Window tinting for house (Raleigh, Cary: wood floors, custom home, living in)

[NewUser]

Has anyone had the windows on their house tinted? We have a house with all windows in the living room, kitchenette, and master bedroom. We love the light airy feeling, and the great view of the woods behind our house, so we don't want to add curtains or shades. But we're concerned that the sun will fade our furniture and wood floors. Can anyone suggest a company that will come to our house and apply a solar film? We don't want to do it ourself. We are located south of Raleigh, but I doubt that matters.

[HappyNCGirl]

We learned the hard way that tinting windows saves furniture and art from sun damage. It also helps keep the house cooler in the summer if you tint big windows that face south or west.

The house we are living in now has low-e windows. This alone is supposed to help with filtering out damaging uv light. And it does cut down on it a whole lot.

However, we have a wall of windows facing southwest, and the heat and light were blinding in the afternoon. We called a window tinting firm to come out and measure the heat gain and uv light coming in. The uv light was not a big issue, but the heat gain and brilliance of the sunlight were definitely abated with the addition of window tinting.

Do be aware that your window manufacturer may void your window warranty if you have the windows tinted. We have not found that the tinting causes any problems with the windows though, and we highly recommend it.

[Nelly622]

In our previous house, we had a lot of problems with wallpaper, drapes, furniture, carpet, artwork, etc., fading, so I had someone come in and tint the windows in our new house (sunny side of the house) almost as soon as we moved in. I got the lightest of the films because I didn't want anything interfering with the view out the windows, but it still blocks out a major portion of the UV rays. The guy I used (came highly recommended) was David Russ (lives in Cary). If interested, PM me for his phone number.

[omamia]

We're dealing with this too...we have a big bank of windows that face west. It already makes our house so hot whenever the temps go up a little bit. Does anyone have any other recommendations for installers?

[NewUser]

We got estimates from 3 companies.

The first company had only film from 3M. The second company had film from Vista and Llumar. The last company only had Llumar film. I believe that Vista and Llumar film are from the same manufacturer.

I told my neighbor that we were researching films and he wanted in on the action. He had a preference for the Vista film, so we went with the second company. All companies were close to the same price. . . . .maybe within 5% of each other. . . . so we were OK with that. We have not set up an installation date yet, so I cannot comment on our satisfaction with the installation or the end product and its effectiveness.

[annesg]

Here's a question: does window tining help reduce electric bills at all? Does it save on energy use (a/c in summer)? Do you just do it on the south or west facing windows?

I am coming from 8 years in FL where windows are hard to come by b/c it is so hot so much of the time. we had to BEG for windows in our custom home and still didn't get that many. Our new house in NC is so sunny you don't need a light on pretty much all day during the daytime. I LOVE IT. So I read this post and wondered if tinting might help offset all the brightness in terms of energy cost.

Thanks.

[Nelly622]

Give David Russ (see post above) a call at 919-345-1466 and he'll answer all those questions for you. It all depends on the film you use. He installed film for me and I just love it. Lets in all the light, but not the UV rays.

[NewUser]

Originally Posted by Nelly622

Give David Russ (see post above) a call at 919-345-1466 and he'll answer all those questions for you.

David Russ was one of our 3 that we called. We did not choose him because of my neighbor's preference for Vista film, which he did not carry. He was the lowest price of the 3 thought.

[weluvwakeforest]

Originally Posted by NewUser

David Russ was one of our 3 that we called. We did not choose him because of my neighbor's preference for Vista film, which he did not carry. He was the lowest price of the 3 thought.

Is this expensive? We have a two story foyer and the afternoon sun is terrible. May also do the little windows on each side of our solid front door. I think we'll save in the long run with lower energy costs. I have no idea what to expect.

Since our job is small, we may not get a "good price" - but we have blinds on the rest of the home... so unless we redo it isn't an option..
thanks.

[OB92GY]

Originally Posted by annesg

Here's a question: does window tining help reduce electric bills at all? Does it save on energy use (a/c in summer)? Do you just do it on the south or west facing windows?

I am coming from 8 years in FL where windows are hard to come by b/c it is so hot so much of the time. we had to BEG for windows in our custom home and still didn't get that many. Our new house in NC is so sunny you don't need a light on pretty much all day during the daytime. I LOVE IT. So I read this post and wondered if tinting might help offset all the brightness in terms of energy cost.

Thanks.

The film you use will make all the differnce. Less expensive films tend to have to get darker to achive a higher heat rejection #'s. If you want light to come in and heat to stay out, Vista, Hupter Optic lines are great choices. You will want to look at interior reflectivety #'s. 8-9% will allow you to see out at night with the lights on. Glass has a Approx 8% reflectivity. Some films run around 12%, too high for night veiwing. You can get great heat rejection and sill have all that good light beaming in.