The Callaloo Company

                           Outside Installations

What do we mean by outside installation??

When bamboo blinds are installed in Open/Screened porch's, verandah's, deck's, Gazebo's, nursery's etc...   Or in all cases when these blinds are exposed to the wind, rain, cold, heat, sea breeze, snow and other environmental elements.
This product has been in very high demand for the past couple of years for porch installations. However, it has also been time consuming to fabricate.

Bamboo itself is very resistant to the weather elements. Generally, the problem lies in the peripheral equipment of the blinds. 

We have taken certain precautions in designing these blinds for the external environment:
  Pull cords are changed to weather resistant nylon.
  Binding Thread for blinds are also changed to weather resistant nylon.
  Header rail is changed to tropical hardwood that is also weather resistant.
  Cloth edging and liner are not used.
  All the pulley mechanism are made out of brass or nylon plastic.
  All outside blinds are made in roll-up style only. 
(With experience, we have found that roman style does not survive the elements because of the more complicated construction technique)

Option #1
Our most popular product is RED BHUTAN.   
It's is a weather resistant variety of wood matchstick blinds that is used regularly in the Far East (we call this THE SUPERWOOD!). These blinds have a reddish black color and will be available at our regular pricing schedule. This type of blinds do not require water sealant or varnish.

Please click on the photo to see more information on the "Red" Blinds 

Interestingly the "superwood" was initially used as foundations post/stilts of river home and boat piers in the Far East. We have sold large number of the RED BHUTAN blinds to holiday resorts and hotels for exposed patios to cut down the evening sun.

Due to constant exposure to the elements (and the fact that nothing lasts forever!), Lifetime warranty is not available for this product. We can however supply a limited 3 year warranty on the product. (as a point of reference, our oldest outside installation in Norway is 9 years old, it has survived the ice, humidity, child attack and sand/sea blast!)

Option #2
Prefabricated Blinds. We carry a large assortment of prefrabricated blinds. These blinds are very very low priced. If the blinds are given a coat of water sealant and polyurethane varnish as a precautionary step, these blinds will last as long as the treatment is repeated regularly. This the time consuming part).
A proper double coating will protect the blinds for up to 3 years before recoating is required. There is a surcharge of 20% per blind to weatherproof these blinds OR we can give you instructions on how to effectively waterseal and varnish the blinds yourself. (a little bit of work but its free!!, we recommend this option because the treatment will have to repeated every 2-3 years). Properly maintained this product also has a 2 year limited warranty.

There are also 100% prefabricated vinyl blinds also available. These blinds do not require any treatment. All our prefabricated blinds come with a 1 year warranty.

 Option #3
Basswood Porch blinds 
O.K these are "similar" blinds to the ones sold on the smith and Noble catalog. (this is for the S&N lawyers ). Lets see......., the good points, these blinds will not warp or sag. They are treated with fungicide to prevent mildew and is available in 17 oil stains. 
(We like these blinds...., they have a very basic look that is rustic and timeless, combined with the large color range. An excellent bang for the buck!!)

Some Notes:
Over a period of time, mildew may form on the blinds when exposed to the outside environment, this is readily removed with a weak solution of bleach. A good and repeated treatment (for Saigon Wild and Singapore Blade only), will prevent this from occurring.

Please Note: Some slight warpage, as well as natural variations in color and grain effect, will happen when wood is constantly exposed to the elements. In addition, some fading and/or discoloration of the finish may occur over time, particularly on the sunside of your blinds. This is common with man-made coatings and is not considered a defect.

Wear and Tear components: the items that are most likely to fail first are the cords and pulleys. We will gladly send you replacement parts or you can return the blinds to us for repair

The water sealant and polyurethane varnish treatment will eventually peel and fade, this is to be expected. Light sanding and repeat treatment will be required every 2-3 years. This time schedule will depend of various elemental factors. (rain, snow, humidity, etc...)

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