Made to Measure PVC Strip Curtains UK: Why Custom-Cut Beats Standard Size Every Time

# Made to Measure PVC Strip Curtains UK: Why Custom-Cut Beats Standard Size Every Time If you run a busy warehouse, a cold storage facility, or a commercial kitchen in the UK, you already know the value of environmental control. You need to keep the heat in, the cold air contained, and pests, dust, and noise firmly out. But here is where many facility managers make a costly mistake: they buy cheap, pre-packaged, off-the-shelf strip curtain kits. Within weeks, the problems start. The strips drag on the floor, getting caught under forklift wheels and tearing away from the track. Or worse, the curtain is slightly too short, leaving a 50mm gap at the bottom that acts as a wind tunnel, driving up your energy bills and letting in pests. As product experts who have spent years manufacturing **made to measure pvc strip curtains**, we have seen every installation disaster in the book. In this comprehensive guide, we will explain why custom-cut is the only way to guarantee safety, durability, and thermal efficiency—and exactly how to get your measurements right the first time. --- ## What Are Made to Measure PVC Strip Curtains? > **Made to measure PVC strip curtains** are bespoke, custom-cut thermal barriers tailored to your exact doorway dimensions. Designed for commercial, industrial, and cold storage environments, these made-to-measure strip curtains are supplied pre-cut with hanging hardware pre-fitted, ensuring a perfect seal, optimal temperature control, and effortless installation without on-site cutting. --- ## Why Standard-Size Strip Curtains Often Don't Work It is tempting to buy a standard, off-the-shelf strip curtain kit. They are cheap, quick to order, and promise an "easy fit." However, in industrial and commercial environments, "one size fits all" almost always means "one size fits none." Here are the real-world problems that occur when you install standard-sized strip curtains instead of **custom PVC strip curtains UK**: ### 1. The Danger of Dragging Strips If a strip curtain is even slightly too long, the PVC strips will pool and drag on the floor. * **The Safety Hazard:** Pedestrians can easily trip on dragging PVC, especially when carrying goods. * **The Durability Issue:** When a forklift or pallet truck drives through, the tyres pin the dragging PVC to the floor. As the vehicle continues forward, it pulls the strip with immense force, tearing the PVC at the hanging hook or ripping the entire track off the wall. ### 2. Gaps and the "Chimney Effect" If your strip curtain is too short, you leave a gap at the floor level. This completely defeats the purpose of the barrier. Cold air is dense and sinks; a gap at the bottom allows cold air to escape rapidly from cold rooms, or drafts to howl into your heated warehouse. This pressure differential creates a "chimney effect," pulling warm air out of the top of your building and driving your energy bills through the roof. ### 3. Incorrect Strip Overlap Standard kits usually offer a fixed, basic overlap (often just 30%). This might be fine for a quiet internal doorway, but it is useless for an external bay exposed to British weather. High winds will easily blow light, low-overlap strips open, leaving your building exposed. **Bespoke PVC strip curtains** allow you to choose the exact level of overlap (e.g., 50%, 100%) required to withstand your specific draft conditions. ### 4. Poor Material Choices for the Environment Off-the-shelf kits are usually made from standard-grade PVC. If you hang a standard-grade curtain in a walk-in freezer, the PVC will rapidly lose its plasticisers, turn brittle, crack, and eventually snap. Conversely, if you put a light-duty curtain in a heavy-traffic forklift bay, the strips will scratch, cloud over, and lose their transparency within a month, creating a major collision hazard. --- ## What We Measure to Make Your Curtain When you order **made to measure strip curtains**, we do not just ask for a rough height and width. To build a high-performance barrier that lasts for years, we engineer the curtain based on several critical variables: ``` +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | CRITICAL MEASUREMENT POINTS | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | [1] Face-Fix Width (W) [2] Under-Lintel Width (W) | | (Extends past opening) (Fits inside frame) | | | | [3] Clear Height (H) [4] Overlap Requirement (%) | | (Floor to top of track) (30%, 50%, 100% overlap) | | | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ ``` * **Doorway Width:** The exact horizontal opening. For face-fixed systems, we add extra width to ensure the curtain overlaps the brickwork, preventing drafts from sneaking in around the sides. * **Doorway Height:** The exact vertical distance from the lintel to the finished floor. We calculate the precise length of the PVC strips, factoring in the hang of the stainless steel or aluminium track, so the strips hover exactly 5mm to 10mm above the floor. * **Frame Depth and Clearance:** We assess whether there are any obstructions, such as roller shutter guides, door handles, or overhead pipes, that might interfere with the hang of the curtain. * **Overlap Requirement:** We calculate how much each strip should overlap the next. For light pedestrian use, a 30% to 50% overlap is ideal for easy passage. For external, wind-exposed doors or deep-freeze environments, we recommend a 100% overlap (where the strips overlap completely) to create a highly efficient thermal seal. * **Fixing Type:** We determine whether your curtain will be **Face Fixed** (mounted to the wall above the opening) or **Under Lintel** (mounted directly to the underside of the door frame or ceiling). --- ## How to Measure for Made to Measure PVC Strip Curtains Measuring your opening is straightforward, but accuracy is vital. Always use a high-quality steel tape measure (never a fabric one) and measure in millimetres (mm) for precision. ### Step 1: Choose Your Mounting Method Before you pull out your tape measure, you must decide where the hanging track will be mounted. * **Option A: Face Fixed (Recommended for external doors):** The track is mounted onto the wall face above the opening. This allows the curtain to cover the entire opening and overlap the sides, providing the best possible thermal seal. * **Option B: Under Lintel / Soffit Fixed (