Best external venetian blinds

[Bramco]

Hi - help needed to find a good supplier of external venetian blinds.

 

We've specced external venetian blinds for 3 large lift and slide doors on the front of our new build - these are south facing and although we're a long way off the road will also give us a bit more privacy.

 

We've seen Warema which look good and there seem to be a few resellers here in the UK but if you look for any of the other continental suppliers like Hella, Alulux, Hunter Douglas etc. they don't seem to have resellers here.

 

@Thorfun I think you said on a different thread that you had Warema - where did you source them and how are they?

 

Has anyone else installed anything  other than Warema? And would you recommend the company you used?

 

Simon

[IanR]

Hunter Douglas used to manage their own UK Install team, but halfway through my order with them (2016/2017) they swapped to using independent Installers in the UK.

 

They passed me on to Interlace Blinds, who did a good job for me. At the time Interlace didn't advertise that they did Hunter Douglas, but at least they do mention them on their website now, even if it's not their blinds that the show on the "External Blinds" page.

 

https://interlaceblinds.com/hunterdouglas/

 

When I researched, only Hunter Douglas did a 5m width in a single span, so I didn't get into too much detail with any of the other blind manufacturers, but I'm very happy with the HD product.

 

Edited to add:

 

22 minutes ago, Bramco said:

We've specced external venetian blinds for 3 large lift and slide doors on the front of our new build - these are south facing and although we're a long way off the road will also give us a bit more privacy.

 

They do need to be considered early, to get them integrated into the the facade and avoid them looking like a retrofit.

Edited May 2, 2021 by IanR

[Bramco]

41 minutes ago, IanR said:

They do need to be considered early, to get them integrated into the the facade and avoid them looking like a retrofit.

 

Thanks Ian. That's been done, although there might be some tweaking depending on which company we use.

 

I'll check out Interlace - thx for the lead.

 

Simon

[Thorfun]

2 hours ago, Bramco said:

I think you said on a different thread that you had Warema - where did you source them and how are they?

I did some research on different brands and ended up deciding on Warema, I then used their website to source local-ish suppliers and got quotes from them. then researched each company and made a choice on that.

 

I can't tell you how they are yet though as we only broke ground a couple of weeks ago. but I'll be happy to review them once they're in, probably about 6 months away.

[Bramco]

Thanks.

 

Simon

[Mr Blobby]

On 02/05/2021 at 13:12, Thorfun said:

I did some research on different brands and ended up deciding on Warema, I then used their website to source local-ish suppliers and got quotes from them. then researched each company and made a choice on that.

 

I can't tell you how they are yet though as we only broke ground a couple of weeks ago. but I'll be happy to review them once they're in, probably about 6 months away.

 

Any update on the Warema blinds?

 

Trying to source windows with external venetian blinds is not easy.  Internorm are clueless. 

Has anyone used Gaulhofer/Roma?  Any other suppliers?

 

[Thorfun]

23 minutes ago, Mr Blobby said:

 

Any update on the Warema blinds?

 

Trying to source windows with external venetian blinds is not easy.  Internorm are clueless. 

Has anyone used Gaulhofer/Roma?  Any other suppliers?

 

yeah. our installer threw a wobbly when I complained that he caused a 6 week delay by sitting on questions from Warema (which put me completely out with regards to the timber cladding, scaffolding, drainage and other follow on trades, not to mention the financial impact that a 6 week delay can have on a build) and he basically told me to find another installer. 

 

so I've found another installer locally to me who offers many external blinds and I'm in the process of getting quotes for them. once I've made a decision on who to go with and got them installed I will update here.

[Bitpipe]

We have Roma blinds and are very happy with them. They came fitted to our Gaulhoffer windows which we sourced from @craig not sure how they sell directly to UK market.

[Thorfun]

4 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

We have Roma blinds and are very happy with them. They came fitted to our Gaulhoffer windows which we sourced from @craig not sure how they sell directly to UK market.

Roma don't sell direct.

 

I had a little rant about it here. 😉

 

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by Thorfun

[Thorfun]

Just now, Thorfun said:

Roma don't.

 

I had a little rant about it here. 😉

 

 

 

but if you're getting Gaulhoffer windows from @craig then go for it! as @Bitpipe has attested to.

[craig]

5 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

Roma don't sell direct.

 

No they don't. They'll tell you to get in touch with me if you contact them.

 

10 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

which we sourced from @craig not sure how they sell directly to UK market.

 

They don't but do technically via ourselves.

[Mr Blobby]

13 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

We have Roma blinds and are very happy with them. They came fitted to our Gaulhoffer windows which we sourced from @craig not sure how they sell directly to UK market.

 

Very interesting. 

Do you have a block cavity build?  If so then did the head unit (140mm > 100mm block) fit flush to the external leaf and the window move into the cavity?

 

[Bitpipe]

Just now, Mr Blobby said:

 

Very interesting. 

Do you have a block cavity build?  If so then did the head unit (140mm > 100mm block) fit flush to the external leaf and the window move into the cavity?

 

 

Timber frame, we specified a void where the blind box sits above the window to achieve a flush effect.

[Thorfun]

9 minutes ago, craig said:

No they don't. They'll tell you to get in touch with me if you contact them.

they didn't even do that when I contacted them and said they didn't have a UK partner. maybe you need to have a word with them? although that was back in July 2020.

[Mr Blobby]

20 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

 

Timber frame, we specified a void where the blind box sits above the window to achieve a flush effect.

 

I think its probably easier to install the blind box in a timber frame as the blind box can be fastened to adjacent timber.

With a block cavity then I guess the blind box would sit under a steel on the external leaf.  The top of the window is of course lower than the top of the blind box so there would be a smaller opening on the inner leaf I think. 

I need to get my head round the construction detail for this and discuss with my architect 🤔 

 

Anyone done this already ?

 

[Mr Blobby]

... or the blind box sits in the cavity with the window within the inner leaf.  Which I think makes more sense.

[craig]

4 minutes ago, Mr Blobby said:

the blind box can be fastened to adjacent timber.

 

Blind box generally isn't attached to anything other than the guide rails, the guide rails being attached to the window frame & shouldn't really need to be attached to anything else.

 

[Mr Blobby]

40 minutes ago, craig said:

 

Blind box generally isn't attached to anything other than the guide rails, the guide rails being attached to the window frame & shouldn't really need to be attached to anything else.

 

 

Thank you @craig. 

 

So is it possible to transpose the above diagram to a (200mm) block cavity? 

If so then the blind box would be inside the cavity supported by the window and the window inside and fastened to the inner leaf (140mm) blockwork? 

 

[craig]

Yeah, basically put the above would be showing the blind on the outer skin behind the external finish.

 

Different boxes existing where you can render over the front face of the box.

 

Edited March 11, 2022 by craig

[Mr Blobby]

On 11/03/2022 at 08:53, craig said:

Yeah, basically put the above would be showing the blind on the outer skin behind the external finish.

 

Different boxes existing where you can render over the front face of the box.

 

 

 

Yes, this is how we will integrate the blind box, into the outer block leaf with the render-able face.  We are looking to increase the  outer leaf to 140mm form 100mm to be same width as blind box. 

 

My architect has specced internal roller blinds on windows with external blinds.  This seems a bit unecessary.  Is there anyone on here with external blinds that has regretted having no internal window shade?

[saveasteading]

14 minutes ago, Mr Blobby said:

anyone on here with external blinds

Not in UK but in Spain where they are a standard product.

They work really well at keeping the sun out, as internal blinds have already let the sun in to the room, and are much less efficient.

It works to some extent on wind (and therefore cold) too.

Curtains then complete the scenario.

 

But these blinds (persianas) are quite primitive and there are draughts through the roller into the room.

 

I have fitted external shutters in UK commercial situation, and they are much better, but it is fairly complex.

 

In summary, yes they work well but check the construction detail and cost before committing..

[jack]

23 minutes ago, Mr Blobby said:

My architect has specced internal roller blinds on windows with external blinds.  This seems a bit unecessary.  Is there anyone on here with external blinds that has regretted having no internal window shade?

 

Absolutely.

 

It depends on the blinds, but the venetian-type external blinds on our windows definitely don't block all light. There are narrow gaps along the edges, and small apertures in the slats themselves where the control cables pass through. Together, these let in a surprising amount of light when the sun is directly on them.

 

I very much regret not building in concealed curtain/blind recesses in the ceilings adjacent at least the bedroom windows in our place. 

 

It might be different if you're looking at external blinds that are true "blockout" blinds. 

[Bitpipe]

24 minutes ago, jack said:

 

Absolutely.

 

It depends on the blinds, but the venetian-type external blinds on our windows definitely don't block all light. There are narrow gaps along the edges, and small apertures in the slats themselves where the control cables pass through. Together, these let in a surprising amount of light when the sun is directly on them.

 

I very much regret not building in concealed curtain/blind recesses in the ceilings adjacent at least the bedroom windows in our place. 

 

It might be different if you're looking at external blinds that are true "blockout" blinds. 

 

While our blinds are a similar design to @jacks they seem fairly good at blocking most light when tilted to max closure, but not complete blackout. Happy to take a pic if that helps.

 

We though that we'd want to recess them completely during the day but in reality they do not move up and down at all, we just adjust the tilt of the blades depending on time of day and strength of sun. You get complete privacy when they're past 50% closure as there's no line of sight at street level (will still let in light as sun is obv. higher in sky).

 

We did not spec blinds to the west as it faces the garden and we didn't think gain was as problematic here, which is true apart from summer when it still makes a difference at 3/4pm.

 

We initially put up a cheap (£10) tensioned wire from Ikea across each of the 4.5m sliders and clipped on hemmed panels of linen fabric (again, Ikea) which were surprisingly effective at blocking light and heat. We've since added some internal Ikea opaque motorised blinds (with the Ikea smart hub) which can be adjusted to any height to manage glare etc. Looking forward to seeing how they do in summer - there is a few cm gap between each one though but we still have the voile to mitigate.

[saveasteading]

33 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

effective at blocking light and heat

Agreed that this appears to happen, but I can't explain the reason. Once the sunlight has entered the room, the energy is inside the room. An internal blind will reflect some light back out again, but most is in and stays in.

Also perhaps the heat builds up between the window and internal blind, and some dissipates out again through the glass.

I think perhaps we just notice that the direct sun is not heating us or surfaces, but the heat is in the room and spreading slowly from the window area.

 

 

[IanR]

2 hours ago, Mr Blobby said:

Is there anyone on here with external blinds that has regretted having no internal window shade?

 

I've got both internal and external blinds.

 

I'm happy the external blinds block out enough light. I only get leaks through the small apertures in the blinds through which the chords run and when the blind is closed the chords (tapes) mostly fill the aperture. But, the blinds need to be lifted in moderate to high winds, so sometimes you need the internal blinds for privacy.