Has anyone had home window tinting?

nor do the "sunscreen" blinds....

I think tinting would be perfect for your situation

it greatly reduces heat/glare and can greatly increase privacy
(but not at night)

be aware also some tinting becomes reflective inside at nighttime
so you may not be able to see out unless you get nightvision type

best to get some initial info before you build, even discuss glass type
as tint is not recommended on certain glass eg lami

another alterative these days is those pull down blinds you can see
out of but others cant see in

Hi,

We had pilkington glass installed on our windows in our previous home and loved it. It was dark grey. We love it so much, we had it installed in our new home too. However, we realised - there must be different grades to tinted glass (not laminated stuff). This one is not as dark and you could almost see through inside during the day.

The glass is not as thick either. In our previous home, you'd struggle to hear anything from inside and you couldn't see inside the house during the day. Like anything else, at night, obviously, if you have the lights on, people can see in.

We find that we're spoilt with it. It helps with insulation too. You do feel a vast difference with having pilkington and not having it. I know this cos' when we're at the inlaws - although they have a powerful heather / aircon, it doesn't cool down the house as quick.

It is the same with our Car. Our Car has pilkington glass window and the same applies. My husband's Company Car doesn'ty have one and when it's a hot day, you can feel the sun burning your legs ... (ha ha .. I just had a vision).

I'd recommend it to anyone. I don't think I can ever live in a house with no pilkington windows or the likes. Even our laundry door is pilkington.

Just my penniless thoughts

Dahlia

pretty sure tint-a-car do a mobile service these days and also specialise in commercial and domestic tinting.
3-M make that security film.
I think they use it on Perth bus shelters which are made of glass. Yeah, little punks smash the glass all the time.
there was one shelter that had a $10 note under the film. The glass was always broken but no one could get the note

On the question about why people can see in at night with mirror tinted glass. It is because it is reflects light. If the light is on the inside at night then the opposite happens to the day when the most light is outside and gets reflected to those looking toward the house

It is such a great idea these days especially with homes so close to each other. Very practical.

http://www.tintahouse.net.au/
http://www.solartint.com.au/index.cfm?cat=info&type=1
http://www.tintmart.com.au/
http://www.tintacar.com.au/

I followed up on the recommendations for Perth window tinting companies in Perth in the post from Fu Manchu and thought I would send in some feedback.

I went to the company Tint A House mainly because they are a small company and local and have just had my West facing kitchen window done and am so happy with it that I have now decided to also do the front facing windows.

The guy that came to do it was very prompt, did a good job and was reasonably priced. I was really pleasantly surprised because I have just started my renovation/tarting up work around the place and already have had some bad experiences with tradesmen turning up late - or not all!

I had my kitchen windows done for heat reduction (and with daylight saving in summer in Perth it meant I was cooking dinner in 40 degree plus heat sometimes or having to put on the air conditioning) and also because this window faces directly onto and very close to my neighbour's side bedroom window and I wanted a bit more privacy during the daytime without having to have heavy or drawn curtains.

So far I am very pleased with the results. I will still need a blind or curtains of some sort for night time but that's ok. It is the daytime that was more of a concern.

I just thought I would give some feedback on this topic in case someone else in Perth was looking to have this done.

(Oh and he was quick too - only took about 45 minutes all up and no mess left behind!)

My kitchen window is about 150cm by 110cm and it was about $160 incl GST but a lot depends on the size of your windows and individual panes/panels rather than just straight square metres because apparently it is like cutting out the pattern for a dress - it depends how you can manoeuvre the pieces to get the best arrangement for cutting as the film comes in various widths. My front room window is much bigger and three panels but has been quoted at only $212 because of more "economical" cutting of the pieces at that size.

There are several grades and colour depths of the film too and because I have a lot of light in the kitchen I could go for a fairly dark film. The one I got was MEP film R20 silver and it has a lifetime warranty for residential and 12 years commercial.

Hope this helps - so often we hear disaster stories that it was nice to have someone do a job well and on time!