European Style External Roller Shutters

Hi all.

TL;dR. Anyone got external window blinds?

We are about to start a pretty significant home renovation which will involve almost demolishing a house to rebuild it again with extensions and an additional storey.

I’ve always liked the external window roller shutters that seem to be ubiquitous in most mainland European countries. The benefits of keeping sun off windows in the summer, creating complete darkness internally, additional insulation in the winter, plus additional security seem as relevant in the South East of the UK, as they do in northern France.

To avoid having ugly boxes on the outside, they need to be considered early in the design process and window openings sized to house the mechanism in to the reveal, and rooms designed so that windows can be inward opening. As we are now working with our architect it seems like the right time to make a decision about whether we want them.

The issue is, I can’t really find many decent UK suppliers, or even much information online from forums etc from people who have fitted them here. Most hits online seem to be focused on shop style security shutters, or really high end products. I can’t imagine that every farmer in Normandy can afford the prices that I’m finding from these limited high end UK suppliers.

Has anyone on here got any experience of external roller shutter blinds? Either in the UK, or overseas? If so, did you source in the UK or import?

Or can anyone offer a view of why they aren’t really seen in the UK? Is it a building control issue?

Every summer there are endless threads on how to keep a house cool, these seem like a great solution, and summers are only going to get warmer.

Thanks all

Good question. Some of the best nights sleep I’ve ever had have been in euro properties where you can make the bedrooms pitch dark with external shutters.

The buildhub forum should know: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/

https://www.leroymerlin.fr/produits/menuiserie/volet/volet-roulant/volet-roulant-electrique/

Retail prices in France seem very reasonable.

We are about to start a pretty significant home renovation which will involve almost demolishing a house to rebuild it again

You should bite the bullet and fully demolish it….then it’s a new build and zero VAT rated 😁

(I know, not answering your question in true STW style)

Bear in mind that whatever issues you find with rollers will almost certainly be duplicated with windows, when was the last time you saw inward opening windows (beyond tilt and turn) in the UK?

I’m with you though, built in blackout/zombie blinds are awesome.

when was the last time you saw inward opening windows (beyond tilt and turn) in the UK?

Quite a few in Scotland do.

when was the last time you saw inward opening windows

I guess there is more to it than fitting the frame inside out, if you follow my thinking…. after looking at my tilt/turn/open inwards German windows..

I posted something recently discussing external shutter blinds. I got as far as checking out the products on the Knall website before realising I don’t have the space between my windows and the soffits, so would require installing somehow into the soffit.

You should bite the bullet and fully demolish it….then it’s a new build and zero VAT rated 😁

Seriously considered it, but we don’t have the budget to do it properly with a full knock down and rebuild. As the house has been vacant for nearly a decade, we are eligible for the 5% VAT rate on refurbishments, so when we did the sums the the savings were not there. Also, we quite like a few things about the house as it currently is.

Retail prices in France seem very reasonable.

Thanks for the link, we did look at those, but as we will be doing so much work, we think we want to try and find some electric ones that can be linked in to some kind of home automation. One of my fears is that although they give ‘security’, if the blinds are obviously closed for a 2 week period then it suggests the house is unoccupied.

The buildhub forum should know:

I had a look on there, but couldn’t find anything too relevant, or recent. There was a thread a few years ago that suggested some French based suppliers, but the “B Word” now means that they no longer supply to them UK. Will do a bit more searching…. I’ve just joined so may ask similar.

Quite a few in Scotland do.

Do they? I must have been walking about with my eyes shut for the past 40 years 😉

Like I said, beyond full unit tilt and turn I can’t ever remember seeing any.

Update: it seems they do make them for part units so I guess they must be popular on new builds as that’s generally what I never look at. Still a pita if you want to have curtains drawn or a blind for privacy though.

Rather than inward opening, what about sash windows?

Curious to the blind question too though, would love them on a (future) house.

Rather than inward opening, what about sash windows?

After our last two houses being in conservation areas with sash windows, I would happily never see one again.

Still a pita if you want to have curtains drawn or a blind for privacy though.

I’ve previously had tilt/turn inward opening windows whilst living in Germany for a couple of years, and on multiple holiday rentals, and quite like them. The windows open and curtains closed thing wouldn’t be an issue if I manage to get external roller blinds.

It really does feel like there is a gap in there market for supplying them in the UK, which makes me think that there must be something obvious that I’m missing to explain their absence.

Tilt and turn with exterior blinds was great when I lived in Germany. Do wish they were more popular here (same with cellars). I looked recently for blinds as I’d like to fit one to our lounge to help isolate the dog from foxes.

My issue is more when you want privacy but don’t want to shut the light out. Thinking about it, a midge screen would be ideal!

We have them on portacabins at work so someone is manufacturing and installing them here.

Quite a few in Scotland do.

Yeah, it’s the regs. You have to be able to clean the external surface of upstairs windows from inside the building.

linked in to some kind of home automation. One of my fears is that although they give ‘security’, if the blinds are obviously closed for a 2 week period then it suggests the house is unoccupied.

Yep. Agreed

My issue is more when you want privacy but don’t want to shut the light out.

Stayed in a villa in spain that had external electric shutters that looked a bit like the security ones in shops – links that let the light through – but if you carried on closing them, the links closed together to be a total blackout. Very effective and a cool effect too

Yeah that’s still a lot less light than something like a voile is going to let through though.

One of my fears is that although they give ‘security’, if the blinds are obviously closed for a 2 week period then it suggests the house is unoccupied.

Surely if the house is automated you could raise the shutters during daylight hours?

Equally do you fret over your curtains being closed during the day/open at night now?

Yeah, it’s the regs. You have to be able to clean the external surface of upstairs windows from inside the building.

Can still do that with external openers.

Here’s some houses near me with external roller blinds, not a very new idea, they just had a little wooden pelmet to hide the blind when not extended. I believe the home automation part was achieved by asking the housekeeper to do it.

Surely if the house is automated you could raise the shutters during daylight hours?

Exactly, that’s my point, I want want to find some that are mechanised and can be set up with some kind of home automation, not the manual ones that are available from Leroy Merlin.

Equally do you fret over your curtains being closed during the day/open at night now?

No, but almost every house in the UK has curtains, therefore the opening and closing of them is probably not noticed by the passing public. If there is only one house in the whole of a town with shutters, it will stand out a bit more.

@jolsa that Knall website looks interesting, thanks for the link.

Can still do that with external openers.

You also have to be able to clean them without having to lean out. Unless the external opening window swivels 360, you can’t do it. Hence the tilt and turn windows fitted to just about every new build.

Quite a few in Scotland do.

Me, me, me. The house is 17 years old.

We have roller blinds on the upstairs windows and they don’t really play well together. Not a problem in Winter but on Summer nights my preference is to have the window open and blind closed.

Different approach, but would the property suit (and have space for) internal shutters. We’ve got them on all downstairs rooms on our old house, but it helps the walls are nearly a metre thick and easily hides them from sight when open.

We’d love something similar for our upstairs – for both the darkness and noise benefits – but window style prevents it.

https://www.bosch-smarthome.com/fr/fr/produits/appareils/commande-de-volet-roulant/

Bosch module to make electric rollers smart.

The ones we have here in Madrid are built into the top of the actual UPVC window frame so you lose around 15cm of glass. (where the box with the roller goes). I’ve also seen solutions which are built into the masonry itself.

We actually have to use them during the day when its 45 degrees outside, just to keep the heat out.

The big advantage of external shutters is that heat never even gets into the house – they shade the windows externally. And most are metal for security so you can shade and leave windows open while out of the house.

If I lived further south, I would be tempted to start a company selling these things in the UK…

Do they? I must have been walking about with my eyes shut for the past 40 years 😉

Like I said, beyond full unit tilt and turn I can’t ever remember seeing any.

Most are tilt and turn, but our last house in Dunblane had just inward opening windows.

A Google of Continental Roller Shutters got me these. They look to be manual, but the Syston ones can be electrically operated. Nowt about smart operation though.

Continental Roller Shutters

‘Continental’ Style Window & Doorway Shutters

Different approach, but would the property suit (and have space for) internal shutters

Thanks, we have had the internal plantation type shutters in our last two houses, and they do provide some of the benefits that we want, but we found that they don’t really prevent solar gain too much. In addition, we had a large full height bay window and a door sized window, in that room alone there were 32 individual movements required to close or open them every morning and evening. Plus, there internal space required to swing them open was there same as what would be required for inwards opening windows. I expect the new house will have a similar window area in some rooms, so would love to be able to just press a button and pretend that I’m in a villain’s lair as my shutters lower.

Thanks for the links @northernmatt

@devash and others who have them on their houses outside of the UK, do your shutters have any visible brand or manufacturer on them? It would be great to find somewhere that can supply as a complete system of window and shutter.

Having considered external blinds from a heat and fire safety perspective, this is what we’re using in our renovation. It’s a fixed miniature louvre screen.

MicroLouvre

I had them fitted in Spain, made in Germany. I ve been looking in UK but can’t get them. They are integral to window and metal shutter. Good burglar deterrent, at least it will slow them down.

My friends bought a new v nice apartment, same shutters but 1 master switch to control them all, so when you enter or leave, 1 switch all open. V impressive, you can get remote control ones too.

I d deffo do them again, max gap on glass, think up to 30 mm air gap, metal shutters in matching colour to frame, all integrated into 1 master switch but individually controlled.

@peekay ours have a sticker showing they were made by a company called Coperpal. I think they are a B2B company that sells material to UPVC manufactures and fitters.

Stayed in a villa in spain that had external electric shutters that looked a bit like the security ones in shops – links that let the light through

Fairly standard fitment out there- my sister’s lived in Spain for nearly 40 years and every flat/house she’s been in have had these as standard.

OP- it’s possible to get double glazed units with the blind sandwiched between the panes. Could this work?

Morley glass do the glass with blind inside, there’s a size limitation they can’t do c 1m wide you can get in Spain. Shutters keep glass clean in rain too.