We've had the pianter and decorator in and decided to do away with normal curtains in our living room and go for vertical blinds, so off came the pelmets and curtain tracks and we are now looking for vertical blinds.
My smashing and everso eccentric, ok slightly barmy, sister came round for a cuppa yesterday and pointed out the now blindingly obvious....how are we going to get blinds in the recess of the sliding patio door.....aarrgh, never thought of that one, how the ehck did we miss it.
Our patio doors consist of two doors, one fixed and the other tilt and slide inside the fixed which only leaves about 3cm of recess to attach the blinds to if that makes sense, nearly dropped a right clanger there, we only held off ordering till we got used to the new colour scheme and finally decided on colours.
Patio recess is 238cm wide and 204cm height, 13cm of recess from wall to closed inside door guide, only 3cm recess once sliding door is open.
Sorry for poor explanation but i hope it makes some sense.
I imagine blind makers have come across this before and have some sort of 2 position fixing, to allow the guide rail to swing up when doors and blinds open, and down into recess when all closed, if so they don't make it obvious on their sites.
SWM wondered if we might be better off with curtains that match the blinds fixed to the doors themselves....in due course we maybe won't need anything on there as a conservatory should be added later in the summer if we're spared, and that will have its own blinds.
Now you lot know a fair bit about every subject one can imagine, so i ask you for....
Thoughts please.
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SWMBO hates vertical blinds - late 1970s office chic she says!
I like them and in fact the house we bought does have them! So far my arguments in favour of their retention have prevailed!
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I have vertical blinds on a sliding patio door, the blind is attached with metal brackets which hang the blind top rail slightly out of the shallow recess.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 16:37
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Do yourself a big favour, GB. Stick with the curtains.
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>>Do yourself a big favour, GB. Stick with the curtains<<
+1
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Vertical blinds are the worse thing ever invented. (after Horizontal Blinds) Give the whole idea a very very big miss.
You will regret it big time if you don't.,
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Thanks for the replies so far, the last three have me intrigued, whats the problem with them, i can see how we might extend the fitting to allow the blind carriage to fit mostly in the space we have allowed.
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They break, they get dirty, they are pigs to clean, you can't change the colour like you can with curtains, they are draughty, they leak light, they belong in your transport managers office.
Apart from that they are great.
Oh and they don't fit your window/doors without a bodge that will fail at some point.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 17:28
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You can't cover your windowsills with the sort of junk they invariably collect.
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We've just booked Hilarys Blinds in to fit vertical blinds for our patio doors - 8' wide, for £256 all in. Seems like good value to me, although admittedly I've no idea how much blinds cost on their own.
They previously fitted blinds for our kitchen window, and did a good job.
www.hillarys.co.uk/
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Food for thought here.
The Portiere rod is an interesting article but not suitable for this situation.
Light filtering isn't a problem, they are likely to be a plum/maroon colour and we could go balckout if need be.
Cost wise, well as with all things they vary enormously, so we are waiting on some material samples for prices between £60 and £160 DIY fitting for the patio window alone..assuming at this point we can fit the recess somehow, two other smaller windows to cover too, and fair point Tom, we'd forgotten about having nothing on the window ledge which might actually be a blessing.
SWM has just crossed Hilary's off her possibles list Focus...;)
Appreciate all your input.
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My wife had some vertical blinds fitted to the patio doors at our rental property. It led to one of those non-conversations we seem to far too regularly have when I'm talking and working at the same time...
"I'm just off to the renter darling, got a blind man coming to measure up, see you later..."
"A blind man? How's he going to measure anything?"
"Dunno, I guess he just uses a ruler or tape measure or something"
"He must have a helper surely? Does he have a dog? We said no pets didn't we?"
"Dog? Why would he need a dog?"
"He's blind you said, he might have a guide dog."
"He's not blind, he's a blind man"
"Eh?"
"He fits blinds"
"Oh, is he looking to rent the house?"
"No, you plank, he's going to fit some blinds at the house"
"Oh I see... how much is that going to cost?"
"Dunno, that's why I've asked him to come and measure up"
"Tell him to leave his dog in the car."
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>> Do yourself a big favour, GB. Stick with the curtains.
>>
We have both blinds and curtains, doesn't everyone? Or are you net curtain twitchers?
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>> We have both blinds and curtains, doesn't everyone? Or are you net curtain twitchers?
>>
We are not overlooked at the backs or sides. So we have no curtains or blinds, merely decorative voiles.
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Don't you normally have both i.e blinds and curtains?
Our dining room faces west so the afternoon evening sun shines straight into the room through the patio doors so some sort of blind is a necessity. You can't see otherwise and you hardly want to draw the curtains in the middle of the day
We have vertical blinds in the door recess which are normally open but drawn when the sun shines. In addition we have lined curtains on the face of the recess. The undrawn blinds are therefore normally invisible I think blinds alone would look a bit industrial.
Vertical blinds aren't actually difficult to clean, a light vacuum does the trick, are quite light proof, and are easily replace - you keep the rail and the drawing mechanism and simply replace the slats. They are available in a wide range of colour and patterns to match your decor so you don't have to go with nicotine beige
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...Vertical blinds aren't actually difficult to clean...
Partly because being vertical, they don't tend to collect dirt in the first place.
The story goes that's why some bright spark took horizontal blinds and mounted them vertically.
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they do with dogs brushing against them at the bottom
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Clever dog yours Z. Mine won't tidy up no matter how much I ask him.
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mine licks the kitchen floor clean
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'.Vertical blinds aren't actually difficult to clean...'
Unhook them , roll them up. put them in a pillowcase and then in the washing machine. Simples.
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This is a friends gaff out in Brisbane, the v/blinds are almost as bad as the brown carpet, the brown sofas, the brown lampshades, and the awful cushions.
goo.gl/ICo77
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Humph,
Reminds me about the blind man and the Nun in the bath...
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The house we bought two years ago has them, and because they're in the room we use least, we've not got rid of them - yet. But we will because they're horrible: they obstruct your view out whatever angle you set them at, but don't stop people looking in unless they're completely closed.
Horizontal venetian blinds are much more useful: you can get privacy and a view out at the same time, and you don't get Zero's cheap office effect.
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>> Humph,
>>
>>
>> Reminds me about the blind man and the Nun in the bath...
where's the candle?
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This is one of the properties that I have 'acquired' over the years, gorn around with the Magnolia and the sold on.
g.co/maps/qk9t5
When I did this one I had those windows fitted, and the new porch + new fitted kitchen, I also fitted some nice Venetian blinds that I had made in Eastbourne, but some clown has binned em and fitted vertigo blinds now :(
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Roman Blinds are the way to go.
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Bit "suburban" aren't they?
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yes but certainly better than city office blinds.
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Zero, Channel 4 !!
Go on, you know you want to!
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How did the hoops do today Bobby?
Opps sorry shouldn't have asked.
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You're right - you shouldn't have !
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We have vertical blinds in all the rooms, with them being black out in the bedrooms.
We have curtains on all the windows as well, why, I don't know. I cannot recollect a time when any of them have been pulled over!
And on our patio doors we alos have vertical blinds - a clever wee system that has a runner each side of the window for the blind to pull down and then retract back up into a holder in the top.
Re the quote for Hilary's blinds - that sounds like a double glazing salesman's opening pitch!!
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Had verticals for well over 10yrs (Hillarys) never had a single problem, if you get washable fabric, you just take `em down every so often (very simple yo do) roll-em up, stick em in a pillow case and bung`em in the machine on 40.
You can re-hang them straight from the washer. - never go back to dirty, smelly curtains!!
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Hillarys can be bartered.
We had a conservatory done Austrian blinds. Got a quote from another outfit and they matched it on the verbal price.
Last edited by: Fullchat on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 20:50
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>>never go back to dirty, smelly curtains!!<<
You just take `em down every so often (very simple yo do) roll-em up, stick em in a pillow case and bung`em in the machine on 40.
You can re-hang them straight from the washer.
:o}
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its not that I am not observant or anything around the house but...
We have roller blinds in all the rooms, with them being black out in the bedrooms.
We have curtains on all the windows as well, why, I don't know. I cannot recollect a time when any of them have been pulled over!
And on our patio doors we also have roller blinds - a clever wee system that has a runner each side of the window for the blind to pull down and then retract back up into a holder in the top.
Re the quote for Hilary's blinds - that sounds like a double glazing salesman's opening pitch!!
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>> Re the quote for Hilary's blinds - that sounds like a double glazing salesman's opening
>> pitch!!
My £256 one?
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Bobby, a better descritpion of this runner system would be appreciated, or any idea where i could view such a thing online please.
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GB, its not vertical, its a roller blind.
Do you still want some info? My mistake in my earlier post!
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Ah, you tease Bobby you got me hopes up there...were you a femme fatale in a previous life..;)
No thanks matey, if we have blinds they will be warehouse style industrial estate vertical cast offs apparently......
:-)
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Quite right GB. We don't all have to go for the Gerry and Margot look...
:-)
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I recon all the anti vertical blind mob are net curtain, sandals with socks, and cardigan wearing Richard Buckets. :-)
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Train spotters. Beige. Nuff said...
:-)
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What did they hang in Tudor windows that you can mock up Humph?
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Train spotter, who could that be?
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>> Ah, you tease Bobby you got me hopes up there...were you a femme fatale in
>> a previous life..;)
>>
>> No thanks matey, if we have blinds they will be warehouse style industrial estate vertical
>> cast offs apparently......
Don't forget to get a waste bin, paper shredder and photocopier in matching shades of grey
We can all come round your place for a team meeting.
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There's nothing nicer on a cold dark winter evening than a roaring open fire, a bottle of wine, subdued lighting, good company, and that cosy feeling as the shadows from the fire dance on the off-white vertical blinds.
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Well so far no one has come up with a way of fitting the blind carriage on the very edge of the recess, so i'll have to contact the blind company and see what fittings they have, if not i'll have to come up with something (a bodge no doubt.;)....as luck would have it Blinds 2 go have sent a sample (valencia roasted red no less) we are considering and it just happens to be a perfect match for the colour on our feature wall, the one with the patio door, so that was a lucky coincidence.
They quoted about £53 for patio size blind, shining a light through material shows its virtually blackout standard so we're heading that way methinks, is it too cheap, can something be too cheap?
Got a week off from tomorrow so i'll have to get on to them about fittings, skip on the way and hedge to pull out, and builder chappie starting on refurb skullery and some more new windows Monday...i'm going to be stony broke....correction i am stony broke...
Many thanks for your thoughts, encouragements and mickey taking...:-)
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>>They quoted about £53 for patio size blind,
A typo in their quote, I would think.
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Online quote, probably find fittings etc are all extra.
I didn't expect it that cheap so won't be too disappointed if it turns out somewhat more expensive.
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>> Well so far no one has come up with a way of fitting the blind
>> carriage on the very edge of the recess,
As I said near the start of this thread the brackets are availiable.
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Ah, righto Navy, wots they like please so i know what to ask for, i'm assuming they screw into the middle of the recess and attach to the carriage further out, would that be right?
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Try this gb,
scroll down to "conservatory fixing brackets about 2/3rds of the way down. Look for extended face fit brackets
1stopblinds.co.uk/html/fit.html
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Thanks MJM, they are face fixings and we want top fixings, but now i've seen what's what i've contacted Blinds 2 Go and they are sending out some extended top fixings tonight for us to check see are suitable before we order.
So far for anyone else looking for curtains/blinds this company have supplied the samples next day and are only too happy to send out these fixings...all free, and couldn't be more obliging on the phone if they tried, if we do order which seems likely they've got it, and there's a conservatory to blind up later in the year if they turn out well.
Blimey a bit of customer service, nice to find.
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This should help. When you are installing vertical blinds inside the recess you don't use a bracket, just the mounting clips. You chuck away the brackets which normally come with the blind
When you are face fitting to the wall you use the brackets as shown in the diagram. Any blind supplier will have the brackets if they didn't come with the blind.
www.justblinds.com/installations/vertical-is.cfm
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Cheers CGN, we are fitting half in half out of the recess due to the tilt/slide door taking most of the recess out when its open.
We don't want the whole carriage outside the recess hence the extended flat fittings on the way which will hopefully do the job.
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Sorry GB, others have answered before I saw your question. We have flat mounts which screw up into the recess and have small screws at the front to hold the blind. As shown in the links above. The blind can be mounted either partially in the recess or clear of it , the top rail of our blind is a couple of mm inside the recess, this gives clearance for the blind to rotate and the curtain hangs on a pole and is also clear of the blind.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 18 Apr 12 at 16:04
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Update.
We bought vertical blinds in the end, all up and fitted, without pre planning we have a perfect colour match to our feature (patio doors) wall.
Company had some extra long face fittings that i simply cut the ends off, screwed them as extension fittings in the middle of the recess top in such a position that the carriage is flush with the wall.
Review of ''blinds2go'' who we bought from, online but Nottm based.
Can't fault them, freephoned before buying friendly and efficient, only too pleased to send fittings free to see if suitable for our requirements, they were, easy website so ordered blinds online, blinds arrive, i fit them (top fittings required drilling through steel lintels, one HSS snapped), job done.
Blinds track well, materials good, easy to assemble, almost blackout standard.
Price for one patio door blind 238 x 204 and 2 other windows 175 x 116 cm £123 incl free postage, excellent value.
Can't fault the blind company and will use again, they will have a big order in the autumn when we equip the new conservatory, probably with roller or Roman.
All welcome at bennet head office for the AGM..:-)
oh and thanks for all the replies.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Mon 30 Apr 12 at 21:00
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Nice to hear of good service.
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vertical blinds - Roger.
