A braai does not stop for winter. What stops it is the weather around it: a cold front pushing rain in sideways, or a wind that turns the fire into a smoke machine and sends everyone indoors with their plates. The braai area itself is usually fine. It is the open sides that are the problem.

Drop-down PVC blinds with clear view panels close those sides off. The rain stays out, the view stays in, and the heat coming off the fire actually stays where the people are.

Why a clear-panel blind works for a braai area

A braai area with solid walls on the open sides would be warm, but it would also be a room, and nobody builds a braai area to feel like a room. A PVC blind with a clear panel gives you the seal without the enclosure:

Wind stops at the blind. The fire draws properly, smoke goes up the chimney instead of into faces, and the temperature around the table climbs noticeably once the through-draught is gone.
Rain stays outside. A winter front can dump for two days straight and the braai still happens.
The view stays. A clear window panel keeps the garden, the pool, or the valley in sight, so the space still feels open with the sides closed.
The warmth holds. An enclosed braai area with a fire going is comfortable in shirt sleeves on a 10-degree evening. The same space open on two sides is not.

Blinds roll up out of the way in summer, so you are not trading the open-air braai for the winter one.

Keep the PVC away from the fire

One honest caveat: PVC and open flame do not mix. Position blinds on the openings away from the braai itself, and leave the panel closest to the fire rolled up, or fit a shorter drop there. As a rule of thumb, keep flexible PVC at least a metre from any direct heat source, further if the braai spits. A good layout seals the wind-facing sides and leaves breathing room around the fire, which the chimney draught needs anyway. Send us a photo of the braai area and we will flag anything that sits too close before we cut.

Why we talk people out of a full clear blind

Most people phone and ask for a blind that is clear from top to bottom, and we will usually steer you away from it. Clear PVC is not as strong as standard PVC, and it shrinks a good deal faster. On a full clear panel that shows up as a blind that has pulled out of shape, gone slack, or lifted at the edges long before it should have, and on a wide braai area opening it shows up sooner because there is more material to move.

What we build instead is a standard PVC blind with a clear window panel sized to the view you actually want. The PVC carries the tension and takes the weather, the clear panel gives you the garden or the pool through the middle of it, and the blind holds its shape for years longer. In practice you lose very little of the view and gain most of the lifespan.

What we make

Every blind is made to the specific opening, not bought off a rack:

PVC blinds with clear view panels, cut to the exact width and drop of each opening.
Canvas awnings in any colour if the braai area also needs cover overhead, with UV and mildew treatment.

Supply lead time is 1 to 2 weeks from sign-off.

We manufacture, an installer fits

We are a manufacturer, so we cut and build the blinds to your exact opening sizes and the fitting is a separate job. Get an installer to do it. We work with fitters regularly and we will put you onto one, so ask us when you order.

This is worth insisting on. A blind that is hung badly does not seal: the tension comes out wrong, the roller sits skew, water finds the gap at the top corner, and the panel starts wearing at the points where it is pulling against itself. What you save fitting it yourself comes back as a blind that fails years early. Keeping supply and fitting separate is also what keeps our lead times tight and our prices well below a supply-and-install operation.

Already have blinds that are past their best?

If your braai area or patio already has PVC blinds that have gone cloudy, torn, or split at the seams, phone us before ordering new. We repair existing blinds regardless of who made them: welded patches, replacement clear-window panels, full re-skins on existing frames, and re-welds on perished seams. Most repairs cost a fraction of a replacement and add years of life.

How to order

Measure the width and drop of each opening you want to close, note which side the weather comes from, and send it through with a photo of the braai area. WhatsApp 083 631 5329 and we will come back within 24 hours with a spec, a price, and a lead time. There is no minimum order: one opening or the whole entertainment area.

The full range is on the blinds and awnings page, and if you are still weighing up fabrics for the rest of the patio, start with our patio blinds and awnings buyer's guide.

Braai area blinds: keep the fire going through winter