed to some very expensive plantation shutters and blinds as a solution, when SWMBO suggested a mask. Worked a treat, and cost a lot lot lot less....
Yes but the neighbours can still see you w
king when you wear it.
Shuvi McTupya said:
IanA2 said:
My sleep mask post was actually quite serious. We had almost committed to some very expensive plantation shutters and blinds as a solution, when SWMBO suggested a mask. Worked a treat, and cost a lot lot lot less....
Yes but the neighbours can still see you wking when you wear it.C2Red said:
They look like a very neat solution, I haven't seen them before.Anyone have a rough idea of the cost of fitting blinds (in London)?
Will probably be looking for about half a dozen black out / roller all average height with 1 at c. 4m wide, another at c. 2.5m, 1 at c. 1.8 and and 2 at about 1m and potentially something floor to ceiling at about 5m.
Will probably be looking for about half a dozen black out / roller all average height with 1 at c. 4m wide, another at c. 2.5m, 1 at c. 1.8 and and 2 at about 1m and potentially something floor to ceiling at about 5m.
To the OP, I'd avoid a roller on a window with those proportions. Can be done but it would end up being a pretty thick tube for that width, so the roll will look pretty chunky even though the actual drop of the window isn't that big. Over time, the tube will start to sag.
I'd consider a blackout cellular pleated blind maybe. You could get one large one that covers the entire recess, either on the outer wall face or within the recess, although this latter solution would let some light in around the sides. They are lightweight, and can be pretty cheap. The cellular fabric is supposed to have insulating properties due to the air within the cells forming a thermal barrier but I'd take that with a pinch of salt. The blackout fabric has a foil lining at the rear, but on the inside of the cells, to reflect heat from the sun.
Most will be operated via draw cord. If I remember back to my days of designing window blinds, I think there was someone making venetian and pleated blinds with a spring winder up in the headrail so you could raise and lower them much like a projector screen and do away with the draw cord. I think Ikea might even do ones like these now but I don't think they have black out fabric.
Tensioned versions are available too, but that would require an individual blind for each pane of glass and for them to be made to measure - you'd need a blind fitter to come out. They tuck in under the window bead gasket, so would mean no drilling. The ones I designed were called Intu - might be worth a google to find a stockist, but they are pricey. Someone earlier mentioned Perfect Fit - same thing - much of a muchness.
EDIT - looking at your window again, I'd say its not suitable for Intu or Perfect Fit tensioned blinds - the way the frame and bead has been done for the upper centre window would prevent them being fitted on the lower centre window. The window furniture on the side ones might be a problem too.
I'd consider a blackout cellular pleated blind maybe. You could get one large one that covers the entire recess, either on the outer wall face or within the recess, although this latter solution would let some light in around the sides. They are lightweight, and can be pretty cheap. The cellular fabric is supposed to have insulating properties due to the air within the cells forming a thermal barrier but I'd take that with a pinch of salt. The blackout fabric has a foil lining at the rear, but on the inside of the cells, to reflect heat from the sun.
Most will be operated via draw cord. If I remember back to my days of designing window blinds, I think there was someone making venetian and pleated blinds with a spring winder up in the headrail so you could raise and lower them much like a projector screen and do away with the draw cord. I think Ikea might even do ones like these now but I don't think they have black out fabric.
Tensioned versions are available too, but that would require an individual blind for each pane of glass and for them to be made to measure - you'd need a blind fitter to come out. They tuck in under the window bead gasket, so would mean no drilling. The ones I designed were called Intu - might be worth a google to find a stockist, but they are pricey. Someone earlier mentioned Perfect Fit - same thing - much of a muchness.
EDIT - looking at your window again, I'd say its not suitable for Intu or Perfect Fit tensioned blinds - the way the frame and bead has been done for the upper centre window would prevent them being fitted on the lower centre window. The window furniture on the side ones might be a problem too.
Edited by Wrathalanche on Friday 17th May 08:42
techguyone said:
I've got vertical blinds in a few windows, which work well, except I need to replace the weights at the bottom, I get the ones on Ebay etc, but they seem to be made of chocolate and where you clip in the chain that snaps off if you even look at it hard. (seem to be made of some sort of brittle weighted resin)
I don't suppose anyone here knows of any replacements that are not like this, yet don't cost the earth.
Yeah this was one of the weirdest things when I designed blinds. Louvre weights seemed so sI don't suppose anyone here knows of any replacements that are not like this, yet don't cost the earth.
t but we sold absolutely tonnes of them, as you'd expect, and each weight had a REALLY tight weight tolerance at our QC dept. I guess if its too light, one of the louvres might lift it up a little thanks to the memory in the fabric from when it was rolled or something, which would take it out of alignment with the rest. The reason for the resin material was two-fold: I think they tend to be a plastic/barium mix (casting my mind back ten years here so could be wrong on the additive element) so they can achieve a really high density allowing a good balance of weight to overall size, and secondly, the resinous material could be easily tuned after moulding if they came in over weight (it was easy to 'scrape' away excess material in a couple of spots during the process.All plastic will go brittle when exposed to UV for long periods of time, but anything used in windows should be UV treated. I still had the same experiences with the weights though, but it was usually actually down to how the little bars for clipping the chain too were formed in the mould, rather than just the inherent brittleness in the material choice.
Can't actually believe how much I remember about window blinds, despite me now working on much more interesting stuff (rescue and stealth submarines!).
just fitted two bedrooms with these
easy to fit, great service from company
https://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/perfect-fit
easy to fit, great service from company
https://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/perfect-fit
techguyone said:
I've got vertical blinds in a few windows, which work well, except I need to replace the weights at the bottom, I get the ones on Ebay etc, but they seem to be made of chocolate and where you clip in the chain that snaps off if you even look at it hard. (seem to be made of some sort of brittle weighted resin)
I don't suppose anyone here knows of any replacements that are not like this, yet don't cost the earth.
Mail me through my profile and I’ll sort you some out, chain as well .I don't suppose anyone here knows of any replacements that are not like this, yet don't cost the earth.
2years on....I haven't gotten the blinds! (sorry). But I feel more commmited to sorting it out now as I'm getting a little fed up of having light in my room at 5am.
It doesn't need to be 100% blackout, it's still going to do a better job than my curtains (whicb as you can see are beige, and thin).
I think I would like normal venetian blinds as during sunlight I can have them down, but angled so that the light coming in goes to the ceiling.
I've measured the recess (the brown painted area around the inside) and at various points it's 52-54mm. I think its safe to say 50mm all round.
Length of the white shelf (the longer outisde part of it) is 6foot exact/183mm
Length of white shelf (inside, from one side of the wall to the other) 177mm)
Vertical length of recess, 103cm.
Distance from top of recess to curtain rail brackets - 40mm
[/b]My questions[/b]
Q:Am I better to buy blinds to fit the recess?or ones that fit over the outside? (and on the actual wall). is 40mm (maybe less considering the thickness of the rail) ample space to fit the blinds there, without having to remove the rail?
Q: Are longer blades better than shorter ones? By that I mean the blade depth, which if longer means you have fewer blades. which would make it easier for you to look out of?
I would ideally love to have just the blinds. No curtains.
It doesn't need to be 100% blackout, it's still going to do a better job than my curtains (whicb as you can see are beige, and thin).
I think I would like normal venetian blinds as during sunlight I can have them down, but angled so that the light coming in goes to the ceiling.
I've measured the recess (the brown painted area around the inside) and at various points it's 52-54mm. I think its safe to say 50mm all round.
Length of the white shelf (the longer outisde part of it) is 6foot exact/183mm
Length of white shelf (inside, from one side of the wall to the other) 177mm)
Vertical length of recess, 103cm.
Distance from top of recess to curtain rail brackets - 40mm
[/b]My questions[/b]
Q:Am I better to buy blinds to fit the recess?or ones that fit over the outside? (and on the actual wall). is 40mm (maybe less considering the thickness of the rail) ample space to fit the blinds there, without having to remove the rail?
Q: Are longer blades better than shorter ones? By that I mean the blade depth, which if longer means you have fewer blades. which would make it easier for you to look out of?
I would ideally love to have just the blinds. No curtains.
Edited by ambuletz on Sunday 2nd May 14:02
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