External venetian shading

The physics, in plain terms

An internal blind manages heat that's already inside the room. An external venetian stops most of it before it ever crosses the glass. On a wide wall of stack doors facing the Atlantic — the kind that opens a Fresnaye living floor straight onto the view — that difference is not subtle. It's the reason architects specify exterior shading on glass buildings rather than relying on curtains alone.

What we actually fit

Slats run 60–90mm wide, guided in side rails or cables, and tilt and raise like an interior venetian — except they live outside, exposed to salt air and the south-easter, so the system is engineered for it: powder-coated aluminium, marine-grade hardware, and effectively always motorised. A sun-and-wind sensor is standard practice here, not an upsell — an external blind has to look after itself the moment the wind off Lion's Head picks up, whether the house is occupied or not.

Where it earns its keep on this slope

• Living floors facing the Atlantic — the classic four-o'clock glare problem, solved outside the glass.
• West-facing main suites — heat kept out well before sundowner hour, not fought after the fact.
• Architect-designed frameless glass — a clean facade line that suits the newer builds cut into this slope.
• Any elevation where the aircon is losing — if a floor never quite cools down in February, this is usually why.

The honest limitations

This is a premium spend, and it changes the look of a facade — on a sectional-title building, that can mean checking the body corporate's rules on anything visible from outside before it goes up. It's not a retrofit for every elevation; fixing points and some design-stage planning make the difference between a system that looks intended and one that looks added on. This close to the water, marine-grade hardware is specified from the start, not offered as an upgrade.

What external venetians cost

These sit at the premium end and the pricing shows why: a manual system comes to R3,000 to R4,500 for each square metre, fitted, R4,500 to R6,500 per square metre motorised. The money is in the guide rails, the head box, and fixings and coatings specified to hold in a south-easter and to survive salt-laden air on an exposed elevation year after year.

A wind sensor is part of the specification rather than an optional extra here, and it is quoted as its own line so the cost is plain. Small openings carry a minimum charge. There is also a prior question no price can answer: whether the structure above the opening will carry the load, whether there is clearance for the rails, and on a sectional-title building whether the body corporate permits an exterior fixing at all. That last one is yours to confirm with the trustees; we raise it at the measure rather than after.