Questions, answered straight.

Yes. A consultant comes to you with samples, measures every opening and gives you a written quote itemised per window. There is no fee and no obligation, and we don't chase people who decide not to go ahead.

Every blind, awning and screen is made to order for your exact openings, so the lead time depends on the product and the volumes running at the time. You get the honest figure in writing on the quote before you commit to anything — we would rather quote four weeks and hit it than promise two and disappoint you.

No, and no honest installer will tell you otherwise. A folding-arm awning is a shade structure, not a roof. That is why we specify the wind rating plainly and recommend motorisation with a wind sensor, which retracts the awning automatically when gusts build — whether you are home, at work or away for the weekend.

Usually a folding-arm awning for the overhead sun, paired with a drop zip screen on the western edge for the late glare that comes in sideways underneath any canopy. Which combination and what projection depends on the orientation and the roof line, which is a decision made standing on your patio rather than over the phone.

Ours are external roller shutters: rigid aluminium slats that roll down the outside of the glass from a headbox above the opening. They stop sun and heat before it reaches the window and give insulation and true blackout when closed. They are shading roller shutters, not security-rated shutters — that is a different product with a different specification, available on request. We do not make hinged louvred panels.

Both, but not equally. An internal blind is managing solar energy that has already come through the glass, so it cuts glare very well and heat moderately. External shading — a roller shutter, an awning or a zip screen — stops the energy outside and is far more effective on a hot afternoon. Where external work isn't practical, a tight sunscreen fabric or a cellular blind is the best internal answer.

Child safety is standard, not an optional extra. Every corded or chained blind gets a wall-anchored tensioner, and for nurseries, playrooms and low windows we steer you to cordless, wand-tilt or motorised controls with nothing hanging at all. Tell us there are toddlers in the house and we quote it that way from the start.

Yes. Many of the estates and body corporates around Bryanston require anything visible on an exterior wall — awning fabric, shutter box, screen frame colour — to be approved before installation. We quote to the approved colour and profile where the rules are known, and give you the specification sheet to submit where they aren't published. It adds a week or two to the timeline; it does not add drama.

Often, yes. Snapped cords, jammed clutches, broken chains, tired tilt mechanisms and sagging slat stacks can usually be restrung or refurbished for a fraction of a replacement, and we re-hang blinds after painting or a move. We will tell you honestly when a blind is past worth repairing — failed fabric is usually the limit — rather than take the job either way.

Not usually. Rechargeable lithium tube motors live inside the blind and charge from a plug a few times a year, so most retrofits need no cabling at all. Mains-wired motors make sense in new builds and renovations where the electrician is already on site, and solar chargers suit exterior screens and awnings.

A day-night blind is one blind with alternating sheer and solid bands that slide over each other — a neat single-product compromise. A double roller is two separate blinds, a sunscreen and a blockout, on one bracket. The double roller does each job better; the day-night does both jobs from one blind and one budget.

Yes — we don't do soft fabric fold blinds, and we don't fit hinged louvred panels. Neither is part of our range, and we would rather say so than sell you something adjacent. What we do make is roller, venetian, cellular, vertical and panel blinds, shaped and skylight blinds, concealed blind boxes, roller shutters for shading, folding-arm awnings, zip screens, motorisation — and repairs.

As a rule: blockout in bedrooms, nurseries and media rooms; sunscreen on living glass where you want the glare gone but the garden kept. Where a living room is overlooked at night, remember that sunscreen reverses after dark once the lights are on inside — that is the case for a double roller.

Yes. Venetian slats, cassette pelmets, shutter boxes and screen frames can be specified to a colour rather than settling for the nearest stock shade. On exterior work in an estate this is often required anyway.