How long with my items take to be delivered?

Normal Lead Time:

Soft furnishings

Approximately 2 – 4 weeks from receipt of written order subject to fabric availability and manufacturing capacity.

Bed Products

Approximately 3 – 5 days from receipt of written order – subject to availability.

Ready Made Products

Approximately 3 – 5 days from receipt of written order – subject to availability.

Cubicle Curtains Tracks

Approximately 3 – 5 working days.

Express services are available on. Cubicle Curtain Tracks and some made to measure soft furnishings.

What are the Child Safety Regulations for Blinds and Window Treatments

Child Safety

Q: How long with my items take to be delivered?

Normal Lead Time: Soft furnishings Approximately 2 – 4 weeks from receipt of written order subject to fabric availability and manufacturing capacity. Bed Products Approximately 3 – 5 days from receipt of written order – subject to availability. Ready Made Products Approximately 3 – 5 days from receipt of written order – subject to availability. Cubicle Curtains Tracks Approximately 3 – 5 working days. Express services are available on. Cubicle Curtain Tracks and some made to measure soft furnishings.

Children are naturally curious about their environment, whether their exploring the home or further afield. At Direct Fabrics we understand the potential hazards faced when owning a blind around children.

That's why we believe that it's so important for a child's world to be kept safe and secure. All of our blinds either have a cord-free mechanism or come with a safety device in line with the latest European regulations, and will be supplied with all made to measure blinds as standard.

It's now illegal to supply or professionally install an internal window blind which doesn't comply with the new child safety requirements. Blinds fully compliant with BS EN 13120:2009+A1:2014 are confirmed as 'safe by design', and this standard applies to all blinds fitted in all rooms in every home, regardless of whether children are present or not.

If you are due to visit a prospective client who is contemplating buying a new window covering for a child's room, then you should strongly advise them to consider designs that work without cords or chains, as follows:

Roller blinds with slow rise spring mechanism
Crank operated Roller blinds - with removable crank handle
Electrically-operated Roller blinds
Vertical blinds with wand control operation
Curtain tracks for either hand draw operation or electric

This does not just apply to the home environment however! All areas open to the public should adhere to the same guidelines to ensure that they comply with the new standard. We suggest that you ask your client to complete a risk assessment form to inform you whether you have to provide internal blinds which are compliant with child safety standards.

Although following the introduction of the new legislation in February 2014, all new made to measure blinds are to be supplied with a child safety device, why not offer to check all other window coverings in the building for child safety compliance? In any room with a shading solution already in place, designs with cords or chains must be secured with a child safety device whether or not children are living there. This is a preventative measure due to the possibility of young ones visiting the home / property at any time in the future.

How to Calculate Curtain Weight?

(Flat measurement of curtains x drop of curtains) * square metre weight of fabric. Example Regency flame retardant velvet curtains, fabric weight 363gm per square metre, plus lining 200gms per square metre. Thus circa 563 grams per square. Metre.
flat curtain measurement 1000cm, drop of 300cm. Thus 30 sqm of fabric. Total weight is 30sqm x 0.563kg = 16.89kg.

What is Acoustic Absorbtion

Acoustic absorption refers to the process by which a material, structure, or object takes in sound energy when sound waves are encountered, as opposed to reflecting the energy. Part of the absorbed energy is transformed into heat and part is transmitted through the absorbing body.

Will my room be totally blackout with a blackout fabric?

Although a fabric is blackout doesnt mean the room will be totally blackout. You will get seepage around your blinds which means light will enter your space. The light into the room will be greatly reduced. But you will still get light in a room.

See the image below of our blackout roller blinds