Rivonia Blinds / What we fit / Outdoor shading
Outdoor shading
Awnings and zip screens
The two ways to make a townhouse patio usable at five o’clock: a canopy over your head, or a screen down the open side.
A folding-arm awning is a fabric canopy carried on two folding arms, wound out from a roller fixed to the wall. Extended, it puts real shade over a patio or braai area; retracted, it disappears back against the house and gives you the winter sun you actually want in July. There are no posts and no legs on the ground, which matters on a small complex patio where floor space is already tight.
A zip screen solves the other half of the problem. It is an outdoor mesh that runs inside side channels, with the fabric edge zipped into the channel so wind cannot lift or flap it. Dropped down the open side of a stoep it cuts the low sun that a roof overhang never catches, takes the edge off the wind, and turns a patio into something close to a room — while you still see the garden straight through the weave.
The pair works better than either alone: canopy overhead, screen on the western side, and a braai area that is comfortable from four o’clock instead of abandoned until sunset.
On the highveld the weather deserves respect. Any motorised awning in an exposed position should carry a wind sensor that retracts it automatically — a summer storm arrives faster than anyone gets home to wind it in.
The practical detail
How we specify it here
Small decisions that decide whether you like the blind in two years’ time, not just on installation day.
- Fixing substrate — checked on site — brick, a beam or a slab edge all need different fixings, and an awning is heavy when it is out
- Projection and drop — sized so the shade lands where you sit at the hour you actually use the patio
- Wind sensor — recommended on every motorised awning in an exposed position — it retracts before the storm does the damage
- Mesh openness — a tighter weave for more sun control, a more open one to keep the view sharp
- Complex approval — outdoor work is usually visible from the common area, so allow time for trustee sign-off
Not sure which fabric or which room? That is exactly the conversation the free measure is for — samples held against your own light beat any swatch on a screen.
Questions
Asked most often
Straight answers, including where the answer is “it depends on the room”.
Can an awning be left out overnight?
It can, but we would not. Fabric on folding arms is happiest retracted when nobody is watching the weather, and a wind sensor makes that automatic rather than a chore.
Do zip screens keep the rain out?
They break driving rain and wind noticeably, but a mesh screen is not a wall — fine spray still passes. If you need a genuinely dry enclosure, a solid PVC panel is the honest answer, and we will tell you so rather than oversell the mesh.
Will the complex allow it?
Usually, since most patios face into a private garden rather than the street, but external work still needs sign-off from the body corporate. We will supply fabric colours and dimensions for the application.
Keep looking
You might also want
The rest of the range, and where each one earns its place.
Where we fit them
Awnings & zip screens across our patch
Turning a stoep into a room you actually use — awnings and zip screens fitted in Sunninghill, Morningside, Woodmead, Sandown and Gallo Manor as much as in Rivonia itself.
Let’s get it measured
Tell us about
your windows.
Which rooms, which way they face, and what is actually bothering you about the light. One of our expert consultants will contact you shortly to arrange the free in-home measure.
- Free in-home measure with fabric and slat samples
- Written quote, itemised per window, no obligation
- Made to order — nothing cut down to fit
- Repairs and restringing on existing blinds too
Our consultant does five to six measures a week across this area, so the diary fills early.
Want a ballpark first? The Window Schedule carries a two-minute window list — pop in rough sizes and we’ll send a budget range by the next working day. Not sure how to measure? Leave it: our consultant measures for free and you get exact per-window pricing either way.
Would rather type than fill in a form? Open the chat and the assistant will take it from there.
Request your free measure
We answer enquiries seven days a week.
Thank you — that is with us.
One of our expert consultants will contact you shortly to arrange your free in-home measure.