Zip screens

What the channels change

A conventional outdoor blind is held by cables or straps, so a gust gets behind it and it lifts, rattles and eventually tears. A zip screen has a welded keder edge that runs captive inside an aluminium side channel. The fabric stays flat and tight, wind passes through the weave instead of pushing on it, and there is no gap at the sides for insects, glare or rain to find.

What it does for a Waterkloof patio

It converts an outdoor area into a usable room for far more of the year. Late western sun is cut by the mesh without losing the garden. A summer breeze is broken. Mosquitoes stay outside. And because the mesh is open, you never get the cave effect of a solid blind — you can still see the pool from the table.

Practical notes

• Openness from about 1% to 10%: lower openness means more privacy and glare control, higher means more view and airflow.
• Blockout PVC options where the screen has to be a genuine weather wall on the windward side.
• Motorised with remote or wall switch, and wind sensors on exposed elevations.
• Channels can be fixed to timber posts, steel, or masonry — surveyed before quoting.
• Excellent under a folding-arm awning or a pergola, closing the open side.