Conficting opinions from salesmen(blinds) help/advice needed!

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Strongbad1905

94 posts

Master Geek

#145514 20-May-2014 12:20

I asked regarding the aerial not long ago cheers for the info. But the next thing in the house is blinds, full moons are bright and the sun sure does rise early!

I have a pretty large house with a lot of windows(25 inc 3 large which will be roller) was going to go roller blinds due to lower price price but while getting a quote I was told its not that much more. I have had 3 quotes from 2 suppliers here in Auckland.

Rollers $2089 (inc all windows)
wooden Venetians made of Basswood $3400(inc all windows)
PVC Venetians $3689 (exc 2 large windows rollers)

I can afford the blinds which I didn't think I would. But the wood guy say pvc sucks and the pvc guy says wood sucks (natural sales pitch I know) both say the other will buckle. The think I worry about is I live in a pretty hot place with high humidity by the sea.
Has anyone got any experience with this? (what would/have you choose/chosen if all were the same price?)
As I would like to know you advice /experiences.
Many thanks

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek

#1048737 20-May-2014 12:24

In my experience, the PVC Venetians tend to discolour and break sooner than the wooden and metal ones.

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andrewNZ

2487 posts

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#1048738 20-May-2014 12:24

One thing to consider, Venetian blinds are a royal PITA to clean.

timmmay

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#1048740 20-May-2014 12:32

Blinds will reduce the light coming in, but what you want is blackout lined curtains for bedrooms. Venetians are a bugger to clean, and easy to damage, so if you go with them don't put them places that get dirty easily like kitchen.

gundar

488 posts

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#1048796 20-May-2014 13:37

Roman blinds are good mix of blinds/curtains. They can be removed to clean in a wash machine/dry cleaners and they can be made with blackout or thermal lining. I had venetians in my kitchen - big mistake - hard to clean, discolour over time, one angry cat or strong gust of wind can mean the strings and blinds are destroyed or cracked or warped.

mattwnz

20105 posts

Uber Geek

#1048803 20-May-2014 13:50

gundar: Roman blinds are good mix of blinds/curtains. They can be removed to clean in a wash machine/dry cleaners and they can be made with blackout or thermal lining. I had venetians in my kitchen - big mistake - hard to clean, discolour over time, one angry cat or strong gust of wind can mean the strings and blinds are destroyed or cracked or warped.

The roman blinds I had installed can't be cleaned. They are stapled onto a timber plate which is screwed to the top of the window. Also I doubt they would wash well, as I would gues that they would pucker after washing. I consider roman blinds disposable. I think the OP is better with regualy curtains. The cheap option is possible to go to somewhere like spotlight, and buy ready made ones that you cut and install. They are the only way to fully cover a window. Roman blinds have gaps around the edge, which let in shafts of light.

gundar

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#1048817 20-May-2014 14:11

mattwnz:
gundar: Roman blinds are good mix of blinds/curtains. They can be removed to clean in a wash machine/dry cleaners and they can be made with blackout or thermal lining. I had venetians in my kitchen - big mistake - hard to clean, discolour over time, one angry cat or strong gust of wind can mean the strings and blinds are destroyed or cracked or warped.

The roman blinds I had installed can't be cleaned. They are stapled onto a timber plate which is screwed to the top of the window. Also I doubt they would wash well, as I would gues that they would pucker after washing. I consider roman blinds disposable. I think the OP is better with regualy curtains. The cheap option is possible to go to somewhere like spotlight, and buy ready made ones that you cut and install. They are the only way to fully cover a window. Roman blinds have gaps around the edge, which let in shafts of light.

Roman blinds I owned in past apartments were removable and made from pre-shrunk fabric. The removal was easy - just four or five dowels and unclip the strings and the blinds overlapped the windows sufficiently that light struggled to get through. They will be slightly more than curtains or venetian blinds, but the best of both worlds if made by the right person.

scuwp

3880 posts

Uber Geek

#1048824 20-May-2014 14:20

We have some windows with the painted (hardwood) Venetians from Ven Lu Re I think.. Must be about 7 years old now and no issues at all with warping/twisting. Old house had natural cedar (10 years) and they were fine as well. I agree they are a PITA to keep clean and they don't have very good blackout or thermal properties. I personally would avoid in the future.

For light control I would look at verticals (value for money), but would not go past thermal lined curtains or Roman blinds for the heat retention and blackout performance.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

D1023319

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#1050626 21-May-2014 19:43

I have lots of window space in a old 1927 house.
I needed insulation without slats like Venetians that capture dirt
Plus all the widow sills are not all level plus there was no room for curtains in the bay window, i.e. nowhere to pull the curtains back to.

So I went for these cellular blinds
the compress up into a small space like 50mm and the cells are lined with aluminium for insulation plus you can colour code them to your house.

timmmay

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#1050630 21-May-2014 20:02

D1023319:
So I went for these cellular blinds
the compress up into a small space like 50mm and the cells are lined with aluminium for insulation plus you can colour code them to your house.

I've heard of those. Aluminium for insulation though? Aluminium is a good conductor of heat, paper would've been better - though wouldn't last long.

DS248

1691 posts

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#1050708 21-May-2014 22:00

D1023319:
...
So I went for these cellular blinds
the compress up into a small space like 50mm and the cells are lined with aluminium for insulation plus you can colour code them to your house.

We have cellular blinds similar to above but not the block-out ones (not needed - are in living areas, not bedrooms). Installed ~1 yr ago.

Happy with them so far & would go the same way again (partly because they suit the house style). The Al is just a reflective surface coating typically used on the block-out version. Improves thermal insulation, not the reverse. Ours do not have Al but are double cell for thermal insulation. Not being block-out means diffuse light comes in so it is not dark when enter living areas in the morning, etc.

We have roller blinds in the kitchen as cellular could be difficult to keep clean over time. Though they were a lot cheaper than the cellular ones they provide less privacy and very little thermal insulation due to gaps between blind and window frame (the cellar ones come within a couple of mm of the frame).

Got quotes for cellular blinds from 3 places. Sante Fe were much cheaper than the other two (up to a factor of over 2 difference in one case - a very well known brand). So far all good.

pctek

807 posts

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#1050829 22-May-2014 07:44

Rollers $2089 (inc all windows)
wooden Venetians made of Basswood $3400(inc all windows)
PVC Venetians $3689 (exc 2 large windows rollers)

But the wood guy say pvc sucks and the pvc guy says wood sucks

Well wood can get dry and split.
PVC, well as others have said...discolouring and such.

PVC are immensely ugly, they rattle in the breeze and are a pain to clean.

Of all of those choices, I'd pick roller blinds.
But I'd actually have curtains anwyay.

D1023319

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#1050831 22-May-2014 07:56

No matter what option you go for, i recommend retention of net curtains. While old fashioned, they are good layer of insulatuon.