Window black out options?

We are in the process of changing our balcony sliding doors on our bedroom.

we are fortunate enough to live by the beach, with the house being built facing the sea and the sunrise, and for the first couple of years this was great. Now we have been here 5 years the novelty has worn off and the sun beating in to the bedroom at 4.30am during the summer months is a nightmare after a 12 hour day in work so we are looking at options to get over this.

after a visit to our local window company they have recommended a new door with glass that has blinds “built in” the pane, this idea sounds great but after seeing it in the flesh I can’t help but feel it would fail after a few years.

Does anyone have any experience in this field and can advise?

we have tried plastic vertical blinds, black out material verticals etc but in the summer months they have little effect, we are currently using a light stop media I use in work for bus stop advertising and Velcro’ing to the frame each evening. It works great but looks awful!

Before the obvious is stated, curtains aren’t an option, the design of the room won’t allow as the door is placed to benefit the view.

cheers!

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Originally Posted by gilford

after a visit to our local window company they have recommended a new door with glass that has blinds “built in” the pane, this idea sounds great but after seeing it in the flesh I can’t help but feel it would fail after a few years. Does anyone have any experience in this field and can advise?

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I have these on the windows in my apartment and they’re still good as gold after 15 years. I got them because I didn’t want to have to deal with curtains.

You can get different opacities in the blinds. I have the darkest blinds in the bedrooms, something less so in the other rooms.

You could have a look at electrochromic (smart-glass) panes.

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Originally Posted by Seamaster73

I have these on the windows in my apartment and they’re still good as gold after 15 years. I got them because I didn’t want to have to deal with curtains.

You can get different opacities in the blinds. I have the darkest blinds in the bedrooms, something less so in the other rooms.

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thanks, what make are yours? Do you have any pics?

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Originally Posted by gilford

after a visit to our local window company they have recommended a new door with glass that has blinds “built in” the pane, this idea sounds great but after seeing it in the flesh I can’t help but feel it would fail after a few years.

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My in-laws had those put in their holiday home in Turkey 15+ years ago and they work really well. They're not black out but I'd imagine advancements have been made in 15 years on all fronts. None of them are broken but it only gets used about 3 months per year.

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Originally Posted by gilford

thanks, what make are yours? Do you have any pics?

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I used these guys, as they had a showroom round the corner from my old pad. Can’t tell you much more than that, they were installed a long time ago.

www.apollo-blinds.co.uk

NB: You don’t get total blackout because of the holes where the cords run. This means some sun still gets in on summer mornings, and it might be enough to bother you. But as to their longevity, it’s a solution I can recommend.

We have two sets of double doors with integral blinds including the balcony doors on our bedroom. Ours are from https://www.georgebarnsdale.co.uk/

Is there room for external roller shutters? Some flats in our block in Spain had electric ones fitted - they are relatively unobtrusive and are also nice for security

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Hammerite !

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Originally Posted by Scepticalist

Is there room for external roller shutters? Some flats in our block in Spain had electric ones fitted - they are relatively unobtrusive and are also nice for security

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These are a good option as they stop the sun before it hits the glass. Obviously they will block your views when down but whilst you are at work/sleeping they will stop the sun heating up the room. Stick to White as the darker colours will get hot & start radiating heat after a few hours. Depending on the width of your doors you will need between 280-400mm above for the box.

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Originally Posted by wads

These are a good option as they stop the sun before it hits the glass. Obviously they will block your views when down but whilst you are at work/sleeping they will stop the sun heating up the room. Stick to White as the darker colours will get hot & start radiating heat after a few hours. Depending on the width of your doors you will need between 280-400mm above for the box.

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Agreed, these are very good in hot climates - Really keep the sun (and it's heat) out effectively.

M

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Originally Posted by Scepticalist

Is there room for external roller shutters? Some flats in our block in Spain had electric ones fitted - they are relatively unobtrusive and are also nice for security

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

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A family I stayed with in France had metal shutters and not only were they good from a security point of view (bedrooms on ground floor), they meant the windows could be left wide open to allow air circulation day and/or night while cutting out most light.

What about one way tint material. Problem is. It goes right on the windows, so not a peel off and on during day and night

Other choice

I don't know how your doors are designed, but black coroplast material. Rare earth magnets in the corners and just place them on the doors (after metal washers attached to stick to). Later on when needed. Remove from the doors and place off to the side.

Small 1/4" should be enough to hold or 3/8 - 1/2"

4 x 8 sheets at sign supplier. Looks like corrugated cardboard, but plastic.

DON

Have a look at the Somfy range.

We have battery operated blinds which can be preprogrammed on a timer or can be activated using a solar cell. So will automatically close if it get too sunny.

Ours are battery powered (rechargeable), but for a few more quid you can get solar chargers which fit on the window.

Best of all is that they connect to a Wi-Fi router and can be remotely operated.

Utterly brilliant

We have what sounds like the blinds you describe fitted to the french doors and windows on our living room and back of the kitchen. They are fantastic for blocking the sun with one caveat, the design we have has perforations the entire vertical length to allow a cord to be run for the internal mechanism. These perforations do let the light through and can be annoying for the few minutes the light is directly in your eye line.

My office has electric 'traditional' roller blinds that can be voice or remote controlled - I find these far better for blocking the sun but are expensive for what they are and would not be my preferred solution for a door.

Our bedroom has traditional Venetian blinds and blackout curtains for the main window this is probably my preferred solution for our case but this is a normal window no a balcony door.

Venetian and roller blinds can also be noisy if you have a window open as they'll blow about an 'knock'

Personally I think, for a good blackout solution you need 2 layers. In your case I would suggest the window mounted blinds you are asking about and then a traditional blackout curtain over the doors as well, the curtains should be mounted slightly higher than usual (if there is room) and extent wider than the doors to prevent edge bleeding of the light that gets past the blinds. This will allow the maximum blackout and make the doors easy to use while still providing some measure of shade to the room.

I’ve just taken a photo of some of ours with integral blinds with direct sun on them in the east. They certainly don’t block out all of the light but perfect for our dining room. Excuse the mess, we’ve just had a plasterer and tiler in but struggling to source a decorator!

Open

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2c010da0_b.jpgUntitled by Alex L, on Flickr

Closed

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...44a4128b_b.jpgUntitled by Alex L, on Flickr

You need those stripey awnings, like John Stalker used to advertise. :mrgreenskull: