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Has anyone recently installed window film to help keep rooms cooler in the hot summer heat? I had received a few quotes last year from some pros in the area, but I've also seen some websites where you can buy window film by the roll or by the cut pieces and install it yourself. (I'm not talking about Gila from HD/Lowes, but something of a supposedly better quality.)
I've seen several videos on how to install the film, and with a graphic design background (pre- computer era), I'm pretty confident I can do this myself and save money.
Has anyone had any luck with windowfilmandmore, windowtint.com, or solarfilmco? I have samples from all of these companies.
Of course they all have testimonials of how great the film and company were to deal with...
On the windows in question, we already have solar screen shades (indoors) and while it helps a tiny bit, it's still ungodly hot in the SoCal sun. As much as the practical thing to do would be to get blackout curtains and block everything, we have a gorgeous view and I can't imagine entirely blocking it.
The film that is on our house now is old (we are the 4th owners in a 21 year old house, so I don't know how long they have been on there), but it has definitely lost its effectiveness, and whoever installed it left a lot of creases and bubbles in it, so anything I put on HAS to look better than what we have now.
It can be a frustrating job. I resorted to a removable film on windows in south Florida rather than attempting the permanent film. The skillset of people installing is something learned over years, and an average person can not hope to get that good a job when it is DIY.
Ummm... I just finished doing 25 3'x6' windows and 2 15 pane full view glass doors... with the Gila stuff (it was expensive enough with that). If I remember correctly, I scrapped 1 piece on one window after trying to get it installed, but otherwise it was stupidly simple.
Thoroughly saturate everything with a water/baby shampoo mix (after cleaning the window extremely well), lay the film against the window and smooth after spraying again. I skipped the squeegee and used a 6" plastic putty knife I had laying around. Keeping the film wet while pushing out the bubbles was the only thing I'd say was key.
I'd never done this before, so it's not like I brought experience to the table, but it was NOT difficult work. Bets the snot out of the $5000 the guy above would have had to pay. That's 10% of what I paid for my whole house (and *MORE* than I paid for my truck back in 2002 when I bought it...) Maybe if you've got a money tree it's a non-issue...
If you currently have a warranty on windows, adding film usually voids the warranty
I've installed film on single pane windows, and it was not difficult, just takes a lot of time and attention to detail.
Pro-tip: Start with the most remote/highest and least visible windows, as you will make mistakes on the first few.
I mention single-pane, because double/triple-pane windows almost always have a clause in the manufacturers warranty that says it is void if any film is installed. OP says house (and possibly the currently installed film) is +20 years old, so the window warranty is not an issue.
In my previous home the patio door was in total south sun all day with no shade trees so I put on the film by myself. I had it many years and it worked well. It was a bear to take off when I wanted to take it off, scraped it with a razor blade. Later on I used the static cling vinyl film which was a lot easier. It came in a big roll. Don't know if that is still made. I did hear that it hurts double glass windows with gas between them.
Dave - yikes! $11/sf? One of the quotes I got last year was for a Solar Gard Panorama Slate 10 film, and it was $8/sf installed!
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If you currently have a warranty on windows, adding film usually voids the warranty
