Child-safe blinds

Looped cords and chains at a window are a genuine hazard to small children, and the fix is neither expensive nor complicated. It just has to actually be done. In this house's quotes it is done by default — you do not have to know to ask.

What we fit as standard

• Wall-anchored tensioners on every chain and every corded blind, screwed to the wall or frame so the loop cannot be pulled into a loop a child can reach through.
• Wand tilt instead of cord tilt on venetians wherever the size allows — a rigid wand you twist, with nothing hanging.
• Cord cleats and shortened drops where a lift cord genuinely cannot be avoided.

The options with nothing hanging at all

• Cordless spring-assisted rollers and cellulars — you push the bottom rail up or pull it down by hand.
• Motorised blinds — remote or wall switch, and the window carries no operating cord whatsoever. On a nursery or a low bedroom window this is the specification we push hardest.
• Wand-operated verticals and panel blinds, which handle wide glass without a chain.

Where the blind goes matters too

The risk is worst where a child can climb to the control: cots, beds, changing tables, toy boxes and window seats placed under a window. At the measure we look at what is actually in the room, not just the opening — and if the cot is going under that window, we will say so and specify accordingly.

Existing blinds

If you already have corded blinds without tensioners, that is a small, quick job and a very worthwhile one. We fit retrofit safety devices to blinds we did not supply, and it is one of the cheapest visits we make.

What child-safe control adds

Child-safe operation is not a separate product with its own price list, so it appears on a quote inside each window rather than as a line at the bottom. A wall-anchored chain tensioner is fitted as standard on any corded blind and is not an extra. A cordless spring or a wand is a modest step up on the blind it belongs to. Motorising a window, which removes the cord altogether, is the biggest step: as a guide, a motorised roller runs R2,500 to R3,800 per square metre installed against R1,000 to R1,600 for the same blind on a chain.

That is why the quote is itemised per window. You can motorise the two rooms where a cot or a bed sits under the window, leave a chain and tensioner on the rest, and see exactly what the difference costs. Tiny windows attract a minimum, and your figures come out of the free measure.