Tinting windows in the home?

JustAnotherSaver

We're in need of new windows & this has come up in our discussion. Now i'm not talking fully blacked out limo tint in case anyone is getting visions of that.

We get the sun blazing in through the front of the house all day long. Some may think that's wonderful and that's fine for those people, but i'm not those people. It gets a bit much. We have to close the blinds to watch TV due to the glare & the room gets very warm.

It just made us think about a slight (though what percentage i'm not sure) tint to take the edge off things. At the moment it's just in the idea phase, we haven't decided.


Just i've never seen a house with tinted windows before so i'm not really sure how it'll pan out and i don't really fancy shelling out just to experiment. Plus i haven't lived with the pros & cons the tint would bring.

Which is why i've come here to see if anyone reading this has experience of tinting at home.

Aylesbury_Duck

Have you considered light blinds on the windows? Probably more expensive but more versatile. Thin fabric in a light colour they will take off the glare without drastically reducing the light levels.

We had film applied to my work offices for the same reason you are considering and whilst it was practical, I wouldn't want it at home. It gave the light a strange quality, not unlike that seen when there's a partial eclipse, a sort of blue-green tint to the light.

-m-

i used the tinted reflective film that you can apply to the window, its really hard to get all the bubbles out but for me it made a massive difference to the bright light coming in, and i can still see out. When its brighter outside. In the evening when the lights are on indoors they reflect from the film and you cant see out then, though thats about the time i close the curtains so not a massive issue.

daveyjp

Solar film - often fitted to office windows, no reason it can't be used in homes and it is effective, but not noticeable. Examples via one link I found.

https://www.windowfilm.co.uk/buy-online/window-film-by-the-metre/solar-control/climate-70-window-film

Easy to fit without bubbles. Plenty of soapy water and a decent squeegee.

Owain_Moneysaver

I have it on my south facing bedroom window

It's effective in summer but for the rest of the year makes outside appear permanently a bit cloudy.

JustAnotherSaver

The blinds we have in place at the moment are blackout blinds. We have curtains in the bedroom but only blinds in the living room. The living room had new windows including frames last year & the bedroom desperately needs new glass soon.

Even with the blinds & curtains shut in the bedroom, when the light is strong in the morning it still gets around the edges of the curtain & can be annoying & wake you up.

Any sort of film in the bedroom would purely be for that reason and if it also has the bonus of being able to get changed in there without needing to close the blinds/curtains. The light would be the main thing though.

I also don't think i'd do the whole front of the house in the one go. I'd probably have the bedroom done to see if we like it & then if we do, maybe do the living room afterwards. Just depends to what degree.

theonlywayisup

We had it fitted by our glaziers to a large south facing set of windows to reduce the glare. It's very effective, both in summer and winter. It also stops the curtain/furnishing fabrics from fading.

JustAnotherSaver

theonlywayisup wrote: »

We had it fitted by our glaziers to a large south facing set of windows to reduce the glare. It's very effective, both in summer and winter. It also stops the curtain/furnishing fabrics from fading.

Are you talking standard tint or that 'solar film'?

Also what percentage did you go for (are they based on percentages? I'm only going off of car insurance quotes here, which always ask about percentages)?

After reading a bit about it the fading furniture was an interesting one. We have a costly proper solid oak sideboard right next to the main living room window and we have in the bedroom a solid oak dressing table and a pair of solid oak chest of drawers. Not cheap stuff and i wouldn't want it being damaged by the sun over time.

theonlywayisup

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Are you talking standard tint or that 'solar film'?

Also what percentage did you go for (are they based on percentages? I'm only going off of car insurance quotes here, which always ask about percentages)?

After reading a bit about it the fading furniture was an interesting one. We have a costly proper solid oak sideboard right next to the main living room window and we have in the bedroom a solid oak dressing table and a pair of solid oak chest of drawers. Not cheap stuff and i wouldn't want it being damaged by the sun over time.

Actually you are asking me something I can't answer. It was done when we converted the barn - about 14 years ago now. I don't know what the percentage is but they did supply us with 4 or 5 small framed sheets of glass which were tinted/filmed. We had them for a few days to see which effect we preferred. From the outside you can see there is something different about the glass but from the inside it's invisible, other than the actual light - a bit like wearing sunglasses, if that makes sense.

Ectophile

Office windows normally get a silvery film, rather than black. Black will absorb the sunlight, leading to hot glass. Silver will reflect it back out.

JustAnotherSaver

I emailed a window fitting company for quotes on fitting glass. They were very quick with the responses.

Then i emailed to ask if they also provide a tinting service & explained what we were looking at. I also explained we're about 4 months away from getting any of this done anyway due to when we've taken annual leave (not going to take an extra day off work just for windows which can wait).

7 days in & no reply to that one. Not sure the tinting has put them off or the delay.