Blinds in Groenkloof

Groenkloof looks the right way for an evening and the wrong way for a summer afternoon. West glass takes the sun at its lowest and most horizontal, which is the hardest light to block: it comes in under an eave, under an awning valance, under anything that was designed to stop sun from above.

Before you read on. The Waterkloof Sun & Reveal Field Guide covers the sun angles and elevation-by-elevation reasoning behind everything below, with sources, for the whole area this site serves.

What we usually specify here

Low sun needs a vertical answer. A zip screen dropped down the western side of a patio or a pergola stops the glare where an overhead structure cannot, and because the mesh is tensioned in side channels it does not flap when the wind comes up off the reserve. Inside, a sunscreen roller at a low openness keeps the outlook while cutting the worst of the glare; where the view matters more than anything, a lighter mesh keeps the reserve visible and accepts a little more heat.

For the terraces, folding-arm awnings with a proper drop valance — the valance is not a decorative detail here, it is the part that deals with the last hour of sun.

The practical constraints

• West fabrics fade faster than any other elevation; we specify awning cloth accordingly and say so on the quote.
• Reserve-side homes get more wind and more insects at dusk — zip screens handle both at once.
• Big view windows are often fixed panes, so ventilation has to come from elsewhere; we check that before recommending a blockout.