Roller shutters

What they do

A roller shutter is a curtain of interlocking aluminium slats that rolls down a pair of side guides. Closed, it puts a solid, ventilated layer of metal and trapped air in front of the glass — which is why a west-facing bedroom behind a closed roller shutter stays cool through a January afternoon and holds its warmth on a July night.

Most slats are made with small ventilation slots along their top edge. Lower the roller shutter fully and it seals; stop it a few centimetres short and those slots open into a row of light and air, which gives you a genuinely dark, ventilated room in the middle of the day.

Where they suit Waterkloof

Bedrooms on the hard west and north elevations, where blackout and heat control matter at the same time. Rooms that stand empty during the day and should not be heating up. Guest suites and studies over a garage roof, where reflected heat off the concrete is as much of a problem as the direct sun.

Practical notes

• Motorised as standard on anything wide; manual strap or crank on smaller openings.
• Built-on headbox for retrofit, or a built-in box planned into the lintel during a renovation.
• Powder-coated in a colour chosen to sit quietly on the elevation — worth agreeing with a body corporate before it goes up.
• Excellent acoustic dampening as a side effect, which matters on the busier through-roads.
• If you want to keep the view while you shade, look at external venetians instead — they tilt.