You don't need to hire someone or pay tons of money. You can do it yourself. I found some quickly on eBay and I'm sure you can snoop prices on the web too.

Here is a link that might be useful: An eBay window film

Dee,

I did the DIY with the window film from Lowes it was a frosty white- it looked nice and was so easy to put up. I am in the process of removing mine it was not supposed to be put on lead glass-oops. It blocked the light really well and none of it turned yellow - it has been almost a year since the one on the front door has been on.

There are also some companies that make a vinyl cling for palladium windows/sidelights/sliding doors/windows. Some are quite nice and the previous owner had them on the sidelights- she picked out tacky ones though. But they just peeled right off and I could stick them right back if I wanted.

I couldn't view your pictures so I may be making stupid suggestions but what about a sheer curtain on an arched rod in the palladium window or can you hang curtain panels above the palladium window- they could be on slider rings so you can open and close them.

I had our windows tinted last year in three rooms and it definitely made a difference in blocking out the sun to a great degree. It also helps on keeping furniture and flooring from fading. It was fairly reasonable to have it done, since some of our windows were 20 feet off the floor, we had it done professionally. It was around $400 for the three rooms, 8 windows total.

We can't do it ourselves because we are getting up in age. I'll be 60 this year and after a fall from a ladder and a broken wrist (from taking down a curtain rod, LOL), I'll have to hire it done. This window is high.

Casajakada, after your windows were tinted, did it make your house look darker? How do you chose what color tint you want? How long will your tint last?

Is anyone else able to see the picture?

Dee

My husband and I are very much "do-it-yourselfers" but when we had our 4 large floor to ceiling windows and sliding door tinted we elected to have a pro do them. In order to get a smooth finish, that lined up correctly with the glass without bubbles or wrinkles it was worth having someone install the film. I think it cost around 300$ (maybe less) for someone to install it. We used a three M product, and it has cut down the heat into the room considerably. We used a medium tint and yes the room became somewhat less bright but not at all dark. It has been a year and our eyes have adjusted to it and we think it was to blindingly bright before the window tinting. I would imagine the tinting will last a good long time unless my cat severely scratches it (in fact, the film was placed and integrated on the window so well that I can not see an area that I could even begin to remove it off the window).

In our last house we window tinted all our windows, our family room had a wall of west facing windows, no matter what we did, the sun heated the room and we ended up closing the curtains.

This past winter we installed sun screens on the exterior of the windows of our new house in south Texas, the south facing windows were almost too hot to touch. The sun screens worked, the room is cool, there is no heat on the windows and they are not too expensive, we had them installed. Later we found the same products at the big box stores -- definately a DIY project if you like that sort of thing.

Google Sun Screens, you will see a lot of companies in California and AZ who have videos on how it works.

Good luck

We hired it done about 14 years ago and the film looks fine. We did it on a small section of windows that are right above the main windows. Perhaps we didn't go dark enough because I feel as though there is still too much sun coming in those top windows. I really thought it would help more than it did.

We had it done professionally. I did not want a mirrored look from the outside like you see on professional buildings or cars!! We used a product made by Vista - you can find local dealers by going to their website. On the front of the house we just did the front doors & big window on top & you can't tell from the outside that the other windows have no film on them. All the companies have different products & the more blockage the more visible it is on the outside.

Ours don't block the sunlight, per se.....but I can tell a remarkable difference in the amount of heat in the rooms. I am very pleased with ours.

Oh, and you can't use a glass cleaner with ammonia in it. But, that's it for upkeep as far as I know.

Smiles:)