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I recently received and subsequently installed my woven wood woven shades. The shades fit perfectly, look and operate great and, I feel, are of very good quality.
Mike S.
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Most of the window blinds are manufactured with slats of fabric, plastic, wood or metal which adjust by rotation from an open position to a closed position by facilitating overlapping of slats. There are no slats in a roller blind but it constitutes a single piece of material. Metal window blinds are a perfect choice to be used outside the house or business for protection against theft, vision, temperature, bad weather and fire (in fire-prone areas). Most of these blinds are machine operated instead of hand operation.
The horizontal version adopts a thin woven "ladder" system for suspending the slats. This helps to close the slats through rotating drum which is attached and wrapped with each upper end of the woven ladder. The blind is pulled up with the help of a lift cord which stack tightly on window top as desired.
Usually wider slats are used in vertical version which can pull a cord to stack the slats together either to one side or to divide in the center and stack on each end. The slats are rotated by rotating shaft in the upper head rail housing that runs by independent geared carriers which converts twisting of tilt rail to a rotation of each slat in synch. Fredrick Bopp and Edward Bopp who held the original patent invented the original vertical blinds in Kansas City, Missouri. The company and the patent were sold in the 1960s.
Window blinds can be easily drawn with the help of a chord or through motorized automation. The motorized blinds can be controlled from a wall switch or keypad, a personal computer or remote control. This removes the need for the chords and enables to control inaccessible windows. Most of the homes feature blind control with central CBUS solutions. Besides being easy to use, this control is very effective to monitor the operation of blind to minimize heat effects during summer and reduce heat loss during cold weather.
Varieties of blinds
Slat blinds are the most common window blinds which contains various horizontal slats made of vinyl or metal. These slats are connected in such a way that it is easy to rotate them to enable light to pass between the slats. These slats can hide the light by rotating them up to about 170 degrees or you can pull them up to clear the whole window. Vertical blinds contain slats of plastic, stiffened fabric or metal which are hanged by one end from a track. These slats can be rotated up to 90 degrees so that light passes through them or for folding up one side of a window or door. Because of the ability of the slats to close tightly, vertical blinds are very effective in controlling the amount of exterior light or natural light to enter in the house.
Venetian or Horizontal Blinds
A venetian blind contains horizontal slats, one over the other. These blinds are slatted blinds which are made of plastic or metal. Sometimes wooden slats are used but these are now commonly known as bamboo blinds or wood blinds. They remain suspended by chords or tapes with the help of which it is easy to rotate all the slats through nearly 180 degrees. You can rotate the slat in such a way that that they overlap with one side with inward facing and in the same way in the opposite direction overlapping with other side with inward facing. By varying the rotation, various degrees of separation may be affected between the slats within those extremes. There are lift chords as well which pass through slots in each slat. The bottom part of the blind moves upward when these chords are pulled and this causes the lowest slats to press the underside of the next highest slat when you raise the blind. The rotating cords in slots on the two borders of each slat combine them with a latest variation of the lift cords and this help to decrease the amount of light to pass through a blind when closed. The width of the slat can be between sixteen to one hundred twenty mm and twenty-five mm is a usual width.
Vertical Blinds
Vertical are less likely to get damaged by strong winds and by holding dirt compared to horizontal blinds. But they are easily breakable and are quick to operate.
Stationary vertical blinds can be found in the doorways of some businesses or homes which keep their doors open. The blind movement helps to know if someone is getting inside the door or a change in air flow. These vertical blinds are commonly made of thicker plastic. In food businesses, this slows down the leakage of heat in the cold room. In warm weather, vertical blinds help to keep flies and other insects from getting inside the building.
Cellular or Honeycomb Blinds
Cellular blinds also called Honeycomb Blinds, have the shape of individual cells which are glued together. It looks like a honeycomb from the side. Cellular blinds are very useful to save energy. The pockets of air which the cells create help to consume less energy. Cellular blinds can be found in room darkening fabrics as well as light filtering fabrics. These blinds come in various set ups: standard corded, top down/bottom up, continuous cord loop, and top down only. Cellular blinds are a better option to wood blinds (venetian blinds).
Others
Blinds can be produced in different ways and made from different materials. The material and model of the blind determines the name of the blind.
Fabric made blinds can either fold up to a slim cord and small horizontal slats for example, Roman blind, roll up around a metallic batten for example, roller blinds, folding blinds without horizontal slats which develop a less integrated look for instance, Austrian blinds.
Wood blinds are usually called venetian blinds. Various wooden slats are joined together by corded pulleys which help to reveal the view by gathering all the slats at the window top or just angle the slats while enabling some amount of light to pass through the blind and retaining some sort of privacy. There are various finishes for wood blinds. The type of finish is decided by the kind of wood used. The size of the wood is typically decided by the width of each slat; the normal widths being twenty-five mm, thirty-five mm or fifty mm. Wooden Venetian blinds can also be found in vertical versions. They are typically made of broader slats and operate in the same way like the horizontal ones.
Woven wood blinds are made of small wooden twigs laid horizontally and joined together by threading vertically. The resulting weave offer vertical flexibility which can be only drawn upward once manufactured as a roller blind or as a venetian blind. Conservatory blinds are mostly made of Pinoleum. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs had blinds made of reeds. Probably the most inexpensive blinds within the 1800s had been home-made roller blinds. During the nineteenth century, home-made roller shade use to be the common window blind.
Faux wood blinds are a good alternative in place of real wood blinds. These are made of natural wood particles and composites of man-made materials. Faux wood is relatively cheaper compared to natural wood. These blinds are increasingly becoming popular as they offer a natural wood like appearance besides being cheap and versatile. Modern faux wood blinds offer better warp resistance than those in the past. These blinds have UV ratings as high as 500 and are available in various colors which cannot be found in natural wood blinds. Faux wood window blinds are a better option to areas of extreme temperature swings because they are more warp resistant. These blinds are also a perfect choice for places with high moisture like kitchens and bathrooms as they do not warp up easily like natural wood.
Venetian blinds, both vertical as well as horizontal can be found in various man-made materials to resemble the look of either metal or wood or plastic. These types of blinds are perfect for areas where direct contact with water or moisture is likely to create a problem like kitchens and bathrooms. These blinds can also be found with micro slats (as small as 16 mm or less). The benefit of smaller slats is that more have to be used to hide the entire window. Conservatory blinds which are ceiling fixed through various horizontal blinds are mostly made of man-made materials. Thus there are various kinds of blinds with respect to make and model of the blinds. Then there are blinds with respect to material and the way of manufacturing. You can also find the blinds in various colors, designs, styles, prices etc. It is a better option to shop around on the internet to choose the blinds as per the needs and requirements at the comfort of your home.