Frosting & Tinting Windows
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Frosting & Tinting Windows
June 2010
I have a south facing 1920s home that gets so much sunlight
our hardwood floors and furniture has began to fade
considerably. We bought the house because we *loved* the
light, but its killing our furnishings. We have wonderful
shades we can pull down to block the sun, but then we feel
like we live in a cave.
Has anyone had any experience installing UV window film
(residential version - not the scary stuff in office
buildings)? The samples we saw actually look pretty good. We
are thinking of doing it with Window Innovations out of
Brentwood. Has anyone done this? Would you do it again?
Anything to consider? I realize that it will not completely
mitigate the fading issue, but should hopefully improve it.
I wonder about how long it will last. Any advice appreciated!
Love The Sun But My Furniture Does Not
We lived in Hiller Highlands 15 years ago and had a ton of
sun exposure with gorgeous views. Didn't want a heavy
window treatment to get in the way. We contacted Solar
Chek--they came out & measured & applied the film to the
windows & it was great. It does ''shade'' your glass
somewhat but it wasn't reflective from the outside & it
allowed us to keep our blinds open most of the time. And
it stopped our sofas from fading so dang much. I remember
the guy's name because it was so ''Elvis'' -- it was Cash
Cashner. I looked them up & found this:
http://solarchekcompany.com/ but there aren't any names so
I'm not 100% it's the same company, but I do remember they
were in CoCo County.
Christina
I had the same problem and solved it by having UV film
installed on my south- and west-facing windows. It
definitely cuts the light, which I notice most during the
winter, but this keeps it cooler during hot days as well as
protecting my upholstery, hardwood floors, Oriental rug, and
wool carpet. Be mindful that the darker the film, the
greater the UV protection; buying a really light film may
not offer you the protection you want/need. I had a chance
to replace my first installation after a remodel in which
the originals were scratched and got a much more effective
product (the technology has improved). I so enjoy having UV
protection as well as daytime privacy and views without
window coverings. Good luck!
Terry
March 2006
The front of our house faces west and has lots of windows, so in the summer, the front rooms get unbelievably hot. We are considering getting a UV-protective film put on them. Does anyone know of a company that does this? If so, how much does it cost, and were you happy with the results? Thanks!
Meryl
Glass Scratch Removers is great for window tinting. they can take scratches out of glass
and put protective film over it. they'll even come an give you free estimate. There phone
number is 510-885-0400.
Yolanda
Oct 2004
I have french doors that have window panels and would like
to add some privacy to the room by achieving a 'frosted'
look. Not in the literal sense of how frost accumulates
on windows but something that would add some privacy yet
allow natural light to shine through. Has anyone ever
tried to use frosted glass paint at home and what was your
experience? I would prefer to use this less costly method
rather than buy new doors! Thanks!
eileen
I had this same issue with window panes that offered no
privacy. I purchased a roll of window adhesive (tho' it
wasn't sticky) and applied it to the window. It went on
with water and a squeege and has been there for several
years. It hasn't budged, I've done nothing to it, and it
was pretty inexpensive. I bought a roll of the stuff from
Home Depot. It came in a rather long box and took minutes
to adhere. A great product.
Andrea
Have you considered using decorative gauzy paper (available
at art and stationery stores everywhere, it seems!), cut to
the size of the window panels (the technical term is
''lites'') and glued on with a very thin strip of Elmer's
along the perimeter? It works; it can be very attractive;
and it's super inexpensive!
Good luck.
I don't have experience with frosting paint, but I just put
up some frosted privacy film. It's not very expensive,
though a bit time consuming to apply. It's from Gila and
you can get it at OSH and probably the Depot. THe
directions seem complicated, but are actually really well
written. Buy a small squeegee and ignore the bit about
leaving an 1/8th inch.
I just did it to three windows and am really pleased.
Stephanie
One way you can approximate this , and it's easily removed if it turns out you
don't like it, is to use very thin Japanese paper -- Miki's Paper on 4th Street in
Berkeley has beautiful expensive ones but the Art Store has some cheaper
ones that would work equally well. You whip up an eggwhite -- I know it
sounds goofy, but it works -- until it's a really stiff froth, and then rub it all
over the window, put up the paper (cut it to size before you start in with the
egg) and rub more eggwhite over the paper. Get it saturated evenly; you'll
know if you've missed any spots because they'll appear more opaque. When it
dries, it'll be well stuck and even, and you can remove it any time you like
with hot water and some scrubbing. I've done it in several apartments I've
lived in. You can use really thin paper, or some of that kind that looks like
lace: whatever suits your fancy.
Cory
It comes in a spray can. You'll have to mask around the windows to protect
what you don't want sprayed. It may be difficult to get it as even as
something that is really frosted by sandblasting, so keep the can as far from
the glass as you can and still get results, at least 6''.
Good luck!
Stephani
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