Integral blinds provide an excellent solution for privacy and shade to new windows and doors. We explain everything you need to know about these latest double glazed units with integral blinds. Best of all they come suitable for any aluminium, pvcu, or timber doors and windows.
Information about Integral Blinds for windows and doors.
Integral Blinds fit permanently sealed between the glass of double or triple glazed units. As a result, these advanced double glazed units with integral blinds are not only one of the safest blinds available, they are also one of the longest lasting. These high quality blinds are also referred to by other names. Integrated Blinds, blinds-in-glass, interstitial blinds or sealed unit blinds are all different names for blinds between a glass unit. As well as being ideal for doors large or small, windows with built-in blinds are worth considering too.
One of the best ways of providing privacy and shade, for example in some of the best bifolding doors on the market is with blinds in the glass.  You will pay more for this product compared to regular glass units, but not excessively so. Prices for integral blinds depend entirely upon the glass size.  As a guide, prices start at about £250 per bifolding door panel, over and above the standard glass price.  Contact us to find out where to get prices for new doors or windows with integral blinds.
The benefits of buying windows and doors having double-glazed units with integral blinds.
Choosing an integral blind in your new windows and doors is a permanent choice. Once the glass units with blinds fit in your doors, you cannot change them as you would a fabric or after-market blind. If you don’t like the blinds in the future, you must replace the entire glass unit. Double glazed units with integral blinds are hermetically sealed.
A number of advantages come with buying integral blinds in any new window and door.
- The hermetic seal as well as overall glass unit construction means the blinds never gather dust or get dirty.
- You benefit from blinds protected by the glass, therefore never blowing in the wind, any tangled cords and any risk of damage by pets or children.
- Aluminium doors and windows now come now slimmer and more modern looking than ever before. Therefore integral glass blinds give you privacy and shade without obscuring the aesthetics or colour of your new glazing.
- Integral blinds enhance the thermal performance of your already energy efficient glass units.
There are several ways of operating these kinds of blinds the most common being:
- Cord Controlled
- Magnet Controlled
- Automatic
- Electronic
- Sensor controlled enabling them to open and close as the surrounding light changes
- Infra Red, Radio Frequency and blinds as part of an automated home system are also available.
Buying integral blinds for windows and doors.
Several manufacturers make integral blinds in the UK, supplied directly to door and window installers. Some of the major manufacturers include:
Hitech Blinds.
Peterborough-based Hitech Blinds offer quality integral blinds with extensive testing and quality behind them. As well as blinds for bifolding and sliding doors, Hitech also offers a new integral blind for conservatory roofs.
Unlike other manufacturers, Hitech Integral Blinds come with a 10-year guarantee. This guarantee comes thanks to routine cycle testing the company carries out with 10000 repetitions on raising, lowering and tilting the product.
Holis Integral Blinds.
The Holis blind system is of Israeli origin and one of the best known systems alongside Pellini. Holis Industries Ltd specialises in both double glazed units with integral blinds as well as many other blind and shading systems.
Holis is in business for over thirty years making their blind system in over 90 different production lines and with substantial operations and staff. The Holis Integral blind range suits both domestic and commercial property through an international network of suppliers.
Integral Blinds Ltd.
Coventry-based Integral Blinds Ltd, manufacture the Swiftglide Blind. This product has features such as colour-matched blind controls, solid glass and solid glass magnetic stops. Swiftglide blinds also feature a closed-off edge to the blinds meaning the side frame profile and headrails come neatly hidden.
One of the best features of Swiftglide blinds is how you can choose to conceal the Venetian blind slat stack. As a result, a fully raised blind also goes out of view.
Morley Glass and Glazing.
Based in Leeds, Morley Glass is the biggest and longest established manufacturer of integrated blinds and other specialised glass products. The Morley Glass blind is the Italian Pellini Screenline System, manufactured in the UK.
With stringent quality control procedures, sophisticated manufacturing facilities and the use of high-quality components, Morley Glass offer some of the best products available today.
Pilkington Glass.
The Insulight Pilkington Glass uses the Italian Pellini Screenline system. These blinds work in any residential or commercial application, also available as manual or automatic blinds.
The Pilkinton product has slats raising, tilting and lowering with a magnetic arrangement. The entire unit comes hermetically sealed and controlled from the outside. Just like other quality blind products, these come with a five-year guarantee for the glass and blinds and two years for the external components.
Selectaglaze Ltd.
The interstitial blind product from Selectaglaze is not only available with standard double glazed units, but also within the latest secondary double glazing systems.
Secondary double glazing fitted with interstitial blinds provides benefits for houses in conservation areas or for listed buildings where the existing windows are protected. Three products from Selectaglaze include magnet controlled, battery operated as well as hard-wired.
Skylight Integral Blinds
For homeowners looking to retrofit integral blinds to existing aluminium or PVCu windows and doors, Skylight integral blinds provide such as service. As long as existing windows have 24mm units with a 16mm spacer or 28mm glass units with a 20mm spacer bar, they can be improved with Skylight Integral Blinds. You’ll also find from Skylight, rooflights with built-in blinds.
Sunshade Blind Systems.
The Sunshade blind offers a maintenance free integral blind available in several colours and glass types. Typical products from Sunshade Blind Systems have Argon gas between the glass, quality spacer bars and come in fourteen different colours. Sunshade offers both Pellini Screenline and Holis double glazed units with integral blinds.
Planitherm glass is another feature of their blinds as well as the choice of manual or automatic operation. There is also the option of a magnet or cord-controlled manual blind. Finally, new glass units with blinds suit those wanting to change their existing glass for the latest units with blinds.
Fire Glass UK.
For integral blinds within fire rated and other protection glass, Fire Glass UK provides the Pellini Screenline blind.
Their products include integral blinds within toughened safety glass, energy efficient glass and fire rated glass for critical locations. A range of glass units with blinds comes with FD30, FD30/30, FD60 and FD60/60 and acoustic glass options. All these options provide 30 or 60-minute fire resistant glass. These products provide shading and solar control within fire-rated windows and screens.
Information about Integral Blinds for windows and doors.
Bifolding doors and sliding doors are just two of the best products suitable for these between-the-glass blinds. However, they also work within front doors, windows as well as large picture windows. Other uses for integral blinds are office partitions, commercial glazing and within fire-rated and acoustic glass.
The protection of the blinds between the glass also means long life. The blinds are free from damage by pets, tampering by children or twisting from draughts.
Above all, any modern window, door or screen with a minimum 24mm glazing cavity suits integral blinds. They work with any aluminium product as well as timber windows, the latest hybrid glazing systems, and PVCu doors and windows.
There are also particular characteristics with these products also worth knowing.
1. The blind and the double-glazed unit are one item.
In the event of a fault with any integral blind, the entire glass unit needs replacement. Moreover, all double-glazed units today are hermetically sealed under factory-controlled conditions. Therefore with any potential fault, you cannot take apart the sealed unit to repair the blind and then reassemble it on site.
2. Check out the guarantees available.
Importantly, these blinds come made by specialist glass companies. Every manufacturer offers their own guarantee. For instance, a general 10-year warranty on your door or window installation may not mean 10-years on the blinds too. Therefore, ensure when buying windows with integral blinds, your check the guarantee available.
3. Careful operation is needed with integral blinds.
Although these double-glazed units with integral blinds are highly reliable products, they also require careful operation. Care should be exercised when operating manual blinds having a cord, wand or magnet. Excessive force may damage the blind. Remember you cannot access the blind in the unlikely event of twisting or another fault.
Never attempt to repair double-glazed units with integral blinds or you invalidate the warranty.
4. You will lose some visible glass area
A perimeter outer frame comes with all blinds, therefore reducing slightly the visible glass area.
Our advice is to always see these blinds in a good showroom and ask questions. Many professional bifolding door and window installers have full-size doors in their showrooms where you can try out the product.
5. Beware of colour matching.
The powder coating process of aluminium doors and windows will also apply to the aluminium frame housing the blinds. Therefore, it is important to find out whether your blinds and door frames match in colour.
Door and window materials and integral blind components are not often painted by the same company. While colour matching with integral blinds is excellent, you may not get an exact colour match. Our article on the powder coating process and what to consider explains more.
6. Quality is everything.
Try to buy the best quality product. Importantly, choose a supplier providing a reliable and trusted brand of double-glazed units with integral blinds.
