First off it is important not to confuse conservatory roof blinds with conservatory window blinds. The blinds for covering the sides of a conservatory are the conservatory window blinds and the shaped blinds on the roof are conservatory roof blinds.
The shape of the glass panels on your roof is the deciding factor for which blinds you can use. Most blinds can only be constructed in a rectangular shape, although few can be created in the triangular shape needed for conservatory roof windows.
For all conservatory roof windows I strongly suggest you enlist the help of an expert. Not only are conservatory roof windows very easy to measure incorrectly, a small mistake could potentially cost you hundreds of pounds.
Now that’s over with lets have a look at some of the blind types available:
Pleated
Pleated blinds are ideal for conservatory roofs as they are exceptionally good at reducing solar glare and heat from the sun. Pleated blinds are also light weight which makes them slightly easier to control while they are up in the air.
Roller
Roller blinds seem to pop up in every room, probably because they work so well and can be modified to suit each and every possible application. Their are many roller blind fabrics specially suited to covering a conservatory roof window such as light reflective and blackout.
Woodweave
Woodweave blinds aren’t completely effective as roof blinds as they let quite a bit of light through, in the right circumstance this can look extremely stylish, but at times it can also be quite an annoyance.
Perfect Fit
These are ideal for conservatory roofs because unlike all the standard blind types you do not need to drill into your conservatory to fit perfect fit blinds, instead you simply slide brackets into the window gasket and then fit the perfect fit frame onto the brackets.
Controls
Obviously you will need some kind of pole or rod to position your blinds. For lightweight blinds such as pleated blinds you can simply use a rod to position them easily, but for more heavy duty products you may need a crank operated rod, maybe even a motorised one.
Heat Control
There are two ways a blind can restrict the amount of heat entering your room, it is important to understand these when choose a fabric.
- Reflection – Certain fabrics are specially created to reflect heat away.
- Absorption – Instead of reflecting the heat away some fabrics are designed to absorb a large ammount of heat.
Just to remind you again, this is not a job for a beginner in DIY, measuring and installing roof blinds is an extremely complicated procedure, just choosing the right fabric can be a hassle! If you do decide to have a conservatory roof blind please make sure you deal with a trusted, reputable company.
Tags: conservatory roof blinds