Are Conservatory Roof Blinds Needed?
conservatory roof blinds
There is some controversy over whether or not it is essential to install conservatory roof blinds. It is neither easy nor cheap to actually install blinds in the roof of your conservatory and often professional help is needed. Of course that often adds to the overall cost of your conservatory.
Most people build a conservatory, hoping it can be used to provide extra living space, and often with the idea of it being used as a place for entertainment, recreation and relaxation much as outdoor kitchens, patios and gazebos are. Unfortunately, unless properly taken care of and furnished, they can often simply fall into neglect with the main reason for this being that they are either unbearably hot in summer, or extremely cold during the winter months.
If you have gone to all the trouble of building a conservatory, please take the next step and put up adequate conservatory window blinds. Whether you decide to add blinds to your conservatory roof or not, you will need to cover the roof with something. There are alternatives these days to conservatory roof blinds, including inserting solar strips in the roof, or using a type of roofing that incorporates transparent heat reflectors to exclude a large percentage of heat during summer, while still allowing light to come in through the roof. Actually, adding solar strips or solar reflective material to your conservatory roof is probably one of the cheaper ways to solve the problem of what to cover your roof with.
If you do decide to go with the option of using conservatory roof blinds, you can rest assured that as they come in all shapes and sizes they are pretty easy to fit into your roof, no matter what shape and size it is. Pleated roof blinds are by far the best to use for conservatory ceilings as they can be made to fit in any sized shape. Usually pleated conservatory roof blinds are made from special material that reflects the sun’s rays during summer, or alternatively acts as a barrier to keep the warmth from escaping through the roof during winter.
Most likely a deciding factor on what type of conservatory roof covering you will buy will be the cost of the material. It goes without saying that it is necessary to somehow cover your conservatory roof if you want your conservatory to be habitable and also if you want to protect your furniture and rugs from fading. While I think pleated conservatory roof blinds look the best, adding solar control strips for example still reduce temperature and glare, but can save you thousands of Pounds.
One idea, that many people have successfully used, is to buy pleated conservatory blinds for the roof, and then simply hung the much cheaper roller blinds around the sides of the conservatory. In this way you can save, while still ending up with a nice looking conservatory that, best of all, is comfortable to enjoy. Mixing and matching conservatory blinds in this way has been a good solution for some, especially when building cheap conservatories. The main thing to decide is what will best fit with your budget, as well as what looks nice and will help your conservatory remain cool in summer and warm in winter, then make an informed choice.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Hi,
You’re absolutely right, conservatory roof blinds are both a pain to install yourself and expensive to get someone else to do.
However, taking a step of courage, adding a swear box and a couple of plasters for those little nicks and scratches, you can save yourself a lot of money doing it yourself.
I bought mine from a guy I know who gave me a good price to buy from him, with a healthy dose of support to understand how to fit them. The first one was tricky and measurement is key to success as the roller mechanisms are sat tightly next to each other. Any measurement errors will be compounded the further you move along the roof.
You also need a really sharp metal drill bit for when you drill through the uPVC frame in the metal.
Once you’ve got the first one done, the rest are easy as it’s a replication of the first one.
One thing I did notice was that the blinds wouldn’t sit straight and flat and had a bit of an angle to them. My chap told me that if you let them down a bit and pull them tight to the top again they’ll straighten….and they did!
I saved about £1000 doing it myself so it can pay to have a go!
Regards
Andy
November 9th, 2010 at 11:09 am
It is import to have conservatory blinds, especially roof blinds.
However, you needn’t invest in covering the whole of your conservatory. You need to look at the path of the sun and then see where the most important places are.