Choosing VELUX Blinds When the Window Is Fitted

I

Blind types in the range

The range for VELUX roof windows falls into a few families. Some sit inside the room and clip to the window frame. Others are mounted on the outside of the roof and sit over the glass. A few are accessories rather than blinds, such as insect screens.

Interior blinds run in side rails fixed to the frame, which holds the fabric flat against the sloping glass. A roller blind on a roof window has to cope with the angle, so it is guided and held in place at the sides, and a loose roller made for a vertical window will not do the job. Always buy the blind made for the window.

Choosing a type is a matter of what the room does. A living room wants soft light by day and may be happy with a roller. A bedroom wants dark. A home office wants the glare kept off the screen without losing the daylight, which suits a pleated or a venetian type. A bathroom wants something that tolerates moisture. The window hub at VELUX windows covers the products themselves, and the next sections take the two most common decisions in turn.

II

Blackout for bedrooms

A roof window in a bedroom has no curtain rail, no heavy fabric and no wall to hide behind, so the blind is the only barrier between the sleeper and the sky. Blackout blinds are made for exactly this. They use a dense, coated fabric that blocks the light, and they run in side rails that hold the edges close to the glass so the light does not spill round them.

The edges are the difficult part. No blind seals the glass perfectly, and a thin line of light can appear along the side rails on a bright day. If the room needs to be as dark as possible, say for a nightshift worker or a child who naps, a blackout blind and a pair of side rails matched to the frame come closer than anything improvised. A combined blind adds a light-filtering layer alongside the blackout one, so one blind is used for day and the other for night.

Heat and sleep

A loft bedroom under a south-facing slope can warm up on a summer afternoon, and an interior blind does little about that, since the heat has already come through the glass. A blind inside the room can still make the room feel calmer to sleep in, because the glass is covered and the light is blocked, but it does not cool the air. For that, the next section looks at blinds that sit outside the glass, and an opening window helps move warm air out of the room.

In a child's bedroom the position of the controls matters. They should be reachable from the floor and the bed, with no loose cords hanging. We note the room use at survey and suggest a position.

III

Exterior blinds

Exterior blinds are fixed to the outside of the roof window and sit over the glass, so they stop sunlight before it enters the room. This is the distinction that matters. An interior blind stops the glare but not the warmth; an exterior one holds back heat at the glass itself. For a loft room that overheats in summer, that makes exterior shading the more effective choice.

There are two broad types. An awning blind is a fabric screen that is lowered over the glass on guides, which keeps out most of the sun while letting some light through. A roller shutter is a slatted shutter that lowers over the glass and blocks the light entirely, which blocks the light entirely. Both can be operated from inside the room, by hand, by a switch, or by a remote control.

Why exterior blinds belong to the fitting

Unlike an interior blind, which clips in at any time, an exterior blind is attached to the window frame and tiles on the roof. Fitting one later means putting a ladder or scaffold back on the roof, lifting tiles beside the frame, and sometimes taking the flashing apart to run a cable or fix a bracket. If it is done at the time of the window, the fitter is already on the roof, the covering is open and the fixings go in cleanly.

Exterior blinds are also fitted to the specific window and flashing, so the kit needs to be compatible with them. Some flashing arrangements, such as a recessed kit, leave less room for the blind to sit, and the combination needs to be checked. The flashing kit guide explains how the kit is chosen, and we confirm the blind fits it before the order goes in.

Planning comes into it as well. Whether an exterior blind counts as part of the window or an addition depends on how it is fixed and how far it stands out from the slope. We check the projection for the exact product and tell you in writing; the planning guide covers the rules.

IV

Manual, electric and solar

Each blind in the range can be operated in one of three ways. Manual blinds are pulled by a handle or a pole and need no power. Electric blinds are moved by a small motor, run from the mains or through a transformer, and are controlled by a wall switch or remote. Solar blinds have the same kind of motor, powered by a small solar panel on the outside of the window and a battery, and are operated by a remote.

Manual is the easy answer when the window is low enough to reach. A high window above a stairwell or a double-height space is another matter, since a pole is awkward and a cord is unsafe. That is where a motor earns its place. Electric blinds need a power supply in the right position, which means the electrician has to know before the ceiling closes, and the same first fix often covers an electric opening window. The wiring guide explains what the electrician needs.

Solar blinds avoid the cable, which suits a house that is already decorated and where chasing a cable through plaster is not welcome. They rely on daylight to charge, and the panel sits outside, usually at the top of the window. The trade-off is that the battery eventually needs attention, and a window facing away from the sun charges more slowly.

If you are also considering an opening window that works by motor, the electric option for the blind can share its power and its controls. See manual or electric opening for the wider comparison. Rain sensors, which close an opening window when it starts to rain, are covered on their own page.

V

Ordering with the window

A blind is ordered against a window code, and the blind and window are best listed together on the quote. That way the code on the blind matches the code on the window, the type of blind is compatible, and the delivery dates line up. The quote names each item, so you can see what is included and what is not.

Ordering together also lines up the dates. Blinds bought separately may arrive early and sit in the way, or late and hold up the finish of the room, and a wrong blind may only be noticed once the scaffold is down.

• The window code for each opening, copied from the written sizes.
• The type of blind for each room, with the control method.
• Any exterior blinds, with the covering and the flashing kit they must sit with.
• Any electric or solar controls, so the electrician and fitters are told in time.
• The colour or fabric, chosen from a sample before the order goes in.

Colour and fabric are the part people take time over. A sample is worth looking at in the room, under the window, at different times of day, because a colour that looks neutral in a showroom can look different under skylight. Ask for a sample for each room and decide before the order goes in.

Price is covered in the quote, and the fitting cost answer sets out how the figure is built. Blinds are listed as separate lines, so you can add or remove them without disturbing the rest.

VI

Fitting order on the day

The sequence matters more than the speed. The order of work on a typical fitting is: the roofer prepares the opening and lifts the covering; the fitters set the frame, flashing and collar; any exterior blind is fixed to the frame and the covering is closed around it; and the weather seal is checked. The window is then complete from the outside, and the work moves indoors.

1. Covering lifted, battens adjusted and the underfelt collar laid.
2. Frame, flashing and any exterior blind or sensor fixed.
3. Covering closed round the flashing by the roofer.
4. Electrician connects any electric or solar controls, if the cable has been run.
5. Plasterer finishes the reveals; the decorator follows.
6. Interior blinds clipped into their side rails last.

Interior blinds go in last because the plasterer and decorator are working round the window and do not want fabric in the way. We leave interior blinds with the homeowner if the plastering is still to come, or fit them at the end if the room is ready.

For a window replacing an old one, the same order applies. The replacement guide covers what changes, including that an old blind will not usually fit a new frame. The fitting time depends on the job; the fitting time answer gives guidance. Our 10-year workmanship guarantee applies to the fitting, and the blinds come with the maker's own terms.