My new house has a few big windows facing southwest, taking much sun heat in the afternoon. Have to keep the heat pump working till after midnight to cool down.
I went to HomeDepot and hoped could find some kind of window film that can block sun heat - something like we put on minivan window glass. But there are only some small packs of decorative films available there. Need some advice on this.
Thanks.
Auto parts store?
Any place that does auto window tinting should be able to sell you some. You may want to consider having them do it. If done wrong it bubbles and looks really ugly. We had all of the windows in our house done by one of the local firms 10 years ago and they all still look good. Be careful what you wash the windows with because some cleaners are not good for tinted windows and will weaken the adhesive.
It is not clear why you prefer tinted glass to:
-- exterior shade, as by an awning;
-- interior shielding: we fitted Venetian blinds to all windows facing south.
Try Lowes. Just check on-line Lost of choices out there.
If they are dual pane you will void many companies warrantys, the interior pane heats faster and can crack in certain situations like when the sun comes up when its real cold out and the panes expand unevenly. I cracked a few. Research it first or better yet have a local glass co do it that guarntees their work.
That bubbling is caused by the morons not removing the backing on the window tint plastic.
There are some spray on windows tints. Check the paint store or auto paint store.
Many films, and pretty much all of the professional film, does not have a backing. The bubbles are trapped air. The instructions will specify how to minimize bubbles and what to do when you can't slide them out to the edge.
R
Hi, Those films known to damage the glass(cracking) from heat build up. It happened to our window. S/W facing double pane window suffered damage and window company wouldn't honor warranty finding out film was used. Single pane windows are OK. Since we upgraded to low E Argon filled double pane windows. Single panes on my sun room still has films w/o any problem.
In reference to your previous post: "That bubbling is caused by the morons not removing the backing on the window tint plastic."
Some morons might forget to take the cap off the can before spraying.
I have never seen a backing on those plastic films. The bubbles are due to trapped air.
The main issue with those films is they cause damage to the glazing because of uneven heating. It is likely your minivan doesn't have double pane windows.
Yes, that is an issue and also limits how dark the film can be vs how large the window is. I know I saw film available ateither Lowes or HD, think it was Lowes.
Some thoughts from my own experiences:
Putting up reflective foil will increase bird strikes tremendously, and some of them will be big. Foil will change the view, but not a lot. Foil is permanent, and you can't put it up and down at will.
I built a 33' x 13.5' steel awning to shade my windows, and it is inadequate. I am going to build some steel/canvas awnings to shade some of the windows I'm currently using foil in, but know I will end up using both.
I made some squares out of that spongy foil material that I use on smaller windows in the laundry room, and some of the rooms. Works great, but doesn't look good. The upside is that it is very easy to put on and take off, and can be used seasonally when the sun shifts.
I made some larger hanging panels out of the same materials they use for shade shutters, but it just hangs on the inside. You can see through it somewhat, and you can put it up and take it down as the day goes on or the season goes on. Doesn't trap dirt and bugs like exterior panels.
As for the reflective foil, I put some on a house once. It's not brain surgery, but it takes a bit to learn how to do it right. With the state of the economy right now, I'd check and see what someone would charge to do it. Plus, they have access to wider rolls and different stuff than you can get at the Borg.
Any way you go, it does make a large difference.
Steve
Yep, sun's a bitch!
I got the tarps at HF - about $10 each.
Hi, I watched the guy applying the 3M film on our patio single pane windows. It comes many different shade and color. No backing for sure. On a clean glass, he thinly applied ivory gentle liquid soap put on precut film sheet and squeeze out over and over until there is no bubbles. just few minutes effort. Just like hanging wall paper.
I live in Florida and have two rooms with windows facing west. I bought some window film at Home Depot several years ago and put it on my windows. It looks like what you see on cars. It wasn't too hard to manage. Clean the inside of the windows real good before you start
- as I recall there were explicit instructions on the box. Go back to HD and ask again - I am sure they still have it. It sure down on the heat that was coming through the windows. That was about 10 years ago and it still looks fine. You can see out but people cannot see in.
That few minutes of effort came after a lot of practice. The pros make it look like a piece of cake but the application frustrates a lot of DIYers.
R
Film isnt going to do it..Didja notice that even though cars have tinted windows, it still gets to be 135 oF in there in the Summer sun.
We hung some "roll down" shades outside the glass (white plastic tubes from Big Box stores, sort of like Soft drink straws (shaped like 0 ).
We roll em up after the sun has passed by. It cut our "inside" heat WAY down
We already had these "inside" but found that once the heat comes "in" thru the glass, the house temp stayed right up there.. All the venetian blinds do is channel the heat UP to the top of the window, then out into the room. They do help in Sun damage/fading.
There are rolldown "Sun shades" /sunchasers (like the ones on Larger RVs) that even have remote controls.
Just make sure that whatever you get, is on the OUTSIDE.
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