To be disappointed with these blinds?

Bloc Out

Agree with previous posters that Bloc Out is the way to go, keeps the entire room in complete darkness even in the middle of the day if you have them closed. They also have high tech versions if you want to be fancy (and spend more money)

This is my perfect fit blind from Blinds 2 Go.

This is right now at 7:23. It’s better than yours. I think you should complain

Agree re bloc blinds. They’re fully black out. We got for my kids as they wake with the sun. Nothing will be black out unless it slots into something down the edge

We have perfect fit blackout blinds and they are the same as yours.

We measured and ordered ourselves directly though so we knew it was just the fabric that was blackout, and they are much better than the non blackout ones we have elsewhere. We have a blackout roller blind over the top and the room is pretty dark but not blackout - but that’s what we wanted as I like knowing whether or not it’s the middle of the night from the tiny crack of light we can see.

we have cassetted blackout blinds from Bloc Blinds. They really block out all the light, with them closed, the room is very dark even in broad daylight. They were not too expensive.

I’ve got a blackout roller blind in my current bedroom, and I’m planning a blackout Roman blind in my next one as I was previously told these are better for light blocking - i would like better coverage.

I also made sure I fit the added IKEA blind quite a distance above the top of the window recess to avoid light leaking out the top. They start maybe 10-12 cm above the window recess.

I ordered exact same this month and am equally disappointed. They cost me over £400 too. I’ve remedied it by buying two £19 black out roller blinds from IKEA which sit outside the window recess and they drop with the drop side almost completely against the wall. I also manually push the roller blind edge towards the wall each night to ensure a better fit. You can see a window on the right without the IKEA roller blind added and a window on the left which is hardly letting any light through at all - this has the IKEA roller added. I’m about to fit an IKEA blind to the second window this week.

If the blades of the blind went all the way up to touching the edge, then you'd have too much friction to rotate them so they'd get stuck.

I think the blackout bit refers to the material they are made from being opaque, and as there isn't much light seeping between the blades then this bit works well.

For total blackout, you need one of those pull down blinds in a frame where the edges are fitted into the frame so once it is shut you have absolutely on light coming through.

I would speak to the shop as it was total black out you were after rather than just good blackout blinds, so sounds like you haven't explained properly what you were after or they haven't understood. Did you make it clear that you wanted total blackout with no light coming through at all?

We have these but yours seem to have a wider gap than ours. There’s a hint of light that comes through but that’s it. Did you get the double thickness? Just wondering if that makes a difference?

We have a cartridge blind similar (if not the same) as the Bloc out blind up thread. Really good, no light at edges. Ordered online and easy to fit.

I ordered a cheap version of these online to fit myself...the issue with them is that the blind frame will be perfectly square but the window is unlikely to be the same so there is always gaps even if only mm. Mine came with sticky backed foam tape to fill any gaps (from the back of the blinds so that it is unseen) and it is now true black out.
You can buy similar - www.amazon.co.uk/YIMIKI-Stripping-Insulation-Soundproofing-SoundProof/dp/B09NGQVM4V/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1LWEROI6HL2NW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KkPnNxDgAkahaCjsVFGFi6qt585WbXedDiD1ciwDVOsq-o8cvD4naMmzwbuFNchwJycNIeZ05mdCbgNd9H8mJLmkJdrYhs7C6RAtP0MTfQE7M4ydzoBJzgPdwfhM3rAZ-HDIOTfjP9sBrzatZ5NVnNA_j10U87DhpgZwsx8Z_3xnVOhfVEsKStLTi-98iUxM8TwcuxtySlLVNKLzMUjVbYLGz98gvSOJQVFnCmZciK7bedekpC-VA1P60N7d1ZXXw-K1jhgLHfcRI4CkFdkLq6fUz-3ws-FboXLuud2l3eo.cIYKY6_Pr4-qMDPbH7UilfO2cdRkEaJid6-oxlLS2mk&dib_tag=se&keywords=blackout%2Btape%2Bfor%2Bblinds%2Bfoam&qid=1776172953&sprefix=blackout%2Btape%2Bfor%2Bblinds%2Bfo%2Caps%2C332&sr=8-1-spons&aref=KlZ4efnkxY&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Very hard to get a picture of darkness but this is DD’s room right now with bright sunshine outside. The light at the bottom is her Yoto.

They had even less side leakage when new but three years of children pulling them open and shut has warped the fabric a bit.

Why not have them fitted on outside of window alcove? No inside fitted ones will give you total blackout because of the blind mechanism

I used to sell “window stylings” for a high end company. There is no, one product, that will give you true blackout I’m afraid. It will be a combination of blinds, like you have here, and curtains or roman blind etc.

However, the salesperson should have made that very clear at the appointment.

We have Bloc Out blinds and they pretty much don’t let any light through the sides, they are total blackout. They’re brilliant, DH fitted them in both kids’ rooms.

They are not fit for purpose which is what I would be arguing with them. You wanted complete black out and you haven't got that. We have had Perfect Fit blinds so I know what system you have.

Bloc blinds have rubber seals in their side channels which you attach to the walls of the recess so no light gets through the sides at all. Have a look at this video, but this is what we will be fitting later this year in the bedrooms.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JqqhsS-TmL0

Their website is here https://blocout.com/

You have to use curtains as well, yanbu to be disappointed they should have explained it won't block all light.

Combined with curtains, these blinds can be quite effective. I have found that the pleated screen blows in and bows if the window is open or there is a channel of air though which can cause crumpling.

We have these and they look the same unfortunately. I have a blackout sheet to go over the top when needed in the summer (trap it in the window to hold it up as windows are top opening) and we had to fit Roman blinds inside the window alcove for daily use as well as the perfect fit blinds

YANBU to be disappointed but the only solution is curtains too.