Window Film

We are exploring the possibility of adding Window Film (to block rays in an effort to prevent fading of furniture, possibly improve energy efficiency, etc) to several windows in our house. Has anyone done this and, if so, do you feel as though it is worth the effort ? Also, does anybody know if this sort of thing requires HOA approval ?

 

Guidelines state "clear glass" which is meant more to prevent the extremely reflective material like you will find in some cars.

If you are going to use the film that is barely tinted then I would proceed.

 

Thanks T8erman !

 

rharse put an opaque film on our bathroom windows -- the huge ones over the tub that look RIGHT into our neighbors' homes -- for privacy purposes and it was a few hours of our time (I had to help since a window that large is more than a one person job) and they've held up just fine for 2 years or so now. Ours are not reflective and I don't think they have any heat mitigating properties, but as for the product, which I think we bought at Lowe's, the process of applying it, and the durability of it, I'll give it a thumbs up. I know they have different ones, some of which are specifically designed to reflect light and mitigate heat, but again, our intent was privacy while still allowing light.

 

There are numerous degrees of shade and colors available for self install. Lowe's has the best selection.

I've put the shading up on french doors (cut the glare on the TV) and also darker shading on my garage windows to reduce someone seeing inside.

Easy to put up but use a very very sharp razor blade to cut the edges.

I am happy with it. Product is quality, and effect is "as advertised".

 

I would highly recommend if your house is experiencing sun exposure for most of the day (I mean big windows with sun exposure). Our house is South-facing and in the afternoon gets the full force of hot sun. Our windows in the rear are the biggest too. We had our entire rear-facing windows tinted (professionally) and we went with fairly neutral tinting, reducing heat radiation about 50% and UVA and UVB exposure by more than 99%.

In our case it was about 18 windows and total cost was around $1,000. I think a great investment. The result is that the windows (from the inside) appear as though they have a slight "sunglass" effect. It is hard to tell the difference but from the outside you can not see in (daytime) so it is an additional privacy screen. It also helps to sharpen your view as you reduce glare and have a polarizing effect. To be consistent cosmetically, I would suggest that you have to do this for a group of windows or front/back. If you have windows side by side where one has film and the other does not, you will be able to tell the difference.

 

We've been thinking about this for a while. Who did you use? Would you recommend them?

 

We used Atlantic Sun Control (last year) and would definitely recommend them. They were efficient and left no mess, and the film (they used Vista products) seems to be doing its job. You can find their coupons just about anywhere, too. At tax time, they even sent a reminder that it's tax-deductible -- yet another bonus of having film!

 

Home improvements that are energy savers are tax deductible. We added insulation to our attic last year and were able to deduct the cost.

 

It's a one-time deduction of 10% of the cost of the improvement.

 

...I will have to check that deduction because we did not do that... thanks. And the name of the place we used is escaping me, but I will check. I remember prices being similar all around, but the tinting product the various business use is the big difference, and the warranty they offer.