Manual Roof Blinds and Under-Awnings Explained
When designing an outdoor living space, comfort is just as important as appearance. A veranda should give you the freedom to enjoy your garden throughout the year, offering shade in summer, shelter in winter, and a naturally bright space that feels connected to the outdoors. While the structure itself provides protection from the elements, light and temperature control play a major role in how comfortable the area beneath your veranda will be.
At Fleming Verandas, every system we install can be customised with integrated shading options, helping you manage heat, glare and privacy in a way that suits your home and how you use the space. These shading systems are designed specifically for our verandas and glass rooms, ensuring they fit perfectly and perform reliably. Whether your structure features polycarbonate panels or a glass roof, choosing the right shading transforms your veranda from a simple shelter into a genuinely useable extension of your home.
Polycarbonate Roofs: Built-In Shade and Privacy
If your veranda features a polycarbonate roof, you already benefit from reliable built-in shading. Polycarbonate sheets are available in clear, opal or bronze finishes, each offering its own balance of light control and privacy. Opal polycarbonate gently softens natural daylight, creating a bright but glare-free environment that feels comfortable throughout the day. Bronze polycarbonate offers a slightly deeper tint, filtering stronger sunlight and reducing heat build-up, which makes it especially suitable for south-facing spaces.
All finishes block over 98% of harmful UV rays, protecting your outdoor furniture and helping maintain a consistent temperature beneath the structure. The multiwall design provides natural insulation too, keeping the veranda cooler in the summer months and helping retain warmth in winter. Because polycarbonate already performs the role of shading, fitting blinds beneath this type of roof offers little practical benefit. The material diffuses sunlight extremely effectively, and blinds would only reduce brightness unnecessarily while adding cost. Polycarbonate sheets also expand slightly with changes in temperature, so mechanical blinds can interfere with natural movement.
For polycarbonate verandas, the roof itself acts as the shading system, offering privacy, comfort and light control without any additional components.
Glass Verandas: When Shading Becomes Essential
Glass verandas and glass rooms create bright, elegant outdoor living spaces with clear views of the sky. Their contemporary appearance makes them a popular choice for homeowners seeking a refined, open environment. However, the clarity of glass also allows heat and glare to build more quickly beneath the roof, particularly in sunnier months. To maintain a comfortable temperature and enjoy the space throughout the year, dedicated roof shading is strongly recommended.
To support this, we offer two integrated shading options designed specifically for our glass roof systems: manual roof blinds, with one blind fitted to each pane of glass, and full-coverage under-awnings, which provide broad shading across the entire roof area. Both systems integrate neatly within the veranda frame, maintaining clean lines and a polished, built-in appearance.
Manual Roof Blinds — One Per Pane of Glass
For smaller verandas or homeowners who prefer practical, hands-on control, manual roof blinds offer a straightforward and cost-effective shading solution. Each pane of glass is fitted with its own blind, allowing you to adjust individual sections as the sun moves across the garden. This gives you the freedom to shade specific areas while leaving others bright, making it ideal for everyday use.
The blinds are made from high-performance, UV-stable fabrics that are specifically engineered for under-glass applications. These fabrics resist fading, moisture and distortion, ensuring smooth and reliable operation over many years. The fabric range is intentionally limited, focusing on materials that have been proven to offer durability, consistency and long-term performance. The blinds are operated using a telescopic pole and retract neatly when not in use, maintaining the clean, uninterrupted appearance of the veranda roof. This system is ideal for homeowners seeking targeted shading without the need for electrical components or automation.
Under-Awnings — Premium Full-Roof Shading
For larger glass verandas or properties that receive strong, direct sunlight, an under-awning provides a more comprehensive shading solution. Installed directly beneath the glass panels, the awning extends from a slimline cassette that blends seamlessly with the veranda framework. When deployed, it delivers smooth, quiet operation and a refined, integrated finish.
Under-awnings use specialised heat-reflective fabrics designed to reduce radiant heat and glare. These fabrics can help maintain a temperature beneath the veranda that is several degrees cooler, with many homeowners noticing a reduction of up to ten degrees on bright days. Because the fabric sits beneath the roof, it is shielded from wind, rain and debris, which significantly increases its lifespan and reduces maintenance requirements. Unlike manual blinds, under-awnings offer a wide range of fabric colours, textures and performance coatings, giving you the freedom to create a look that complements your home and enhances the overall design of your outdoor living space.
Motorised operation is available on most systems, and many homeowners choose to include sun or temperature sensors that automatically extend or retract the awning based on changing conditions. This effortless level of control makes under-awnings the preferred option for those seeking consistent comfort and premium performance.
When and How to Install Shading
Shading can be added to your veranda at any stage, whether you are incorporating it into the initial design or retrofitting it at a later date. Most of our glass roof systems are built to accommodate shading seamlessly, ensuring a clean and professional finish regardless of when it is installed. Our installation methods are designed to protect the structure’s integrity; fixings are mounted into aluminium rafters and support profiles rather than through glazing, ensuring seals and gaskets remain fully intact.
For motorised under-awnings, discreet cable routes are used within the rafters or posts, avoiding visible wiring wherever possible. During your survey, we confirm all shading compatibility details, and your CAD drawing will show rafter geometry, load paths and cable routes so that the final installation looks and performs as though it was part of the original build. Retrofit shading is typically a quick, tidy process that causes minimal disruption to your veranda’s appearance.
To help visualise your options, we can also produce virtual renders showing how different shading layouts and fabric colours will look within your space.
Maintenance and Longevity
Both manual blinds and under-awnings are designed to be low-maintenance. A gentle vacuum or occasional dusting is usually all that is required to keep fabrics looking clean and fresh. Under-awnings, protected beneath the roof, remain cleaner for longer and do not require weatherproof treatments. With proper care, these systems offer excellent longevity and remain a reliable part of your outdoor living setup for many years.
Choosing the Right Shading System
The right shading solution depends on your veranda’s design, orientation and intended use. Polycarbonate roofs already provide natural shading through their opal and bronze finishes, making additional blinds unnecessary. Glass verandas benefit from either manual blinds, which offer flexible, per-pane control, or under-awnings, which provide full-roof coverage and more effective heat reduction. For enclosed garden rooms and more private installations, combining roof shading with vertical zip blinds or side screens can create a fully controlled environment.
You can learn more about our glass verandas and glass rooms by exploring our product range or visiting our YouTube channel, where you’ll find examples of recent installations and customer projects.
Designed to Perform, Built to Last
At Fleming Verandas, shading is an integral part of creating outdoor living spaces that look beautiful and remain comfortable throughout the year. As members of the Guild of Master Craftsmen and Which? Trusted Traders, we take pride in delivering well-designed structures, high-quality materials and dependable aftercare. Whether you are enjoying a peaceful morning beneath the shelter of your veranda or spending summer evenings outdoors with family and friends, the right shading system enhances your experience and turns your veranda into a truly functional extension of your home.
To explore shading options for your new veranda or glass room, contact our team on 01902 212 331 or email [email protected] for expert advice and a free design consultation.
Got questions? Here are some of our most common!
Do I need blinds on a polycarbonate veranda roof?
No — polycarbonate roofs already diffuse light and block UV rays effectively, especially in opal or bronze finishes. These materials provide natural shade and privacy without additional blinds. Adding blinds to a polycarbonate roof would reduce light unnecessarily and offer little benefit.
Can I add shading to my existing veranda?
Yes — both manual roof blinds and under-awnings can be retrofitted to most Fleming Verandas glass roof systems. The installation process is quick, clean and does not compromise the waterproofing or appearance of the structure. A short site survey allows us to confirm compatibility and fitting options.
What’s the difference between manual roof blinds and an under-awning?
Manual blinds are fitted per pane of glass, offering individual light control and cost-effective shading for smaller verandas.
Under-awnings, by contrast, extend across the entire roof to provide uniform shading and are often motorised. They use higher-performance fabrics and are ideal for larger, south- or west-facing installations.
Can shading be automated?
Yes — under-awning systems can be fitted with motorised controls, remote operation, and optional sun and temperature sensors. These automatically extend or retract the awning based on light or heat levels, ensuring consistent comfort without manual adjustment.
Do the blinds or awnings need regular maintenance?
Both systems are low-maintenance. Manual blinds benefit from occasional dusting or light vacuuming, while under-awnings—being protected beneath the roof—stay cleaner for longer. Neither requires weatherproofing or complex servicing.
Are there different fabric options available?
Yes — but the choice varies by system.
Manual roof blinds have a limited selection of proven fabrics, chosen for durability and reliability.
Under-awnings offer a far wider range of colours, textures and performance coatings, including reflective and heat-reducing options for design flexibility.
Will roof shading make my veranda dark?
No — both systems are designed to filter sunlight, not block it completely. The fabrics are semi-translucent, maintaining a pleasant level of natural light beneath the roof while reducing glare and heat.
Can I see how the shading will look before installation?
Absolutely. As part of our service, we can provide virtual renders showing how different shading configurations and fabric colours will look within your veranda or glass room. This helps you visualise the end result before work begins.
Does roof shading affect the warranty?
When installed by Fleming Verandas, all roof shading systems are fully compatible and covered under warranty alongside your structure. Retrofitted systems added later by our team receive their own manufacturer-backed warranty.