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pleated blinds nottingham

Nowadays, we look for perfect clean lines in our decor, and soft colours to compliment our natural furnishings.

Pleated blinds can be the perfect blind for so many rooms. No longer restricted to the conservatory, pleated blinds can look great just about anywhere. Their slim line fit, small stack-back and the ability to be manufactured in to irregular shapes make this a very versatile blind.

The original pleated blind fabric is based upon a flat fabric wafer thin, that has then been permantley folded and creased in to tight 20mm or 25mm concertina V sections.

To change the opacity or the heat / energy efficiency of these fabrics manufactures incorporate and bond with other high-tech wafer thin layers making a sandwich, completely changing the optical and solar reflective performance, fabrics can be manufactured to make them blackout, dim out, fire retardant, semi opaque, opaque or translucent properties.

These light weight and thin fabrics allowed them to be shaped and can be made to fit awkward shapes perfect for non-square windows or roof blinds. They are an ideal solution for conservatories or skylight roofs.

Pleated blinds can be free hanging, pre-tensioned, rectangular, or shaped roofed. Free hanging blinds are operated using a cord and cord lock. Pre tensioned blinds are manufactured to a constantly tensioned method to allow the fabric to be adjusted along its length of travel without the need for hanging cords.

20mm and 25mm pleats

For years the size / spacing of the pleats has been based on a 25mm system, this is currently being phased out and the new more compact and smaller 20mm pleat has been introduce.

A 20mm pleat uses more fabric and has tighter pleats than the 25m system and gives a more refined and even slimmer look It also being used in the perfect fit pleated blind system which is explained further below.

Cellular and Honeycomb Pleated Fabrics

Latest advancement has been joining up multiple V based pleated fabric at the pleat to create a honey comb or a cellular structure, this provides an empty compartment which is use to trap air like a thermal trap and is the equivalent to the principal of double glazing for greater insulation and heat control.

The more cells, the greater energy efficiency. One disadvantage with these cellular pleated blinds is that small insects crawl into the hollow chambers and die. Removing them from the blind is not easy.

Equipleat

Equi-pleat is a technology which is applied to a basic pleated blind fabric which assist the structure and creates a sharper and more robust pleat, it stops sagging which can occurs to normal pleated blinds over time due to the extreme temperatures and humidity. This equipleat system also creates a more consistent spaced pleat throughout its age even when the blind is semi open or closed.

This changes their physical light and energy saving properties. to provide styling and colouring the front and back layers is usually a fine woven layer to give your blind the colour and simple pattern. The use of additional layers in pleated fabrics alters the different thermal and light opacities of the material.

The amount of technology that has been added to such a simple product is why it such a popular and stylish.This allows you to match your roof blinds to your side blinds and give an consistent and continual feel throughout the conservatory.

Equipleat is an anti pleat-droop technology built in to the pleated fabric which allows for more accurate, tighter and better shaped roof blinds, it was invented to prevent sagging, side gaps and ensures pleat retention is always maintained.

Usability of Pleated Blinds

Pleated blinds are very versatile because of them being wafer thin and light weight it is perfectly suited for more irregularly shaped windows and they can be custom made to fit into any space even if it is a 3, 4, 5 or more sides Bradrail can produce circles and semi circles for arched window

Pleated blinds take virtually no space on the window or the sill when completely open, the the stacking height is extremely small, allowing perfect clean lines.

Day and Night Pleated Blinds

By incorporating more than a single fabric in a single pleated blinds, we can produce a versatile solution where privacy is required but during the day you want maximum light to pass through the blind but at night you require a dim out don't want the pleated blind to

Day and night is a term which refers to a pleated blind which are made up of two different fabrics on the same blind, a daytime and a night time fabric. These control the over the amount of light that enters a room depending on which fabric is on view.

Free-hanging Blind

• A free-hanging pleated blind operates much like a roller or roman blind, Free hanging blinds are operated by pulling a cord to make the blind rises and a angled pull will lock it in to the required position, when the cord is released, it lowers the blind and again you are able to lock off wherever you choose to stop it.
• The stacking of the a pleated blind is very small due to the thin material giving you maximum window sill space.

Tensioned Blind

• A tensioned pleated blind doesn't’t have a pull cord, each blind is fixed at the top and bottom rail and is suspended from brackets attached to the window frame.
• There is a third bar which will sit in between the top and bottom headrail. The fabric is trapped and attached too, this is the control rail. Simply by moving this control rail it give the customer the control to slide up and down the tension wires and control the opening..
• The pleated blind will stop wherever you leave it, because it has a special cording system built in, which uses friction to keep it in place.
• If the blinds are at accessible level, a handle can be attached to the control bar, for easy of use by hand operation for positioning.
• If the pleated blind is a roof blind the use of a simple pole which fits around the control rail and effortlessly side the blind to appropriate position
• With tensioned blinds you also have the ability to split a single blind in to two segments on the same blind. This allows greater privacy or the ability to close a bottom section during the day whilst the top part stay open to allow light in
• Alternatively by combining different fabric in too sections of a tensioned pleated blind you can create daytime privacy, fabrics can be used(allows you to see out, but nobody can see in), or combination of part blackout and part dim out.

Energy and Solar Efficient Pleated Blinds

Pleated blinds are known to the energy conscious, due to the way the fabrics are constructed, by applying special types of backing to the fabric, they provide various type of solar light control, [blackout, opaque, dim out, night and day] and the of Energy reflective materials

Twin fabric pleated blinds

Bradrail are also able to produce pleated blinds which have two different property fabrics on the same blinds, the main application for this is called "day and night". The pleated blind is constructed with two fabrics in one blind, one attached at the bottom and a second at the top this allows you to select a different property fabrics for different times of the day (usually day time will letting in light and controlling the heat, whilst the night may be more of a privacy fabric (blackout or dim out) whilst providing insulating to keep the heat in.

Pleated Blind Applications

These pleated blinds are ideally suited to fit a sloping or horizontal conservatory roof, but can also be effective in the vertical hanging position to an ordinary window. Our display shows a combination of how pleated blinds can be manufactured to achieve various operating requirements.

Pleated blind Brackets

The standard way of fixing pleated blinds is with the use of L shaped brackets or small clip brackets which attach to the aluminium headrail of the pleated blind, these are screwed directly in to the UPVC or metal framework like a normal blind, roof blinds usually will have a aluminium L shape length batons attaching to the metal or UPVC conservatory framework and then the pleated headrail attach to the so they create a flush finishes.

Over the last few year conservatory manufactures have been offering long warranties with new conservatories but with strict guidelines of not being drilled or having screws entering the framework which may damage the conservatory or effect its watertight seal. Bradrail has always made customers aware of this situation and to check with their conservatory supplier, but as an alternative and a more modern way of adding conservatory blinds is to use the perfect fit blinds system

perfect fit pleated blinds

Perfect fit pleated blinds is a slim line 20mm based pleated blind, which fits in to each window panel and is is encased in to a frame which is then clipped between the rubber and the glass of each double glazing panel of your window or roof.

The system was designed due to issues with conservatories companies who were unhappy with their conservatories being sold with a manufactures guarantee, where most stipulate that by drilling or screwing in to any of the framework where you could void the conservatory's warranty.

Perfect fit system get passed this problem by a clever slim line frame,which sits on the front of the internal fascia of each double glazing pane, this frame also hold the blind and provides a snug fit. The by passes the need to screw and fixtures in to the frame (generally brackets)

The customer can even remove the blind by simplifying unclipping the frame if they had the requirement of cleaning the glass or cleaning the blind. The only small downside is that each double glazing panel needs to have a individual frame and blind which makes a slightly more expensive than using large single blinds to cover from top to bottom, but is out weighed but the more flexible control and far more pleasing finish it provides.

Perfect Fit No Drilling in to your frame

Instead of using brackets and clips which have to be drilled in to your and clip in to the rubber of the double glazing window.

Also with the new perfect fit and perfect fit international, they can now be installed in to conservatories without the need to drilling in to the frame ensuring no risk to the conservatory guarantee
Frameworks are available in White or Brown with coordinated fittings.