How much do integral blinds cost for bifolding doors, French doors or windows? The price you pay for these blinds depends on the colour, the sizes and whether you choose the manual, magnetic or fully electric models. There are several brands of blinds too and these vary from the basic to the better brands also reflected in the price.
Read on for an explanation around integral blind prices as well as getting some budget prices on some typical door arrangements with integral blinds.
Are integral blinds worth it?
Integral blinds do perform a valuable function. But they also come with pros and cons. Before we come to these, we also recommend an altogether different solution. That is the Centor Screening System. It does away with pretty much all of the disadvantages of integral blinds and you may find this a better solution for you.
Our advice is to at least find out more as an alternative and get a quotation for these. And if you’re concerned about quality, the Centor brand is one of the best in the world for bifolding doors and their screens are pretty special too. The significant benefit of Centor blinds and shades is they cover sliding doors with ease where most integral blinds won’t work with them due to sliding panel size or door configuration.
Are integral blinds reliable? It depends on how they’re used. Some installers won’t offer them with their bifolds because of historical issues. Others love them and never have problems. Where problems do occur, it’s usually down to not using these blinds correctly (and gently). But someone not familiar with their operation can quickly break them or cause a fault. Overall it’s down to the quality of the product and the company making them.
Pros of integral blinds:
- Convenience in not having after-market curtains or blinds and enjoying the aesthetics of your modern new bifolds
- The over-done marketing messages of won’t gather dust, blow in the wind, and never need cleaning. It’s true.
- The convenience of manual, automatic and solar control blinds.
Cons of integral blinds
- An ugly frame around the glass unit that compromises sightlines when the blinds are open
- The guarantee on these blinds varies a lot and is typically only five years
- The reliabilty of these blinds is good, but also not good when user error breaks them, which can be often.
- When the blinds fail you’ll also need to replace the entire glass unit in most cases
- Finding replacement parts is a nightmare on older products where the brand isn’t known.
Working out how much integral blinds cost.
Before we give an indication of how much you can expect to pay for integral blinds, there are some essentials around the product, all affecting the price you pay.
First of all, the size of the blinds affects the price. Older blinds only came possible for doors with a minimum of 28mm glazing cavity. Now, integral blinds come with thinner slats meaning more types of doors and windows suit them. For instance, Pellini Screenline blinds come with 10mm slats. As a result, you now get blinds in composite doors or any glazing cavity as narrow as 16mm.
Generally, the maximum size of an integral blind is 2.5m wide and 2.5m high with most systems. The smallest integral blind size is approximately 450mmx450mm. Sizes of blinds vary substantially from supplier to supplier and across the different brands. So it could be possible your glass size may not suit blinds if the sizes are too wide or too tall.
How much integral blinds cost in bifolding doors
As a general rule, we will take a typical integral blind fitted in quality bifold doors with the following specification.
- Over two square metres in area.
- Manually operated with a magnet control and optional Solar Controlled
- Integral blinds in a standard stock colour, for instance, white or grey.
- Glass specification being a 28mm toughened glass unit with a Low-E coating and warm edge spacer bar.
Importantly, our integral blinds cost is approximate and a general guide only. The bifolding, sliding and entrance door examples use popular systems such as Origin Bifold and Residential Doors, Schuco or other quality sliding door.
The above guide prices are for standard width doors and at no more than 2100mm high. Prices include VAT and fitting.
| Standard Toughened Glass | Manual Controlled Integral Blinds | Solar Controlled Integral Blinds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Panel Bifold Door | £3600 | £4600 | £5800 |
| 4-Panel Bifold Door | £4700 | £5800 | £7000 |
| 2-Panel 1.8m wide Sliding Door | £3400 | £4060 | £4900 |
| 3-Panel 2.7m wide Sliding Door | £4800 | £5800 | £7000 |
| 4-Panel 3.6m wide Sliding Door | £5100 | £6400 | £8100 |
| 1 metre wide Single Door | £1100 | £1450 | £1800 |
| 1.8m wide French Doors | £2300 | £2900 | £3780 |
Factors affecting the price you pay for integral blinds
The above prices are an approximate guide only. There are other factors affecting the integral blinds cost.
Why the brand of integral blind affects the cost.
There are a number of integral blind systems with no ‘bad’ product on the market. However, manufacturing quality and individual features do vary with the different brands. Above all, quality is everything with integral blinds. The best integral blind product is by Pellini.
Our research indicates the price of integral blinds being consistent with the major manufacturers. However, buying power, profit margins and other commercial factors all affect the final selling price.
As well as this, how the blinds are manufactured, the glass specification, colour and method of operation all affect the price too. Above all, the general supply route is the major manufacturers of integral blinds, all providing their products direct to home improvement companies. These companies buy the blinds from their chosen supplier, then fitting them to the door or window.
Do also bear in mind your bifold door supplier buys in blinds and doesn’t make them.
How colour affects integral blinds cost
Integral glass blinds come in a choice of colours some of which are stock colours. Typically, integral blinds come in the following popular colours.
- White
- Black
- Several grey colours such as Anthracite
- Silver as well as Metallic Silver
- Green
- Beige
Other colours are available with special orders and an increase in the price over standard stock colours.
How integral blinds open and close affects the price.
Integral blinds are available with several opening, closing and tilting options. There is cord control, magnet controlled, electric opening, remote-controlled opening and even solar controlled. All of these different methods of opening will affect the price paid.
Why your project also affects the integral blinds cost
We live in a commercial world where good businesses want to secure your order.
It is often the case that the window company will want to keep their prices keen so the price of integral blinds may also be affected by the overall order value. This is usually good news for the homeowner that receives a competitive price with integral blinds included or at a reduced price.
It is also worth bearing in mind that there are door and window businesses large and small. Some enjoy better discounts from integral blind manufacturers than others because they buy more. Again this can affect the price the homeowner will pay.
How to get a quotation for doors and windows with integral blinds
Many good showrooms around the UK how products fitted with integral blinds and we can help with putting you in touch with these.
Some installers will dissuade you from these claiming unreliability and operational issues. It’s true for them as we’ve explained earlier in this article.
Don’t buy the cheapest, always ask which brand of integral blinds you’re buying and who makes them. Then do your research on those or get in touch with us. The overwhelming feedback is the products correctly used are reliable.
Remember to ask about the guarantee on the blinds specifically then check your contract – you’ll find it’s not the same as your doors.
