insights
insights
Salt corrodes the wrong metal. UV bleaches inferior fabric. Humidity warps timber and rusts uncoated mechanisms. A coastal-grade brand specifies against all three at the start, not after the product fails at 18 months.
Invisible and persistent. It corrodes mild steel and uncoated aluminium, stains paint and seizes mechanisms within months of a coastal fit. Corrosion-resistant rails, brackets and chains are standard on every Garden Route installation.
Timber swells, fabric mildews, bonded parts separate. Knysna, Sedgefield and Wilderness sit in some of the most humid air in the country. PVC and aluminium over timber within the first hundred metres of the high-water line.
Year-round, closer to the Australian standard than the European one. Fabrics are chosen for southern-hemisphere UV; lesser ones look tired after a summer.
The window’s exposure, the room’s job, and the microclimate.
Aluminium venetians: waterproof, no rust, wipe clean, precise privacy between the slats.
Aluminium venetianAluminium venetians or rollers: steam and grease resistant, nothing to absorb cooking smells.
Venetian or rollerHoneycomb for a steady temperature, blockout rollers for darkness.
Honeycomb or blockoutScreen rollers cut glare and keep the view; double rollers give day and night.
Screen or double rollerDirect salt. Aluminium venetians or PVC shutters. Timber and fabric struggle.
Venetian or PVC shutterVertical blinds or Vertishades stack clear for full access.
VerticalPVC indoor shutters: permanent, architectural, strong heat and light control.
PVC shuttersPVC shutters or aluminium venetians: low maintenance, no mildew from a closed-up summer.
Shutters or venetiansIt names the metal. It quotes a salt-spray rating on hardware, not vague rust-resistant copy. It picks fabric for southern-hemisphere UV. It recommends PVC or aluminium over timber near the water, and tells you why. And its coastal track record can be checked.
Hunter Douglas and CoulisseCustom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is an authorised representative of BlindQuip, Hunter Douglas’s South African production partner, and specifies Hunter Douglas and Coulisse fabric, slats and cells with certified colour fastness, corrosion-rated hardware and engineered cord safety, backed by the manufacturer’s warranty.
04 Where we install and deliver
The West Coast is dry, windy and UV-heavy; the Cape coast wet, cold and salt-laden; the Garden Route humid, salty and bright in equal measure; KwaZulu-Natal hot, humid and tropical. Manufacturing is on the Garden Route, with installation across Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Sedgefield, George and Mossel Bay. For every other coast, the online shop ships aluminium venetians, blockout rollers, no-drill and duo rollers made to the same specification, free.
Not onlineShutters and awnings are measured, fitted and warranted in person on the Garden Route.
Wind, rain, UV and salt, unfiltered. A step above indoor specification.
A specialist with a verifiable coastal track record and coastal-grade components as standard. Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings has fitted the Garden Route since 2010 and ships the same specification nationally.
Aluminium venetians and PVC shutters, both inherently moisture and corrosion resistant. Rollers in UV-certified fabric also perform well when the hardware is corrosion rated.
Mild steel brackets, uncoated rails and untested fabric. Salt corrodes the steel within months, humidity seizes the mechanism, UV bleaches the fabric.
Yes, when the fabric is UV stabilised and the hardware corrosion resistant. Screen fabric for large panes, blockout for bedrooms.
Yes. Aluminium venetians, blockout rollers, no-drill and duo rollers ship free nationwide from the online shop, built to the specification installed on the Garden Route.
No. They are measured, fitted and warranted in person on the Garden Route.
Aluminium venetians or PVC shutters with corrosion-resistant hardware, and rollers only in UV-stabilised fabric on coated brackets. Painted steel and untreated timber are what rust and warp.
Content reviewed by the Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings team. Visit the online shop for current pricing.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings | South Africa’s trusted blinds, shutters and awnings specialists since 2010.