A conservatory has two different blind jobs in one room. The side windows and doors are ordinary windows, and you can measure and fit blinds for them yourself, the same way as anywhere else in the house. The roof is a different product, a harder measuring job and work at height. That’s the part where paying someone to measure and fit most often makes sense.

Safety first: never climb onto, lean on or put a ladder against a conservatory roof. Measure and fit roof blinds from inside, from a stable step-ladder or a work platform. If you can’t reach a panel comfortably without stretching, that’s the signal to pay someone.

Roof blinds

Roof blinds are made to measure for each glass or polycarbonate panel between the glazing bars. They’re usually pleated fabric held taut in a frame or along side tracks or fine wires, so the blind doesn’t sag across a sloping panel. Many have a reflective or metallised back on the side facing the sky.

What makes them harder than a window blind:

  • Every panel is its own blind. A roof with a dozen panels is a dozen made-to-measure blinds, and panels that look the same can differ by a few millimetres. Measure each one.
  • Shaped panels. Victorian and Edwardian conservatories have triangular or trapezoid panels at the end of the roof, and lean-to roofs can have odd panels at the edges. Shaped blinds need extra measurements, and each retailer asks for them differently.
  • What you measure varies. Some systems are sized to the visible glass, others to the gap between glazing bars, and some need the depth of the bars as well. Follow the guide for the exact product you’re ordering, in millimetres. Our general measuring guide is about upright windows, so it doesn’t apply to the roof.
  • Fixings. Roof systems usually fix to the glazing bars or the frame. Some clip on; others need screws. If the conservatory is still under its installer’s guarantee, ask them what they allow before anything is drilled.
  • Operation. Panels out of reach are opened with a pole, or with an electric motor. Wired motors need an electrician; battery and solar options don’t. The electric and smart blinds guide compares them.

DIY or pay someone for the roof?

For a small lean-to roof with a few rectangular panels you can reach safely, measuring and fitting yourself is realistic. Read the product’s measuring and fitting instructions before you order, and if your numbers fall between sizes, ask the retailer.

For most other roofs, a measure-and-fit service is worth the money: the fitter takes the risk of getting a shaped panel wrong, and you don’t spend an afternoon on a ladder looking up. Get more than one quote, check whether the price covers every panel including the shaped ones, and use the questions to ask a blind fitter.

Side windows and doors

These are ordinary windows, usually uPVC, so the normal choices apply:

  • Frame-fitted (“perfect fit”-style) blinds clip into the window beading without drilling, and sit close to the glass so they stay put when the window opens. They suit conservatory windows well, as long as the window has the right kind of seal; see no-drill blinds for uPVC and rentals for the suitability checks.
  • Pleated and roller blinds for a simple, light look. Pleated blinds are often made in the same fabric as the roof blinds, if you want them to match.
  • Venetian blinds if you want to angle the light rather than block it.
  • Vertical blinds for wide French or sliding doors; see the vertical blinds guide.

Use the measuring worksheet to note every window as you go: conservatory side windows are often close to the same size but not quite.

Heat and glare: what blinds can do

Conservatories are known for being too hot in summer and too cold in winter. Blinds help with both, within limits:

  • Summer: closed roof blinds cut glare and stop some of the sun’s heat building up, especially with a reflective back. Close them before the room heats up, not once it has, and open the roof vents or doors too.
  • Winter: a closed blind traps a layer of still air against the glass, which slows heat loss a little. The fit matters as much as the fabric. The thermal and blackout blinds guide explains how it works and what the evidence says.
  • Fading: blinds keep direct sun off furniture, floors and plants, which helps against fading.

What they can’t do: turn a glass-roofed room into one that’s comfortable all year. If the room is unusable for months at a time, blinds are worth having, but the bigger fixes (better ventilation, solar-control film on the glass, or a different roof) are separate, larger jobs outside this guide.

Conservatories can also get condensation on cold mornings. Choose fabrics that are easy to wipe or clean, and ventilate the room.

Child safety

Roof blinds are usually pole- or motor-operated, so they don’t have hanging cords. The side windows and doors are different: low windows and doors are exactly where children play. Choose cordless blinds, or make sure any cord or chain has a tensioning device fixed to the wall. The child-safe blinds guide covers the rules.

In short

  1. Treat the roof and the side windows as two separate jobs.
  2. Side windows and doors: measure and fit yourself, with frame-fitted blinds if the windows suit them.
  3. Roof: measure every panel, follow the retailer’s guide exactly, and pay for measure-and-fit unless the roof is small, simple and within safe reach.
  4. Expect blinds to help with glare and heat, not to fix a room that’s always too hot or too cold.

Got a VELUX-style roof window elsewhere in the house? That’s a different product again: see blinds for roof windows and skylights.

Frequently asked questions

Can I measure and fit conservatory roof blinds myself?

You can, but it's the part of a conservatory most people pay for. Every roof panel needs its own measurement, end panels are often triangles or trapezoids, and you're working overhead from steps or a platform. A wrong measurement on a shaped panel usually means a blind that can't be used. Side windows and doors are ordinary DIY jobs.

Do conservatory blinds keep the heat out in summer?

They help. Closed blinds on the roof cut glare and stop some of the sun's heat building up, especially fabrics with a reflective back. They won't make a south-facing glass roof feel like a normal room on a hot day. Ventilation, opening roof vents and keeping the blinds closed before the room heats up all matter too.

Do I need to drill into my conservatory frame?

Not always. Frame-fitted blinds for the side windows clip into the uPVC window beading without drilling, if the window has the right kind of seal. Roof blinds usually fix to the glazing bars or frame, and some systems need screws. If your conservatory is still under an installer's guarantee, ask them what fixings it allows before you order.

Are conservatory roof blinds child-safe?

Roof blinds are usually operated with a pole or a motor rather than a cord, which removes the main hazard. Side window and door blinds follow the same rules as any other blind: choose cordless, or make sure any cord or chain has a tensioning device fixed to the wall.

Free tools to use with this guide

  • Measuring worksheet A printable sheet for width and drop in three places, recess depth and notes for every window.
  • Quote comparison sheet Line up two or three fitting quotes side by side: total price, deposit, guarantee and what is confirmed in writing.