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.

Conservatories are constructed mainly from glass, although this looks great it poses a huge problem in the summer months. The problem is created on sunny days when too much light energy is directed through the glass it creates an overwhelming amount of heat on the inside of the conservatory, if the windows are left uncovered for too long this heat can become unbearable, rendering your brand new conservatory useless.

Blinds for conservatory windows are usually split into two catagories, conservatory window blinds and conservatory roof blinds. Purchasing blinds for conservatory windows is relatively easy as they are regular rectangular shapes, the real problem and expense is the roof windows. Often they perculier shapes such as triangles and trapeziums.

Pleated Blinds

Pleated blinds are often used in conservatories as they can be cut into different shapes while still keeping their functionality. Pleated blinds are especially useful as they also do a great job of reducing solar glare which is extremely important in conservatories. Pleated blinds can be used on either either windows or roof windows.

Roman Blinds

Roman blinds for conservatories are available, but with limitations. Roman blinds look fantastic on the roof of your conservatory, but because of how they are constructed you can only use them on rectangular windows, which is fine for conservatory windows, but your roof windows may be triangular in shape.

Perfect Fit Blinds

Perfect fit blinds are absolutely perfect for conservatories, aside from the fact they only fit rectangular windows. The great thing about perfect fit blinds is that unlike the other blind types you don’t need a proffesional to install ‘em! Another great thing about perfect fit blinds is that the ‘perfect fit’ section mainly refers to the frame, inside the frame you can have a venetian, pleated or roller blind! Don’t get any illusions though, they aren’t cheap!

Controls

I think you will agree when I say controlling a blind which is suspended 10 feet in the air can be quite difficult, unless you’re really tall of course! Luckily the great people behind the scenes have come up with a series of solutions. The first solution is quite basic, find a really long pole and use that! Okay, maybe it’s a bit more advanced than that, but you get the point.

The second option is to purchase electrically operated remote control blinds. Conservatory blinds are expensive right from the start, adding this extra feature is yet another premium. If you do want remote control blinds for your conservatory roof I suggest you have a large budget ready.