Outdoor blinds and ZIIP screens
For the stoep that is beautiful for three months of the year and unusable for the rest. An outdoor screen closes the space in against wind and driven rain without walling it off — and a braai area you can sit in through winter is the cheapest room you will ever add to a house.
We fit standard outdoor rollers and the ZIIP zip-track system. On this coast, which one you choose matters more than the colour.
A covered deck we screened in a few years back. Note what the screens do: the space is closed off against the wind and you can still see straight through to the view and the pool. That is the point of an outdoor blind — a room you can use, not a wall.
The fabric runs in a zip, so the wind cannot get past the sides
On a ZIIP screen the edge of the fabric is welded into a zip that runs inside a track down both sides. The blind is held along its full height rather than hanging free, so it does not flap, lift or let wind through at the edges — and it stays sealed while the pressure is on it.
That is why we push it here. In an exposed spot the difference between a zip track and a free hanging blind is not comfort, it is whether the blind survives its first winter.
Chain system
The straightforward option, operated by a side chain. Fine at reachable heights.
Crank system
A long winding handle in 120, 150 or 180 cm, for a high stoep where a chain would be out of reach.
Motor system
What we would recommend on anything you want to use daily, and on any wide screen. Battery with solar means no wiring outside.
Four ways to guide an outdoor blind
Listed cheapest to most wind resistant. This is the decision that matters, and we will tell you honestly which your patio needs rather than which costs most.
Fit a wind sensor. Not optional here.
A wind sensor retracts a motorised outdoor blind automatically when it gets windy. Everywhere else in the country that is a convenience. On the Overberg coast it is what saves the blind when the south-easter comes up while you are at work.
It costs a fraction of the screen it protects, and wind damage is not a warranty claim. If you are motorising an outdoor blind, put the sensor on it.
Specification
Looking after them
Hose the fabric down with clean water and let it dry fully before rolling it up. No detergents. Never roll an outdoor blind up wet and leave it that way.
Keep the side tracks clear. Grit, sand and leaves in the channel are what make a zip blind stiff or jam, and it is the most common thing we get called out for. A rinse through the tracks now and then prevents it.
Retract the blind in high wind unless you have a wind sensor doing it for you. Full care notes →
Questions we get about outdoor blinds
Will it keep the rain out?
A zip track screen closes the space off well and keeps out wind and driven rain from the side, which is what makes a stoep usable in bad weather. It is a screen rather than a wall though, so do not expect it to be watertight at every edge, and it is no substitute for a roof. What it does very well is turn an unusable windy patio into a room you can sit in.
Can I still see out?
Yes. A solar screen fabric at around 5% openness cuts glare and heat while you keep the view through it. Where the view is the whole point, clear PVC panels can be specified instead. We bring samples so you can judge it in your own light.
My opening is six metres wide
Then it becomes two screens side by side. We work out where the split falls when we measure, so it lands sensibly against a post or a beam rather than in the middle of the view. At that width a motor is no longer a luxury.
Is ZIIP worth the extra over a cable guide?
In a sheltered courtyard, probably not — and we will say so. Anywhere the wind actually reaches, yes, without hesitation. Come and look at the space with us and we will give you a straight answer rather than quoting you the most expensive system by default.
Can it be repaired if it tears?
The mechanism, the tracks and the zip can be replaced. A torn or wind-damaged fabric is a replacement rather than a repair, and wind damage is not a warranty claim — which is the argument for the sensor. Send us a photo and we will tell you which it is.