Tilt and turn inward opening windows - how to dress them?!

[readiescards]

I remain very happy with the quality and wind proofness of my Internorm triple glazed windows but we are just being to realize what a pain inward tilt and inward opening windows are going to be w.r.t to curtain and blind installation. 

 

Anyone got tilt and turn windows and if so how did you/do you plan to dress them? 

[IanR]

I've not got around to dressing them yet but plan to mostly put blinds across the face of the opening, rather than within the reveal. 

 

We've positioned ours so that when tilted, the sash does not protrude beyond the plane of the inner wall so that they can be left tilted when blinds are closed. 

[le-cerveau]

We got around one of the problems by specifying (yet to be fitted) the Internorm windows with integral blinds, so we just have the curtain dressing issue.  This was partly because, 1, we like the idea of integrated blinds that don't collect dust and 2, at the flat we owned (now sold) it had tilt and turn windows and we had the same issue.  The kitchen window we fitted the blind across the whole opening (and above so the window could be tilted and turned.  Also the curtain poles were significantly longer than usual to ensure that the whole curtain could be pulled clear of the window.

[Ferdinand]

Interesting. My Little Brown Bungalow has mainly tilt and turn windows from decades ago. 

 

Options, which probably does not help much. All look like compromises to me, except for the ones that need to be done first. I would not want to be drilling holes in my new window frames.

 

1 - Do it on the face of the wall.

2 - Do it on the outside (assuming inwards opening) eg electric security roller blinds.

3 - Have the curtain (or whatever) going from the *hinge* side (and have space for the track above the opening - thick frame?). And accept the compromise on opening. I guess one could have a shallow blind in the reveal which fits in the line of the top frame.

4 - Attach it to the window itself - blind inside the window or attached to the frame, opening with it.

5 - Privacy film on the glass, or one of those LCD windows which goes dark at the touch of a switch. (*)

 

Wildcard: is there perhaps a possibility of attaching something light to the frame using surface mount glue-free hooks or fittings?

 

I think I would be doing it on the face of the wall.

 

Ferdinand

 

(*) Is there something to be said for attaching these to solar panels so they go dark with the lack of light.

 

Edited May 4, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Bitpipe]

We went for venetian style external blinds for the street facing windows (East) that recess into the lintel so are invisible when retreated - that said, they're down most of the time for privacy and solar control, still let in loads of light when horizontal.

 

Need a solution for one south window and the rear (west) sliders that are allowing more glare than we anticipated - looking for a low profile external roller blind that is solar powered.

 

For the rear bedrooms we just put curtains on a pole across the reveal like IanR.

 

Have to say, they are rarely opened apart from cleaning - a tilt is about as much as they ever get.

[Mikey_1980]

We have had some roman blinds made up for a couple of the windows, and some curtains on poles which should be installed in a couple of weeks, so will post a picture.  The most fun has been trying to come up with a solution for our massive bedroom glazed gable, we'll see what that looks like in a couple of weeks.

[Ferdinand]

Aside: Is this implying that this needs to be considered at design / specification stage?

[Bitpipe]

13 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

Aside: Is this implying that this needs to be considered at design / specification stage?

 

If you want integrated external blinds then yes - you'll need to make an allowance in the frame / external wall to house the blind head, and make provision for power and control.

 

We did this for the front 5 windows and they look amazing and are highly effective at reducing solar gain plus give privacy without compromising natural light. Did similar for the front four Velux windows and two on the south facing utility (using their external roller shutter, controlled through the same Inegra panel as the windows themselves). For the rear Velux we just used internal manual Velux blinds as they are accessible.

 

Omitted to similarly spec the single south facing kitchen window (which we thought would not get that much direct sun due to neighbours gable, but it gets plenty when the sun is low) and it still irks me.

 

Would probably not have been practical for the two 4.5m sliders at the west/rear but still get evening glare so either need an internal voile or simple external blind (would need to be solar / battery powered as I haven't made any provision for power.

 

Even for internal blinds, if they are to be powered then you should make provision, same goes if you want them to be recessed.

[jack]

23 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

Aside: Is this implying that this needs to be considered at design / specification stage?

 

Yes!  Especially if you intend, as we did, to have a sleek modern look to your rooms.  We made the mistake of believing that our external venetian blinds would avoid the need for other window coverings.  We were wrong.  They let light through the holes in the slats (for the control/support tapes) and side gaps, which means the rooms aren't properly dark in the evenings or mornings during the summer months.

 

Had we known about this, we'd have left more space in the recess above each window to allow for recessed window coverings.  

 

At the moment, we're trying to choose whether to attach window coverings to the windows themselves or go for coverings that cover the entire window and reveal.  The former approach brings all sorts of complications with added weight and clutter.  With the latter approach, we can either mount something like roman blinds to the wall above the reveal, or run ceiling mounted tracks for curtains.  We aren't big fans of curtains, so roman blinds are currently the lead choice.

[Barney12]

25 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

 

If you want integrated external blinds then yes - you'll need to make an allowance in the frame / external wall to house the blind head, and make provision for power and control.

 

We did this for the front 5 windows and they look amazing and are highly effective at reducing solar gain plus give privacy without compromising natural light. Did similar for the front four Velux windows and two on the south facing utility (using their external roller shutter, controlled through the same Inegra panel as the windows themselves). For the rear Velux we just used internal manual Velux blinds as they are accessible.

 

Omitted to similarly spec the single south facing kitchen window (which we thought would not get that much direct sun due to neighbours gable, but it gets plenty when the sun is low) and it still irks me.

 

Would probably not have been practical for the two 4.5m sliders at the west/rear but still get evening glare so either need an internal voile or simple external blind (would need to be solar / battery powered as I haven't made any provision for power.

 

Even for internal blinds, if they are to be powered then you should make provision, same goes if you want them to be recessed.

 

Which external blinds did you use out of interest?

[Bitpipe]

They are Roma blinds, but were supplied through Gaulhofer and arrived pre-fitted to the appropriate window units which made installation a breeze. MBC made allowance for the blind head in the wall so that when fitted it was flush (windows were recessed about 100mm into the frame). We then rendered over the top and you'd never know they were there when retracted.

 

There is a 4 core 240v control cable that our electrician wired to a fused spur with latching rocker switch in each room next to the light switch. The blinds have a pre-programmed auto stop (up and down) and you control the angle by reversing the direction of travel of the blind.

 

They do a wireless remote control but this needs to be specced from the outset as it's a different internal motor.

 

Very pleased with them. Interestingly, we kept them 'up' for a long time until we had power to test them and then realised that the blinds themselves were not the correct colour. 

 

Our supplier arranged replacement of the slats and the installer was able to swap each set out in about 30 mins each - so although the head is permanently fixed in the cavity above the window, the entire blind mechanism, motor and all is accessible and serviceable.

 

Have given serious though to retro fitting one on the troublesome south kitchen window but I think it would be a messy job. 

 

 

[JanetE]

We have the same windows and I intend to put roman blinds on the short windows and curtains on the long windows sitting outside the reveal in the living room/bedrooms. Woodslat/metal Venetians sitting just inside the reveal on most of the other windows.  We do have 60% reveals on our window openings.

Vertical blinds are a practical choice on large windows if you like them, you can also get wide flat panels (called Japanese panel blinds) Ikea do some, which slide over each other now a bit like verticals which can also look good.

Edited May 4, 2017 by JanetE

[AliG]

In some rooms we are having channels in the edge of the ceiling so that curtain track can be mounted invisibly and then curtains can be drawn back to the corners of the room so they would not interfere with the windows. It is something I have seen in some show homes recently which seems a good solution as curtain tracks are unsightly, but the pelmets we have in the current house would look old fashioned in the new one.

 

You could also mount blinds invisibly in the space so that when they are up you cannot see them at all and they won't snag the windows.

 

 

[jack]

30 minutes ago, AliG said:

In some rooms we are having channels in the edge of the ceiling so that curtain track can be mounted invisibly and then curtains can be drawn back to the corners of the room so they would not interfere with the windows. It is something I have seen in some show homes recently which seems a good solution as curtain tracks are unsightly, but the pelmets we have in the current house would look old fashioned in the new one.

 

We're going for this option in our bedroom, now that the ceilings are being re-done anyway following our leak.  

 

I HATE pelmets with a passion.

[PeterW]

Anyone got a link to a decent and reasonably priced ceiling recessed track ..?

[Mikey_1980]

we are installing silent gliss super narrow curtain track, we didn't make allowance for a recess but it allows room for our windows/tilt turn doors to open.  They also do a recessed option which they can bend for you if required.

 

I just googled it and found this for a pricing idea.

 

http://www.thecurtainpoleandtrackcompany.com/silent-gliss-6289

[Mikey_1980]

The curtains went up today, we have been nervous about how they would look but are really please 

[jack]

Lovely view!

[daiking]

Hadn't seen this thread before but have similar issue. Kitchen window approx 6' wide, 3' wide. 3 sections, outer 2 tilt/turn, middle section static.

 

Curtains would not suit at all. We're not overlooked but I may give privacy film a go. In addition my wife has suggested some sort of voile/translucent material applied to the individual window but i suspect, blinds might be better.