I just did a DIY job on our kitchen windows. Here is my take on doing this yourself- After looking around online I bought the materials from a company called concord window films out of CT. Good product, great service, low price, fast shipping. The job itself was a bank of 3 windows that face due West out of our kitchen. The view is wooded and right now we don't have any other treatments on the windows. I'm a pretty handy guy around the house, but tinting was a bit frustrating. As careful as I was, the job is imperfect. There are a couple of areas where the film is a bit bumpy or bubbly and a couple of edges where the trimming didn't come out 100%. I did get better as the job progressed-I had six glass panels to cover and by the 4th or so I had more confidence. So far I have left the tint up but I may either remove it and try again myself or have it professionally redone. The benefits are apparent right away, but it's one of those things that needs to look 100% if we are going to leave the windows bare. Right now I have some more Aura paint to buy so I'm not budgeted to have the job redone, but at some point that's probably what I'll do.

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).

Hi E.R., We got some solar screening fro Giam Real Goods years ago and is probably similar to what they have at Lowes these days. Real heavy, tight webbing that you can sort of see out at a distance, but the closer you get to it, the harder to see out. I think you are on track with the film that is typically squeegied on. There is an outfit here that does it. When they first started, the mirrored finish was all they offered, but I noticed that now they have some that is basically no darker than todays windows that are coated with low-e. Appearently it's very effective in controlling heat gain, but you can still easily enjoy the views. The mirrored film darkened the view quite a bit so you might look into diy kits that have the newer film types. I watched the install on a remodel I was doing and it's pretty straight forward. I likened it to wall papering where they cut the sheets a tad big, moistened the panes, slid it on and squeegied the air bubbles out. After drying, they trimmed the overlap to the inside of the panes. I haven't had the opportunity to try it diy, but it seems like a simple process. Cool to replicate the screen frames with wood. Im sure you are familiar with the Kreg pocket hole system. It's reliable and is easier than making lap joints, mortise and tenons, or even dowel pins when making up the frames. If you dont have one you might consider it for your frame projects and comes in handy for future projects such as cabinet frames. When in N.W. Floria, (Gulf Breeze), We used copper screening for vents that were behind ornamental grates on a period home. The house also had copper flashing that I didn't get to see but Im sure patinad nicely. You might consider copper screening for your frames. Have a good one. Here is a link that might be useful: Kreg pocket hole

The back of our house faces west and for a few hours each day it is difficult to use our living room and dining room because of the light coming through the windows. Not only does it get warm but we also get a glare on the TV and light shines in strongly through the windows. We have looked into getting our windows tinted with a solor control window tinting film. However, we are concerned how it will look on the windows plus the warranty on our windows is void if a film is applied. The company we contacted does has a side program where we pay an additional charge to have a similar warranty on the window through their company. Wondered if anyone has had any positive or negative experiences with having a solar film installed. Thank you.