Window film for heat and glare in an apartment
A west-facing living room takes the sun from mid-afternoon until it sets, and the balcony above does little to stop it. Film on the inside of the balcony door and the glass beside it takes the heat and glare down and leaves the view alone.
We work across Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney and Gordon, and we write the film details up for your strata committee before anything goes on the glass.
Why the west side of the building is the hot side
The Australian Government's Your Home guide notes that low morning and afternoon sun from the east and west is harder to shade, and that deep balconies can still let very low summer sun in. A west unit gets that sun at the warmest part of the day, straight through the biggest pane it has.
What film does in the living room
- Heat. Less of the afternoon heat gets through the balcony door and the windows beside it, so the lounge is easier to sit in when the sun is on that wall.
- Glare. The television, the laptop on the dining table and the kitchen bench are easier to see with the sun low in the west.
- Fading. Floors, rugs and the sofa nearest the door fade more slowly, though no film keeps them exactly as they were.
What it leaves alone
- The view from the balcony door, whether that is the harbour, the ridge or the next tower
- Daylight in the living room
- The building's look from the street, with clear or low-reflective film
- The glass: no pane is replaced, and film can be taken off
Strata, by-laws and your committee
In a NSW strata scheme the outside glass is usually not yours alone. The NSW Government's common property memorandum puts balcony doors, windows and walls with the owners corporation, except in schemes registered before 1 July 1974.
The government's strata renovation guide sorts work into cosmetic, minor and major. Hanging blinds is cosmetic and needs no approval. New double or triple glazing is a minor renovation that does. Window film is not on the list, so your building's by-laws and your committee decide where it sits.
That is why the details go to the committee in writing first. We suggest waiting for their answer before booking the install, and we will not call film approved when only the committee can decide that.
The film details we write up for the committee
- Which panes, by room, level and side of the building
- The film, named: 3M, and which family
- How the glass will look from the street and from the next balcony
- That it sits on the room side of the glass
- That it can be removed
Worth checking before you ask
- Your registered by-laws, which your strata manager holds
- Whether one of them covers the look of windows or balconies
- Whether your committee can decide minor work itself, or it goes to a general meeting (NSW strata by-laws)
Choosing film for west glass in a unit
Most unit jobs are two or three panes on one wall: the balcony door, the fixed glass beside it and a bedroom window round the corner. They rarely all want the same film. We work in 3M film and pick the family for each pane at the measure.
Tower glass can be laminated, toughened, double glazed or already tinted from the factory. The film has to suit the glass it goes on, so the glass type of every pane is written on the schedule.
| Clear heat-control film | A balcony door with a view worth keeping. The glass looks almost the same from outside. |
|---|---|
| Light-tint film | A west room where the television or a laptop washes out. The glass reads a little deeper, inside and out. |
| Low-reflective film | Where the committee wants your unit to match the rest of the building. |
| Reflective film | Changes the face of the building the most. We only raise it once you know what your committee will accept. |
The building, on the schedule
Most homes in St Leonards, North Sydney and Chatswood are flats or apartments, so a job there starts with the building before the window. The service lift, the building manager and where to park go on the schedule next to the panes.
Before the measure
You tell us the building, the level and which way the living room faces. We ask whether trades book the service lift or sign in at the desk.
Before the install
Your committee reads the film details and answers. Then the lift is booked a second time, for the install.
Install day
The floor inside the door is covered, film goes on the inside face and the edges are trimmed to the frame. The balcony door still slides and locks as it did.
Example schedule, a west unit
- W1Living room, west wall, balcony door: Heat, Glare
- W2Living room, west wall, fixed pane beside the door: Glare
- W3Main bedroom, west window: Heat, Fade
- LiftService lift booked for the measure and the install
- DeskBuilding manager named, trades sign in at the front desk
- StrataFilm details sent to the committee
Install booked once the committee has answered.
| St Leonards | 96.2% |
|---|---|
| North Sydney | 84.4% |
| Chatswood | 67.6% |
| Gordon | 48.3% |
Share of occupied homes that are flats or apartments. Source: ABS Census 2021 QuickStats for St Leonards, North Sydney, Chatswood and Gordon. In North Sydney, 61.9% of employed residents worked from home.
What goes wrong in a west unit
Film on before the committee answers
If the committee objects, the film comes off again and you have paid for an install and a removal.
A mirror on the tower
Reflective film makes one unit look different from every unit around it, from the street and from the building opposite.
Only the door done
The fixed pane beside it lets in the same low sun, and the sofa still sits in it.
No lift booked
The installer waits in the foyer, or the visit moves to another day.
Questions about film in a unit
Do I need strata approval for window film?
That comes down to your building's by-laws, and your committee is the one to ask. The NSW renovation guide does not list window film, so it is not settled either way by the government's categories. We send the film details so the committee can decide with the facts in front of them.
We rent the unit. Can we have film put on?
The owner has to agree first, and then the committee as well if the by-laws ask for it. If the agent wants the film details in writing for the owner, we can put them together.
Will the living room go darker?
Clear film changes the daylight very little. Light-tint film is noticeably deeper, which can be the point in a west room with a screen in it. We go through how each one looks on the measure, at your own window.
Will the neighbours see film on the glass?
With clear or low-reflective film the glass looks much as it did from outside. Reflective film is the one that shows, and it is the one a committee is most likely to notice.
Can you film just the balcony door?
Yes. A single door is worth booking on its own and takes a single line on the schedule. If the fixed pane beside it takes the same sun, we will point that out.
What if the committee wants it off later?
Film can be taken off the glass. Removal takes a visit of its own, which is one more reason to have the committee's answer before the install.
Apartments we measure
- Chatswood
- St Leonards and North Sydney
- Lindfield, Killara and Gordon
- Lane Cove
- Wahroonga and Hornsby
Also for units: privacy from the tower opposite, film in a North Shore apartment: by-laws and the outside look, and glare on a screen at home.
References
- Your Home: Shading, the federal government's home design guide. Explains why east and west sun is harder to shade than north sun.
- Common property memorandum, NSW Government. Lists who looks after balcony doors, windows and walls in a strata scheme.
- Strata renovation rules, NSW Government. Cosmetic, minor and major work, and who approves each.
- Strata by-laws, NSW Government. What by-laws can cover and how a building changes them.
- ABS Census 2021 QuickStats, the suburb summaries, for the figures above.