Hello everyone,
our roller shutters let in an extreme amount of light at the bottom left and right corners, causing the entire shutter to be illuminated. This is very disturbing, especially in the bedroom and children’s room. The pictures show the roller shutters fully closed, yet the light only comes through the bottom corners.
Someone from the company took another look (only from the outside, they did not check from inside) and said this is how it’s supposed to be. I have never experienced such light penetration in any apartment before, so I find this quite strange. Here is the response we received by email afterwards:
Depending on the type of roller shutter and the guide rail construction, more or less light can enter here. The roller shutter type and guide rail construction were requested by us as specified in the scope of work, and we offered and finally installed exactly this construction.
According to the RAL guidelines, the roller shutter guide rail must not align flush with the window drip edge; there must be at least 8 mm (0.3 inches) of space, less is not permitted, and we have achieved these 8 mm (0.3 inches) in your case.
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Of course, our service contract from the architectural firm did not state that the shutters should let in as much light as if there were no shutter. I would not understand why such constructions should even exist either.
My questions now are:
How is it with you? Do you experience this kind of brightness? How do your corners look? Would you say this is normal?
our roller shutters let in an extreme amount of light at the bottom left and right corners, causing the entire shutter to be illuminated. This is very disturbing, especially in the bedroom and children’s room. The pictures show the roller shutters fully closed, yet the light only comes through the bottom corners.
Someone from the company took another look (only from the outside, they did not check from inside) and said this is how it’s supposed to be. I have never experienced such light penetration in any apartment before, so I find this quite strange. Here is the response we received by email afterwards:
Depending on the type of roller shutter and the guide rail construction, more or less light can enter here. The roller shutter type and guide rail construction were requested by us as specified in the scope of work, and we offered and finally installed exactly this construction.
According to the RAL guidelines, the roller shutter guide rail must not align flush with the window drip edge; there must be at least 8 mm (0.3 inches) of space, less is not permitted, and we have achieved these 8 mm (0.3 inches) in your case.
---
Of course, our service contract from the architectural firm did not state that the shutters should let in as much light as if there were no shutter. I would not understand why such constructions should even exist either.
My questions now are:
How is it with you? Do you experience this kind of brightness? How do your corners look? Would you say this is normal?
J
Jesse Custer21 Jun 2024 11:43Hausbau12 schrieb:
If that semi-transparent finishing element were anthracite, like it is for all our neighbors, then the world (or at least the bedroom) might look a bit better or, uh, darker.I see that as an affordable and quick solution that shouldn't cause anyone too much trouble...
N
nordanney21 Jun 2024 11:50Hausbau12 schrieb:
@nordanney, so you also don’t know any maximum distance between the guide rail and the window sill?No, I don’t. I also don’t have access to the current RAL guidelines. However, in the online planner from ift (which is basically the reference), the roller shutter actually sits on top of the end pieces: 
S
Schrauberlani21 Jun 2024 12:34Jesse Custer schrieb:
Addendum regarding the 8 mm:
And again about the "guidance up to the window sill": I see a much greater effort needed for cleaning... I'm glad that this is not the case for us—otherwise there would probably already be a flower bed in the corner behind it...Hausbau12 schrieb:
Hello everyone,
with our roller shutters, a lot of light comes in at the bottom left and right, so that the entire shutter is illuminated. Very annoying, especially in the bedroom and children's room. In the pictures, the roller shutters are completely closed; the light only comes in through the bottom corners.
Someone from the company also took another look (only from the outside, not inside) and said this is normal. I have never experienced such light intrusion in any apartment before, so I find it quite strange. Here is the statement that was later sent by email:
Depending on the roller shutter type and guide rail design, more or less light enters here. The roller shutter type and guide rail design were requested from us in the specifications, and this exact design was offered and finally installed.
According to the RAL guidelines, the roller shutter guide rail must not be flush with the window sill; there must be at least an 8 mm (0.3 inch) gap, less is not allowed, and we have ensured this 8 mm (0.3 inch) spacing in your case.
---
Of course, it was not stated in our contract with the architectural office that the roller shutter should be as bright as without it. Also, I do not understand why such designs should exist.
My questions are now:
How is it with you? Do you have this kind of brightness? How do your corners look? What do you think, is this normal? It looks exactly the same for us now.
I don’t know if there are regulations; it was more of a recommendation.
The window installer mounted the guide rails up to the window sill. The plasterer offered to raise them independently so dirt doesn’t accumulate in the corner and cleaning is easier.
We also have light intrusion with the roller shutter fully lowered resting on the window sill.
The light intrusion bothered me a lot at first, but now nothing can be changed and I have gotten used to it. My husband didn’t care at all; he would probably sleep under a disco ball.
A
Allthewayup21 Jun 2024 19:08I noticed the same issue a few days ago in our new build. Our windows look exactly the same in detail from the outside. But inside, only the corners are bright, and the entire roller blind doesn’t glow. I was also surprised at first, but it seems to be a consequence of other construction details, such as the “hollow” corners.
It wouldn’t bother me as much as it does the original poster, since thanks to the south/east orientation, it’s not strong enough in the morning to wake us up. We do need it dark to sleep.
The question is what can be done afterwards. I would also seek several opinions and look into retrofit solutions to at least make the bedrooms darker. Possible increased difficulty in cleaning can probably be ignored. After all, a lot of dirt tends to accumulate in the corners anyway.
It wouldn’t bother me as much as it does the original poster, since thanks to the south/east orientation, it’s not strong enough in the morning to wake us up. We do need it dark to sleep.
The question is what can be done afterwards. I would also seek several opinions and look into retrofit solutions to at least make the bedrooms darker. Possible increased difficulty in cleaning can probably be ignored. After all, a lot of dirt tends to accumulate in the corners anyway.
H
Hausbau1221 Jun 2024 19:38@Tolentino I will definitely follow up again.
@Allthewayup Honestly, I don’t really care about the cleaning options. If I can’t sleep, I’m not in the mood to clean anyway.
What we are concerned about is what can still be done afterwards. Unfortunately, the window installer completely dismissed us. I’ve already looked for end caps or similar solutions myself, but couldn’t find anything suitable. Improvising something feels too risky, as I wouldn’t want the roller shutter to spread apart and get damaged eventually. We now have blackout curtains, but they need to be perfectly arranged; otherwise, too much light still gets in. It’s never really nice to have some “DIY” fixes, especially in a new build.
@Allthewayup Honestly, I don’t really care about the cleaning options. If I can’t sleep, I’m not in the mood to clean anyway.
What we are concerned about is what can still be done afterwards. Unfortunately, the window installer completely dismissed us. I’ve already looked for end caps or similar solutions myself, but couldn’t find anything suitable. Improvising something feels too risky, as I wouldn’t want the roller shutter to spread apart and get damaged eventually. We now have blackout curtains, but they need to be perfectly arranged; otherwise, too much light still gets in. It’s never really nice to have some “DIY” fixes, especially in a new build.
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