PVC Strip Curtain Thickness & Overlap Guide: 2mm vs 3mm

PVC strip curtains look like the simplest product in industrial hygiene — plastic strips on a rail. Then you order the wrong thickness, the strips blow open every time a trolley passes, and the cold room bleeds energy anyway. This guide covers the three specs that actually matter: thickness, width and overlap — plus which PVC grade belongs in which environment.

Thickness: 2 mm vs 3 mm

	2 mm	3 mm
Traffic type	People, light trolleys	Forklifts, pallet trucks, heavy carts
Typical doorways	Kitchen doors, store rooms, retail backrooms	Warehouse docks, cold storage, factory gates
Wind/pressure resistance	Standard indoor	Holds shape at drafty openings
Weight per strip	Lighter — easy human push-through	Heavier — springs back fast after vehicles

Simple rule: if anything with wheels bigger than a room-service trolley passes through, go 3 mm.

Strip width and the one-third overlap rule

Strips come in 200 mm and 300 mm widths. Wider strips mean fewer joints (better seal) but heavier push-through. The seal comes from overlap: each strip should overlap its neighbour by roughly one-third of its width — around 65 mm on a 200 mm strip. Under-overlapped doorways flutter open with every draft; that visible daylight between strips is exactly what an energy audit (or an FSSAI inspector) notices.

Skip the manual math — our strip curtain calculator takes doorway width and height and returns exact strip count, overlap and cost.

Which PVC grade for which environment

• Standard transparent — general doorways, kitchens, storerooms. Start here unless a condition below applies. FLEX Transparent 200 (strips from ₹95) or 50 m roll.
• Polar (low-temp) — cold rooms and freezers; stays flexible at deep negative temperatures where standard PVC stiffens and cracks. FLEX Polar.
• Amber anti-insect — food areas with fly pressure; the amber tint cuts the UV wavelengths flies navigate by. FLEX Amber.
• Welding grade — screens weld flash at fabrication bays. FLEX Welding.
• Anti-static — electronics assembly and pharma where static is a hazard. FLEX Anti-static.
• Ribbed — high-traffic forklift lanes; ribs take the scratches so clarity lasts. FLEX Ribbed.
• Opaque — visual screening of work zones. FLEX Opaque.

Cut-to-size vs 50 m rolls

Buying pre-cut strips with hardware is right for 1–3 doorways. From roughly 4+ doorways (or ongoing replacement needs), a 50 m roll plus hook-on hardware drops your per-door cost sharply — maintenance teams cut replacements in-house in minutes. Strips are consumables at busy doorways: budget to replace the middle 2–3 strips yearly.

Installation notes that save callbacks

• Strips should stop 10–20 mm above floor — dragging strips tear; floating strips leak.
• Use SS304 hook-on rails in washdown/cold areas, CRC where dry (CRC hardware).
• For cold storage, pair strips with an industrial air curtain for door-open cycles — see our air curtain range and the warehouse solutions page.

FAQ

What thickness PVC strip curtain do I need for a cold room?

3 mm polar grade for forklift traffic, 2 mm polar for walk-in rooms. Standard PVC cracks in freezers — polar grade is the spec that matters.

How much should PVC strips overlap?

About one-third of strip width — ~65 mm on 200 mm strips, ~100 mm on 300 mm strips. High-draft openings need up to half-width overlap.

What do PVC strip curtains cost?

Individual strips from ₹95; a typical single doorway lands around ₹2,500–₹6,000 installed depending on size and grade; rolls are the cheapest per metre. Exact number: calculator.

Do strip curtains satisfy FSSAI requirements?

Yes — strips at food-area openings are one of the methods FSSAI guidance names. Full audit checklist: FSSAI requirements for restaurants.

Order cut-to-size or by the roll

Every grade in the PVC industrial curtains range ships PAN-India in 7 days with GST invoice, cut to your doorway or as 50 m rolls. Get an instant quote — include doorway width × height and traffic type.