Sun Protection Sunscreen roller shades are great for providing sun protection while still allowing you to see through the shade. Sunscreen is made from a fiber less mesh weave with openness factors from 1% to 14%. This material is very durable, difficult to tear and easy to keep clean. It comes in various tones of white, brown & black. The openness factor refers to the percentage of holes in the material for the size of the shade. For example a 10% openness factor gives you good see through but you still have 90% of the area covered with sunscreen providing you with protection from ultraviolet rays and sun glare. Ultraviolet rays and dust are the main factors causing fading/deterioration of fabrics. So you will be providing protection for your furnishings and reducing heat gain in the room from the sun. By the way the sunscreen has ultraviolet inhibitors so it won't deteriorate. An interesting feature of this material is that you can see through the material from inside the home during daylight but people on the street can't see through the material due the differences in lighting from inside to outside. However, in the evening as it gets darker people on the street will be able to see general images because it will be lighter inside the home. We also use this material to cover skylights which will be discussed under that topic.
Are Windows Really Square? Window frames made in the factory are built in a jig and they are square. The problem starts when they are installed in the rough in window framing of the house. This framing is usually 2 X 4 or 2 X 6 and a good framer will select straight lumber and plum it with a level/square. Unfortunately, if the wood has too high a moisture content it may eventually twist or distort even though it was carefully framed. A careless framer just makes the problem worse. Drywallers will simply screw the drywall to the wood frame so it becomes a case of garbage in, garbage out. Drywall mudding done carelessly will also cause problems in the corners where you may find an excess build up of mud effectively narrowing the window casing. The solution is to have a finish carpenter do wood window casings but this can be expensive. It is quite common for window casings to have variances in width or length of 1/8" to 1/4". You can tell if you have a problem window by first measuring at various points of the window casing and on the diagonal. Then visually compare the distance from the edge of the factory window frame to the casing and quite often you will see that the width is inconsistent. The most common problems are out of square, narrowing of the width at the top or bottom of the window and bowing of the sill. You need a perfect window frame to get a perfect fit of the blind and this is seldom the case so we have to make compromises in the fit to disguise these problems to the extent possible,
Skylights good or bad?
When the sun comes out you find out a skylight lets in lots of light but also lots of heat. So how do you keep the light and eliminate the heat? The answer is using the right skylight blind. A common solution is to use a cellular shade that slides open or closed on side rails. This does a good job of reducing the heat but you have to open the shade to get light. We have developed a very affordable and easy solution with our spring tension rod sunscreen skylight blind. The sunscreen material has a degree of openness, usually 10%, that allows some light through but still blocks most of the heat. You can easily remove the blind during the winter months but most people don't bother because the blind still lets enough light in. Another solution is to put a shutter in the skylight opening provided you can reach the louvres with a pole for opening and closing them. The vinyl material also has ultraviolet inhibitors to prevent damage from the sun.
Automated Blinds We are seeing more demand for automated blinds which is being driven by more selection from manufacturers and significantly reduced costs. For example, you can automate roller shades, venitians, celluar shades and drapery panels. Multiple blinds can be controlled by one remote or wall switch so you can move several blinds together. Other options include a light sensor or timer to automatically raise or lower blinds. Automated blinds do not require any electrical modifications if you choose battery operated blinds which are the most popular and affordable. The batteries are standard AA or AAA and last one to two years and are easily replaced. If you are renovating and want hard wired blinds you need to contact us in advance for advice on where to locate plugs to ensure a smooth installation. Automated blinds are great for hard to reach windows but they are also convenient where you have multiple blinds in one area that you want to regularly raise or lower such as a room with view windows but lots of sun.
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If you wish to contact us by e-mail, fax, phone or letter please contact us at: Concord Interiors 103-2429 152nd Street | Surrey, BC | V4P 1N4 Call: 604-536-5598 | Fax: 604-536-2945 Email: info@blindsdrapes.com