Can I totally conceal roof light blinds so they are invisible when not in use?

Roof light glazing is being used increasingly in offices as well as residential buildings in order to maximise natural daylight. As a result roof light blinds are being used more frequently as occupants need the ability to control the effects of solar heat gain.

The question is often asked how can blinds be hidden so that they don’t:

a) reduce the size of the opening
b) and look ugly and become a ledge for dust etc

The answer is yes they can – in situations where new roof openings are being formed and roof lights are being installed.

Recent innovations now mean that an electric tensioned roller blind system can be completely hidden from view when not in use without reducing the size of the opening.

Blindspace® is a patented range of aluminium extrusions designed to fit all of the commonly used hardware systems in the industry that can be installed at the same time as the opening is formed. These create cavities in the sides of the roof light recess so that any blind hardware does not protrude into the opening. This maintains the size of the opening and removes any shelf for dust to collect.

The profiles are available is a range of sizes so that even the largest roof light openings that require heavy-duty tensioned blinds can be installed.

Removable fascia plates allow the actual blinds to be installed at the end of the project after all other internal plastering and decorating is complete. They also give access to the blinds for servicing and repairs.

All that can be seen of the roof light blind is a thin groove around the edge of the opening. When the blind is operated the fabric cover appears from behind the recess and runs inside the groove on either side.

A really neat system that is proving particularly popular with interior designers working on luxury residential projects! Allowing the essential functionality of solar shading without harming the aesthetics of the interior décor.

If you have a project which you think could benefit from this concealed blind pocket system then please get in touch.

There are a few different types of retractable blinds that can be used in roof glazing, but they all have one common characteristic: they all have to be tensioned to keep the fabric taut. A tensioned roller blind is the most popular option, with tensioned cables concealed within side channels that run the lengths of the opening. The roller tube and fabric are concealed inside a cassette box at one end.

Tensioned roller blinds can be operated manually by winding a crank rod handle or electrically with a tubular motor concealed inside the roller tube and operated with by a hard-wired switch or a remote control transmitter.

Traditionally these tensioned roller blinds are installed on a shelf – a powder coated L-shape aluminium extrusion is fixed to all for sides of the opening and the cassetted blind is installed above this. This allows the cassette and side channels to be installed exactly square with the shelf giving a margin of tolerance to make up for any imperfections in the opening.

This means however that the opening is reduced in size on all four sides, and the shelf harbours dust and dead insects.