Zip Screens
Mesh or clear PVC locked tight in aluminium side channels on both edges — no flapping, no gaps, and real resistance to the wind that an ordinary drop blind simply can't hold.
The zip difference
An ordinary roller screen's fabric edge runs loose in a track — fine in still air, but it flaps and works its way out of the guides the moment real wind gets behind it. A zip screen's fabric edge is welded into a zipper that runs captive inside the aluminium channel, so it holds tension under genuine load. That's not a marginal upgrade on this coastline — it's the difference between a screen that survives a south-easter and one that doesn't.
02Reading the wind, cove by cove
Camps Bay and Clifton, directly under the Twelve Apostles, see the Cape Doctor accelerate harder than the more sheltered stretch further north — locals feel the difference between coves a few hundred metres apart. We specify wider guide channels and standard wind-sensor motorisation on the most exposed terraces, and a lighter manual spec where the position is genuinely sheltered.
03Two fabrics, two jobs
Sunscreen mesh keeps the view out, cuts glare and UV, and stops insects while giving daytime privacy — the default for most terraces. Clear PVC or crystal panels close a space against wind and rain while keeping it see-through, which is the winter answer for a braai room or covered patio that still needs to feel open.
- Captive zipper edge in aluminium side channels — holds tension in real wind, doesn't flap
- Sunscreen mesh (various openness) or clear PVC/crystal for a wind-and-rain-proof enclosure
- Motorisation standard on wide spans; wind-sensor retract for exposed positions
What a zip screen costs here
Priced by the square metre of screen, installed, as a guide: hand-operated zip screens run R2,800 to R4,500, while a motorised screen with wind-sensing control runs R4,000 to R6,000. The tensioned side channels and the sealed head are why a screen prices above an interior blind of the same area — that hardware is what lets it hold its shape in a gust rather than flapping out of it.
Balcony work is rarely one big screen, so it is worth knowing that narrow bays are billed at a minimum rather than by area. Fabric choice moves the figure too, since a tighter mesh and a solid PVC panel are not the same money. Everything is measured free of charge first, then priced in writing, opening by opening.
One honest limit
Wide spans (4m+ class) need genuine wall clearance for the stack and a wind rating that matches the actual position, not the suburb average. We measure the specific corner, not the postcode.
From Clifton's coves to every exposed balcony on the strip, zip screens are the wind specialist across the whole Atlantic Seaboard.
Close your balcony in against the wind
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