What is a roller blind and how does it work?
Updated
A roller blind is a flat piece of fabric wound around a tube at the top of a window. A chain or a motor turns the tube, so the fabric rolls down to cover the glass or up to clear it, and the blind stays where you leave it. The fabric can be blockout, light filtering or sunscreen.
Roller blinds are also called roller shades. Blind is the wide word for a window covering that raises, lowers or turns, such as roller, Roman, Venetian and vertical blinds. A roller blind is one flat piece of fabric on one tube.
How does a roller blind work?
The fabric is fixed along the tube and wound around it. The tube sits in a bracket at each end, and a bar runs along the bottom edge of the fabric. Turning the tube winds the fabric up or lets it down.
On a chain blind, a loop of chain turns a control at one end of the tube, and the blind stays where you leave it. On a motorised blind, a motor inside the tube does the turning, run from a remote or a wall control. A little extra fabric stays wrapped on the tube even when the blind is fully down.
What are roller blinds made of?
Most of a roller blind is its fabric. Roller blind fabrics are usually coated on one face. A blockout (blackout) fabric has a coating or layers that stop light, and a sunscreen fabric is a woven mesh. The rest of the blind is the tube, the brackets, the chain or motor and the bar along the bottom.
| Fabric | Light | View out | Privacy at night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blockout | None through the fabric | None | Yes |
| Light filtering, also called translucent | Soft and diffused | None | Mostly. Shadows can show |
| Sunscreen, also called screen | Glare reduced | Yes, by day | No |
How does a roller blind fit, and does it need a cassette or pelmet?
The brackets fix inside the window recess or on the wall or architrave. Inside the frame gives a neat look with a gap of light down each side. Outside the frame overlaps the opening and covers more light. The fabric can come off the back of the tube, close to the glass, or off the front, further into the room. The installer levels the brackets and balances the blind, because roller blinds are not balanced at the factory.
A roller blind works without a cassette or pelmet. Without one, the roll shows at the top, unless the blind is front roll and the fabric hides the tube. A cassette is a cover that encloses the roll, and a pelmet is a board or box across the top of a window. If keeping heat in or out matters, the Australian Government's YourHome guide says snugly fitted blinds, and curtains with pelmets, trap a layer of still air next to the window.
Ask your retailer which fabric suits each room, whether the blind should fit inside or outside the frame, chain or motor, front roll or back roll, and whether a cassette or pelmet is offered. Speedy Blinds makes roller blinds for retailers, who measure, quote and fit them.
Other ways people ask this
What else are roller blinds called?
Roller shades. Light filtering fabric is also called translucent, and sunscreen fabric is also called screen.
Are roller blinds a good choice?
A chain operated roller blind is simple, needs no power and suits most windows you can reach. Choose the fabric for the light and privacy you need.
How do roller blinds attach to the window?
The tube sits in a bracket at each end. The brackets fix inside the window recess or on the wall or architrave, and the installer levels them.
What is a cassette on a roller blind?
A cover that encloses the roll at the top of the blind. A blind does not need one to work, so ask your retailer whether one is offered.
This answer is general information. For your own windows, your retailer's advice and your order with them come first.