the MOST EXPENSIVE ITEM in my entire reno 🥵💸🤑

Hey friends, I'm here to share about Ziptrak today!

If you're not 100% sure what this is, it's basically outdoor blinds that you can install in your balcony, and it offers up to 99% wind, rain, sun and UV protection.

(99% is the highest it can go, we're not allowed to utilize anything that's 100% because it's against HDB/condo regulations. Basically, your outdoor space is meant to be an outdoor space and that's why you're not allowed to seal it off 100%).

But with 99%, it's supposed to block out all the elements!

So you can have your Ziptrak down and turn your AC on, and it basically extends your living space and makes your balcony a lot more functional.

Here's the catch... Ziptrak is expensive. VERY expensive 💸💸💸

Depending on how big your balcony is, your Ziptrak can cost $5,000 to tens of thousands of dollars.

Because my unit is a first floor unit, it comes with a really big patio.

I paid $12k for my Ziptrak, and it's considered cheap, because it's not branded Ziptrak.

(TLDR: The "branded" version is called Ziptrak, there are other brands called Zipblinds, Zipscreen, Ecozip, etc. These are more affordable as compared to Ziptrak).

So, here's the million dollar question... is Ziptrak (and similar style blinds which shield up to 99% of the elements) worth it? Or is it a waste of money?

I would say, despite it costing quite a lot of money, we think it's money well spent!

Because we have the Ziptrak installed, our balcony is really a lot more functional (in fact, we placed our dining table in our balcony instead of our house).

It also helps with maintenance and cleanliness - because the Ziptrak seals off all access to your balcony, it drastically reduces the amount of dirt, insects, random items that can otherwise be blown into your balcony when it rains.

The one caveat is that it does NOT completely block rainwater from coming in (during heavy rain).

We've been subjected to a lot of heavy rain recently, and when that happens, we do get some rainwater that pools at the side of the balcony.

That said, it's not a dealbreaker - it still does its job really well, and allows us to use the balcony a lot more than we could otherwise have.

What do you think of Ziptrak and similar blinds? Would you invest in these blinds for your balcony? ;)

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