Blinds Jargon Buster for Midstream Homeowners

A written quote for a Midstream home will use a few terms that are worth understanding before you sign anything. Each is defined here in a sentence or two, with the estate context where it matters.

Aesthetic approval

The estate's review of anything that changes how a house looks from outside. Exterior-visible shading goes through it, and we supply the product documentation owners typically submit.

Blockout cloth

Fabric that lets no light through. It suits bedrooms and nurseries, and reaches true darkness only when side channels close the gaps at the reveal.

Central join

The neat seam where two blinds meet on an opening wider than one blind can span, roughly three metres. On sliding doors it is placed at a mullion.

Double-volume

A space two storeys high, such as the entrance of many Midstream houses. Its upper windows are beyond the reach of a chain, which is why blinds there are motorised.

Honeycomb cell

The hexagonal air pocket formed by pleated fabric in a cellular blind. The still air inside is what insulates the window.

Multi-channel handset

A remote that stores several blinds or groups on separate channels, so one handset can move a single blind, a whole wall or every blind in the house.

Openness

How much of a sunscreen mesh is open weave, given as 3, 5 or 10 percent. Lower numbers stop more glare and heat; higher numbers keep more view.

Re-cording

Replacing the worn or snapped cords inside an existing blind so it runs again, a common repair that costs far less than a new blind.

Retrofit motor

A rechargeable battery motor fitted to a blind in a finished house, sometimes to an existing chain blind, with no wiring to run.

Solar gain

Heat that enters a room as sunlight through glass. West and north-facing panes on an unshaded stand collect the most of it on summer afternoons.

Spring-assist

A spring inside a roller tube that takes some of the weight, so a light, frequently used blind can be raised with a gentle pull instead of a chain.

Sun sensor

A small light sensor that lowers motorised shading when direct sun reaches it, used on the hot west and north elevations in place of a fixed schedule.

Top-down, bottom-up

A cellular blind that opens from either end, so the lower part of a window can stay covered for privacy while the top lets in daylight and sky.

Twin cell

A cellular fabric with two layers of cells, also called double cell. It insulates and deadens sound better than single cell and sits higher in the price band.

Window schedule

The list of every opening in a house with its size and chosen product. Owners moving within the Midstream group can often reuse one to shorten the first measure.

Reviewed November 2026 for Midstream.