Tinted glass for residential window

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timmmay

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#248644 3-Apr-2019 20:03

I'm getting a new window in my home office. The window sits right behind my PC, so I'd like to reduce the light coming in. I have a slat blind on the window, but sun gets around the edges and through the slats a bit. There's no view out the window, and in the past 5 years I've never opened it to get more light in the room. There's other windows which let in plenty of light.

Would darkened glass reduce the light getting through significantly? It's about $100 extra to get this. Mirrored would be better, but it costs $500, which is more than I want to spend. I don't want an aftermarket film.

The window company can put in "5 tint + 5 clear : Grey Argon" glass, which is one 5mm pane of clear and one 5mm pane of dark gray.

Update: I've ordered the darkened glass. Ask me in a few months if it's effective.

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#2210356 3-Apr-2019 20:53

heres some examples of different glass combinations

http://www.vantage.co.nz/glass/glass-options/

neb

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#2210370 3-Apr-2019 21:14

The film will actually be a lot cheaper than glass, and once it's on it's indistinguishable from standard glass. I got mirror film put onto some of our windows which does a good job of cutting out glare, at the cost of a slight bluish tint, and you can't tell it's there. The folks who sell the film often have samples available so even if you don't want to go with the film you could still try and get samples to hold up to existing glass to see the effect it has. If it's a north-facing window the only thing that even begins to deal with the glare is the commercial-grade, i.e. mirror, coating, the residential stuff barely helps.

timmmay

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#2210376 3-Apr-2019 21:19

Yes, it's a north facing window. I don't want a film, and my wife has said no to mirrored glass for aesthetic reasons. I did price up film, it's about $200 for a good quality one fitted, compared with $500 for having it built into the glass. You can get cheaper, but DIY stuff would be impossible for me to apply - I can't even get a screen protector on without a bubble.

The key question is will gray glass reduce the light levels enough to be worth $100? I just want less light coming in from behind the monitor.

richms

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#2210397 3-Apr-2019 21:52

I cut some plywood the same size as the inside of the window frame and put it in there to black a window out. Doesnt go all the way in because of the catches etc but even on an angle it still does a great job blocking light. People put too many windows in houses here, its crazy.

Richard rich.ms

neb

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#2210442 4-Apr-2019 01:05

timmmay:
The key question is will gray glass reduce the light levels enough to be worth $100? I just want less light coming in from behind the monitor.

Unless there's some magic product I'm not aware of, I don't think you're going to be able to achieve that. The commercial-grade stuff. meant to make computer monitors usable in offices, is mirrored, and even then it's sometimes not sufficient and you need to draw across at least lace curtains when the sun hits directly, or better yet heavy drapes. The sun at full brightness is > 100,000 lux, that's about a hundred times as much as a car headlight on high-beam. If you're facing into that and trying to look at a computer monitor, you're going to need some serious shielding/screening.

Jase2985

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#2210454 4-Apr-2019 05:49

did you look at the link i posted with examples of what the different types of glass do to heat light and UV?

timmmay

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#2210506 4-Apr-2019 07:45

richms: I cut some plywood the same size as the inside of the window frame and put it in there to black a window out. Doesnt go all the way in because of the catches etc but even on an angle it still does a great job blocking light. People put too many windows in houses here, its crazy.

I used foam core board on the old window. The window is pretty old and everything is now mouldy, as the window got condensation on it. When I lived overseas I just taped cardboard up. I don't think my wife will go for this.

neb:
timmmay:

The key question is will gray glass reduce the light levels enough to be worth $100? I just want less light coming in from behind the monitor.

Unless there's some magic product I'm not aware of, I don't think you're going to be able to achieve that. The commercial-grade stuff. meant to make computer monitors usable in offices, is mirrored, and even then it's sometimes not sufficient and you need to draw across at least lace curtains when the sun hits directly, or better yet heavy drapes. The sun at full brightness is > 100,000 lux, that's about a hundred times as much as a car headlight on high-beam. If you're facing into that and trying to look at a computer monitor, you're going to need some serious shielding/screening.

There's wooden blinds which block all the light over most of the window. The dark glass is to help reduce light levels that make it around the blinds.

Jase2985:

did you look at the link i posted with examples of what the different types of glass do to heat light and UV?

I just had another look on the computer instead of the phone. Looks like the 5mm gray blocks 50% of heat and 55% of light. Great link once I managed to see the details clearly, thanks.

Is reducing the light by 55% enough to be useful? Probably, for $100 it's worth a shot.

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Aredwood

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#2210552 4-Apr-2019 09:23

richms: I cut some plywood the same size as the inside of the window frame and put it in there to black a window out. Doesnt go all the way in because of the catches etc but even on an angle it still does a great job blocking light. People put too many windows in houses here, its crazy.

Fully agree. I plan to remove some of the windows in my house. As it is cheaper than replacing them with double glazed windows. And a wall that has only low grade insulation in it, still has far better R value than a high end double glazed window.

Especially on the South facing side of my house, I will remove all windows on that side. As they get 0 sun in winter, there is no view from those windows, and the neighbors can see into my house through them. Those rooms will still have other windows on different walls. That are big enough for those rooms to still comply with the building code rules that specify min size of windows.

The savings on heating costs will far outweigh the cost of any extra electricity needed to run LED lights more often.

timmmay

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#2210559 4-Apr-2019 09:29

Aredwood:
richms: I cut some plywood the same size as the inside of the window frame and put it in there to black a window out. Doesnt go all the way in because of the catches etc but even on an angle it still does a great job blocking light. People put too many windows in houses here, its crazy.

Fully agree. I plan to remove some of the windows in my house. As it is cheaper than replacing them with double glazed windows.

According to the quote I got replacing an existing window with double glazed is significantly cheaper than replacing it with a wall. I was originally going to remove the window and put a wall in there but it wasn't worth the cost.

ThermalFrame are charging about $700 for the window and $500 to install it. It takes them about 2-3 hours to remove a window and put a new one in. They replaced about 8 windows in 1.5 days.

A builder friend quoted $3795 to remove the window, replace with weatherboards, insulated, gib, and plaster but not paint. In the past I did find a builder who would've done the building work for $2K, no plastering or painting. There are fairly strict building codes now.

Quote to replace window with wall

Remove damaged window at side rear of house
Replace cladding exterior to corner of house & stagger joins (NB: this is about 5m of weatherboard, probably 8 - 12 board)
Re-Frame where the window comes out
Internal gib & plaster, (no paint)

Materials $1,500
Day Labour x 2 Builders $1,800

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#2210701 4-Apr-2019 12:57

timmmay:
A builder friend quoted $3795 to remove the window, replace with weatherboards, insulated, gib, and plaster but not paint. In the past I did find a builder who would've done the building work for $2K, no plastering or painting. There are fairly strict building codes now.

I have no idea whether $3800 is fair but I don't think there are any real differences in the standard of work required except insulation in last 70 years for that sort of change. Too many things are blamed on Codes or H&S.

timmmay

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#2210703 4-Apr-2019 13:02

One builder told me of some changes around replacing weatherboards and such, that it became more strict. I forget the details though.

neb

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#2210732 4-Apr-2019 13:41

timmmay:
ThermalFrame are charging about $700 for the window and $500 to install it. It takes them about 2-3 hours to remove a window and put a new one in. They replaced about 8 windows in 1.5 days.

ThermalFrame do uPVC which is good, but some places that just replace the glass on existing alu frames don't achieve the level of insulation you expect because you're still losing a ton of heat via the alu heatsink around the edges of the glass.

timmmay

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#2210735 4-Apr-2019 13:47

Yeah, all my house windows will be ThermalFrame after this is replaced. The newer doors were done by Advanced UPVC, based in Bulls. ThermalFrame do good windows, but my god they are slow. When we had our full set of windows installed it took three months to quote and confirm, installation was was scheduled a few months out, and they slipped by a couple of months. Friends who used them had the install slip as well.

I asked for the quote for my last window in December 2018. They measured late Feb 2019, and I got the quote late March. They might fit the install in if they're in the area and have time left in the day, otherwise I expect the install to be June or July - though they haven't given any indication yet.

We're probably going to use Advanced UPVC for the last door, as we don't want to wait 6-9 months for the ThermalFrame process. I think they're just super busy.

neb

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#2210829 4-Apr-2019 16:17

timmmay:
We're probably going to use Advanced UPVC for the last door, as we don't want to wait 6-9 months for the ThermalFrame process. I think they're just super busy.

Ah, good to know, thanks! Sort of like buying from { argh, can't mention the word, Chinese crapvendor, Top ____ + opposite-of-worst }, you never know when they'll fill the order apart from "nowhere near their projected date".

To the mods I'm not advertising their name but commenting on how had their service is.

Jase2985

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#2210856 4-Apr-2019 17:19

timmmay:

Jase2985:

did you look at the link i posted with examples of what the different types of glass do to heat light and UV?

I just had another look on the computer instead of the phone. Looks like the 5mm gray blocks 50% of heat and 55% of light. Great link once I managed to see the details clearly, thanks.

Is reducing the light by 55% enough to be useful? Probably, for $100 it's worth a shot.

you need to look at the difference between what you currently have vs what the tinting will give you. not just what the tinting will give you

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