Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005

On a rollshutter

By KRISTINE LOUGHMAN
Special to the Citizen

If you can't stand the heat, stay in your house.

That's the advice local business owners Rainer and Dorothea Birk offer from inside their state-of-the-art home in Fayetteville. The house functions as a showcase for the couple's business, Rolladen Birk International, featuring doors, windows and shades designed to minimize energy consumption while maximizing comfort, temperature control and privacy.

In a part of the country where September still brings sweltering heat, residents look for any way they can to keep their homes cool without pushing energy bills through the roof. But even keeping lights off and drapes closed brings minimal relief. Rolladen Birk International offers some solutions, one of which comes in the form of rollshutters, named Rolladen in Germany, where the Birks are originally from.

"This is the product that made us start this business," Rainer Birk explained of the shutters that adorn his windows and are rapidly gaining popularity around Fayette County. "They reduce energy consumption, making rooms cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter."

According to the company's Web site, www.rolladenbirk.com, the shades can lower indoor temperature by as much as 35 degrees, a welcome relief in the middle of a hot Georgia summer. The shades also prevent leaking windows and winter drafts and can reduce energy consumption by up to 64 percent.

Rollshutters are installed on the outside of the window and controlled from the inside, raised and lowered by either hand crank, a switch or by programmable timers which can be manually overridden at any time. The shutters, once lowered, provide complete privacy for those inside and help reduce outdoor noise better than glass windows alone. The ability to block out all light is another appealing feature for customers with home theaters looking to get rid of the annoying glare on their televisions, or just wanting to make the bedroom darker for a better night's sleep.

"Even the customers who were already familiar with the products from overseas are amazed with the energy savings and quiet operation," Birk said of the German rollshutters and other items he sells. "We are proud to offer our customers products of such high quality that are not otherwise readily available in the Atlanta area."

He encourages potential customers to visit the showroom at the couple's German built home to see all the custom-made products available.  Along with the rollshutters, these include retractable awnings, garage doors, tilt turn windows, and folding glass doors that form retractable walls.

Rolladen Birk International also specializes in retractable solar screens, a perfect solution for areas of the home that have extreme exposure to direct sunlight. The company's Web site explains that "unlike interior window treatments, which block the view and only shade you from direct sunlight, solar screens block out the sun before it even comes in contact with the window surface because they are mounted on the outside."

Like the rollshutters, the solar screens help conserve energy costs by effectively blocking over 90 percent of solar heat gain and protecting against UV radiation. The screens are custom made for each home and operated from inside, either manually or motorized.

Both Birk and his wife are native Germans, and they say German quality workmanship is deeply embedded in both of them. They are proud that they can offer products to Fayette County that are otherwise unavailable at local home improvement stores or retailers.

"We are not only the owners but all the installers," Birk said. "So if there should be a problem, our customers know who to call and who will come to their home or business to service the product."

The Birks will be displaying their products at the Fall Atlanta Home Show at the Cobb Galleria from Sept. 29 through Oct. 2, and they encourage potential customers to stop by their booth. They are offering coupons for the event at www.rolladenbirk.com, or customers can request one by phone.  The company's Web site offers additional information and previews of all the products and their many benefits.

To schedule an appointment to tour the showroom and see demonstrations of the various products offered by Rolladen Birk International, call 770-964-9191. The home is at 300 Blossom Ridge Trail in Fayetteville and is available by appointment Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.