Choosing Window Film for Your Home or Office

Most people who call us about window film for their house start the same way. They've got one room that's miserable in the afternoon. It's usually on the west side, with big windows, and by 4 p.m. in July nobody wants to sit in there. Some of them have already noticed the hardwood floor looks lighter near the window than it does under the rug.

Businesses call for different reasons. An office manager is tired of people dragging their desks away from the windows to escape the glare. A shop owner down the street had their front window smashed, and now they're wondering about their own.

Window film can help with all of that. The trick is matching the film to the problem, because the film that cools down a hot living room isn't the same one that makes a storefront harder to break into.

Too Much Sun at Home

For heat and glare, we usually start homeowners with 3M Prestige Series film. The big thing people like about it is that it doesn't make the house look dark. It's a clear, metal-free film, and according to 3M, it rejects up to 97% of the sun's infrared light, which is the part that actually heats up a room. That adds up to as much as 60% of the heat coming through your windows. You still get natural light and your view out the window. The room just doesn't bake anymore.

Prestige also blocks up to 99.9% of UV rays, and UV is where the fading comes from. If you've got hardwood floors, a nice couch, or artwork on a wall that gets direct sun, it slows that fading way down.

There's also no metal in the film. Older metallic films could mess with cell signal and Wi-Fi, which matters now that everyone works from home part of the week. Prestige doesn't have that problem. You can see more about how we handle homes on our residential window film page.

Privacy Without Closing the Blinds

Some windows don't get much sun at all, and heat isn't really the issue. The problem is that people can see in. A bathroom window that faces the neighbor's driveway is a good example, or a front room right on the street. Frosted and patterned privacy films work well for those. Light still comes through, but anyone outside just sees a blurry shape. If you're not sure which style you'd like, we can bring samples and hold them up to your actual windows.

What Businesses Usually Need

In offices, heat is usually the first complaint. There's just more glass than in most houses, and the people who sit closest to it end up the warmest. Glare on computer screens tends to come up next. Prestige handles both, and since it's clear, it won't make the building look dark or tinted from the street. Property managers tend to like that part, because the building looks the same as it did before.

Inside the office, privacy film is a popular fix for glass conference rooms and private offices. Frosted film gives people some privacy for meetings without making the space feel closed off. Decorative film can go a step further. We can add your logo or a pattern to glass walls and doors, and since we design and print in-house, we'll send you a proof before anything goes up. Take a look at our commercial window film page for more on what we do for businesses.

Safety and Security Film

This is the one most people don't know exists. Safety and security film is a thick, clear layer applied to the inside of your glass. If the glass breaks, the film holds the pieces together instead of letting them fall out or fly across the room.

We install two 3M systems. 3M Ultra S800 is an 8-mil clear film, and it's a solid choice for many homes and storefronts. 3M Scotchshield S2400 is about three times as thick, at 25 mils. It's made from polyurethane, which 3M says has greater tear strength and stretch than standard polyester films of similar thickness, so it absorbs more of an impact. We recommend it when a window needs more protection.

For a business, the biggest benefit is slowing down a smash-and-grab. A thief who expects to break the glass and reach in fast runs into glass that won't give way. For homeowners, a lot of the appeal is peace of mind, especially with all the talk about earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest. 3M lists seismic events among the uses for S2400, and film that holds broken glass together means fewer shards on the floor.

To be upfront, security film isn't bulletproof, and 3M is clear that it isn't designed to stop an intruder. It's meant to buy time and keep broken glass in place. For break-in protection, 3M also requires its Impact Protection Attachment sealant, which anchors the film to the window frame, so we'll talk through whether your windows need it.

How to Choose

Think about what actually bugs you about the room. For most people it's the heat or the sun fading their furniture, and Prestige takes care of that. When the real issue is people seeing in, a privacy or decorative film makes more sense. Security film is its own thing, and it's usually for folks worried about break-ins or glass shattering. Plenty of our customers end up with a mix. We might put solar film on a big west-facing window in the living room and frosted film on the bathroom down the hall.

Your glass matters too. Window size, type, and sun exposure all affect which film we'd recommend, which is why we look at the windows in person before quoting.

If you came here looking for car tint, we've covered that separately in 5 Benefits of Car Window Tinting in Oregon.

What to Expect When You Work With Us

Every project starts with a consultation. We come out, look at your windows, talk about what's bothering you, and figure out which film fits. From there, you'll get a price along with the film and coverage we're recommending. For decorative projects with graphics, we'll design it and send you proofs to approve.

Once you've approved everything and put down a deposit, we'll order your film and find a day that works for installation. Most of install day is actually prep. The glass has to be completely clean before the film goes on, so we take our time with it. After the film is up, we check every window before we pack up. Timing really depends on the job. Bigger projects with lots of windows or hard-to-reach glass take longer, so we'll give you a better idea once we've seen the space.

Most 3M films come with a manufacturer-backed warranty. The coverage depends on the product and whether the project is residential or commercial. We also stand behind our own installation work, and you'll get the exact warranty terms with your project.

A Few Questions We Get a Lot

Will window film make my house dark?
Not with Prestige. It's designed to block heat while still letting plenty of daylight in, so most people are surprised by how little it changes the look of a room.

Will it interfere with my Wi-Fi or cell signal?
Prestige and the security films we use are metal-free, so they shouldn't affect your signal.

Can security film stop a break-in?
It can slow one down, but it can't guarantee to stop one. The goal is to make getting through the glass harder and slower.

Why PDX Wraps?

We're a family-owned shop in Sherwood; we've been around since 2006, and we're a 3M Pro Shop dealer. That means you're getting genuine 3M film installed by people who do this work every week, not a subcontractor you've never met. Since we handle design and printing in-house, decorative and branded glass projects stay under one roof from start to finish.

Let's Take a Look at Your Windows

If there's a room you avoid in the afternoon or glass at your business you've been worried about, give us a call. We'll come out, take a look, and help you figure out which 3M film makes sense for your space.