Window tinting in Lindfield, Killara and Gordon
Near each station on the T1 line most homes are units, and a street or two back they turn into houses. We measure both: balcony doors and west living rooms in a strata block, stacker doors, studies and original front windows in a house.
Units by the line, houses behind them
Lindfield, Killara and Gordon each have a station on the T1 North Shore line, and the apartments are built up around the station and the shops. Walk a few minutes away from the platform and the street is houses again.
Gordon
The highest share of apartments of the three, close to half the homes. A Gordon schedule often starts in a strata block: the balcony doors, the living room window beside them, and what the building allows on the outside look.
Lindfield
Houses are still just over half the homes, and the apartments sit in the blocks close to the station. The streets behind them are houses, where the schedule tends to start at the back of the house or in the study.
Killara
A little over half the homes are houses, and most of the rest are apartments. East Killara, away from the line, is almost all houses, so a job there looks more like St Ives than Gordon.
| Suburb | Flats | Houses |
|---|---|---|
| Gordon | 48.3% | 45.3% |
| Lindfield | 44.3% | 52.1% |
| Killara | 42.6% | 54.7% |
| East Killara | 0.0% | 99.5% |
Share of occupied homes that are flats or apartments, and separate houses. The rest are semis, townhouses and other dwellings. Source: ABS Census 2021 QuickStats for Gordon, Lindfield, Killara and East Killara.
An apartment and a house, measured differently
The same street can hold both jobs. They need different film, different people to ask first, and a different install day.
An apartment near the station
- The glass. Balcony doors, the fixed pane beside them, bedroom windows that look across at the next block.
- Who has a say. The owners corporation, through your building's by-laws. If you rent, the owner first.
- The film. Clear or light-tint heat-control film, so the unit still matches its neighbours from the street. Privacy film where a window faces another block.
- Install day. The lift, parking and building access arranged with the building manager, and written on the schedule.
A house a street or two back
- The glass. Stacker doors to the garden, a study window, and at the front the original sashes, sidelights or a leadlit fanlight.
- Who has a say. You, and Ku-ring-gai Council if the house is a heritage item or in a heritage conservation area.
- The film. Clear heat-control film at the back, glare film in the study, low-reflective film on the street front.
- Install day. Room to work inside each pane. Any leaded pane is judged in person, with no film promised before then.
Film in a strata block near the station
In most NSW strata schemes the windows and balcony doors are common property, looked after by the owners corporation (NSW common property memorandum). Your registered by-laws say whether film needs the committee, and your strata manager holds them.
A committee deciding on film mostly wants to know one thing: will this unit look different from the street. We put the answer in writing before anything goes on:
- which panes, room by room
- the 3M film and its type: clear, tinted or frosted
- how it looks from outside by day
- that it is fitted indoors and can be removed later
A unit near the station, on the schedule
- W1Lounge, sliding door to the balcony: Heat
- W2Lounge, fixed glass beside the slider: Heat, Glare
- W3Bedroom 2, window facing the next block: Privacy
Frosted or privacy film. Film details go to the committee with the others.
- W4Kitchen, window over the sink: Glare
Building notes on the same schedule: lift booking, parking, contact for the building manager.
The house behind the station
Off the station streets the job moves to the back of the house. A renovation that opened the family room to the garden with stacker doors gives the room its light, and gives the floorboards and the rug the afternoon sun. Clear film on those doors keeps the garden in view. Sliding doors and pavilions
The study is the other room people ask about. At the 2021 Census, 54.5% of workers in Gordon, 54.6% in Killara and 55.2% in Lindfield worked from home (ABS QuickStats). Census night fell in the 2021 Greater Sydney lockdown, which pushed those shares up. A window behind the screen is still a glare problem in a normal week. Glare in the home study
The street front is Ku-ring-gai Council's business if the house is a heritage item or in one of its heritage conservation areas. Ask council first if you are unsure. For the front we suggest low-reflective film. Approval is a question for council, not for us. Original and leadlight windows
A house two streets back, on the schedule
- W1Garden side, family room, stacker door 1: Heat, Fade
- W2Garden side, skylight over the kitchen: Heat
- W3Side of the house, study, window behind the desk: Glare
- W4Street side, front bay, left sash: Keep the look
Low-reflective film: from the footpath the bay looks as it did.
- W5Street side, fanlight over the door: Privacy
Leadlight: we look at this pane on the measure. Film is not promised.
Where station-suburb jobs go wrong
One balcony darker than the block
A deep or mirrored film on one unit shows from the street, and the committee can ask for it to come off.
Film before the committee said yes
If the by-laws needed approval, taking the film off again is a second job nobody wanted.
A tower film on a period front
A reflective film that suits a new block changes how an older house front reads from the footpath.
No lift on install day
Without a booking the install waits. The lift goes on our schedule before the day is set.
Questions from units and houses near the line
Our unit faces the Pacific Highway. Will film cut the traffic noise?
No. Film is a thin layer on the glass and makes no useful difference to what you hear. For noise, ask a glazier about acoustic or secondary glazing. Film can still take the heat and glare off the same window.
We rent. Can the balcony door be filmed?
Ask the owner through your agent before anything else. The owner then takes it to the committee if your by-laws call for it. We can write up the film details for both of them.
How do you reach the windows of an upper-floor unit?
From inside. The film is fitted to the room side of each pane, so nobody works on the outside of the building. A pane that is hard to reach from inside is noted on the measure.
We are two streets from the station. Does council have a say on our front windows?
Possibly. Ku-ring-gai Council lists its heritage items and conservation areas, and a house on either list is worth a call to council before the street front changes. We can tell you the film is on the inside face and removable. The approval question stays with council.
Is one slider to the balcony worth a measure?
Yes. A lone slider gets the same measure as a unit full of glass, and it is one row on your schedule.
Do you measure in Roseville, Pymble and East Killara?
Yes. Roseville is the next station south of Lindfield, Pymble the next north of Gordon, and East Killara sits beside Killara.
Near Lindfield, Killara and Gordon
References
- Census QuickStats, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Dwelling type and work-from-home shares for the suburbs of Gordon, Lindfield, Killara and East Killara, 2021.
- Common property memorandum, NSW Government. Lists windows and balcony doors among the owners corporation's responsibilities.
- Strata by-laws, NSW Government. The rules a strata building can set for its lots and common property.
- Heritage conservation areas, Ku-ring-gai Council. The areas and heritage items council lists.