Window tinting in Wahroonga and Hornsby
Wahroonga and Hornsby share a boundary and a rail line, but not a kind of home. Most Wahroonga households own a large house. Near Hornsby station most homes are units, and many are rented. We measure both pane by pane.
Wahroonga and Hornsby, side by side
At the 2021 Census the two suburbs came out close to opposite: three homes in four were houses in Wahroonga, and six in ten were flats or apartments in Hornsby.
| Wahroonga | Hornsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Separate houses | 74.5% | 35.3% |
| Flats and apartments | 19.6% | 59.1% |
| Owned or being paid off | 78.0% | 54.6% |
| Rented | 17.8% | 43.0% |
| Worked from home | 52.6% | 41.3% |
| Median age | 44 | 38 |
Source: ABS Census 2021 QuickStats for Wahroonga and Hornsby. The Census was taken in August 2021, while Sydney was in lockdown, so working from home reads higher than a usual week.
In Wahroonga
The job is usually a whole house: glass from a renovation at the back, a study, and older windows at the front. Most owners live in the house themselves, and if you plan to stay, the floorboards, rugs and art under the back glass are as much the reason for film as the heat.
In Hornsby
The job is often a handful of panes in a unit: balcony doors, the living room, a bedroom that faces the next building. More people have a say before film goes on: the owners corporation, and for a tenant, the owner.
A Wahroonga house, room by room
More than half of Wahroonga homes have four or more bedrooms, so there is usually a lot of glass to go through. We take it a room at a time and choose the film for each pane.
| Where | The glass | What we suggest |
|---|---|---|
| Family room opened to the garden | Stacker doors or a glass pavilion added in a renovation, often the biggest glass in the house. | Clear heat-control film, so the garden stays in view and the room is usable on a summer afternoon. |
| Kitchen and dining | A skylight or roof glazing over the bench or the table. | A stronger film overhead than on the doors beside it. Overhead glass takes more setting up, and the quote shows that. |
| The study | A desk beside or in front of a window, used most weekdays. | A light film chosen for the hours the screen is hard to read, so the room stays bright. |
| Front rooms and the bay | Original sashes, sometimes with a leadlit or coloured top light. | Low-reflective film on the clear panes. Leadlit and coloured panes are looked at on the measure, and film on them is not promised. |
| Beside the front door | Sidelights in textured or patterned glass. | Looked at in person. If privacy is the reason, we talk through the options there. |
Sliding doors and pavilions · Skylights and highlight windows · Glare in the home study · Original and leadlight windows
Two councils share Wahroonga
Part of Wahroonga is in Ku-ring-gai and part is in Hornsby Shire, and each council keeps its own heritage list. Ku-ring-gai's heritage conservation areas include the Wahroonga Conservation Area and the Mahratta Conservation Area. Hornsby Shire's own list has a Wahroonga Heritage Conservation Area and a Wahroonga (North) one, so the same suburb name turns up on both.
Hornsby has older houses too. The Hornsby West Side Heritage Conservation Area is on Hornsby Shire's list, and a house there gets the same care at the front as one in Wahroonga.
Your rates notice says which council you are in. If the house is listed or in a conservation area, ask that council before changing how the street front looks.
Film on the room side leaves the original pane in place and can be peeled off later. Consent is council's to give, and we never tell you it has been given or is not needed.
A Wahroonga house on the schedule
- W1Garden side, pavilion, west wall: Heat, Fade
- W2Garden side, stacker door 1: Fade
- W3Garden side, stacker door 2: Fade
- W4Study, window beside the desk: Glare
- W5Street side, front bay, top light: Keep the look
Leadlight: we look at this pane on the measure. Film is not promised.
- W6Street side, sidelight right of the door: Privacy
Textured glass: we look at this pane on the measure.
A unit near Hornsby station
Around the station and Westfield, most homes are apartments, and 43% of Hornsby homes were rented at the last Census. The job is smaller than a house, with more people to agree to it.
Owners in a strata building
Film changes how your glass looks from outside, and the look of the building is usually the owners corporation's to decide. Check the by-laws and ask the committee in writing. We give you the film name, how it looks from the street and which panes it goes on, so they have what they need to answer.
If you rent
Ask the owner through your agent, and get the answer in writing. Settle whether the film stays when you move out or comes off, and who pays for that, before it goes on.
Getting into the building
Some buildings want a lift booked and contractors signed in. Tell us who manages the building and we note it on the schedule, so the install day is arranged with them.
A Hornsby unit on the schedule
- W1Living room, balcony door: Heat, Glare
- W2Living room, window beside the door: Heat
- W3Bedroom, window facing the next building: Privacy
Film details go to the owners corporation before the install.
Start with one room
A single bedroom window gets the same measure as a whole house, and it is quoted as a job on its own.
The wrong council, and other mistakes
The wrong council
A Wahroonga house checked against one council's heritage list when it sits in the other. Check the rates notice first.
A shiny street front
Mirror film on the front sashes changes how a house in a conservation area reads from the footpath. Low-reflective film is what we suggest at the front.
Ahead of the committee
Film on a Hornsby balcony door that the owners corporation later asks to have removed. The committee sees the film details first.
A dim study
Film picked for heat on the desk window leaves the study dark by late afternoon. Study glass takes a lighter film than the pavilion.
Wahroonga and Hornsby questions
Do you measure in Warrawee, North Wahroonga, Waitara and Normanhurst?
Yes. They sit between Wahroonga and Hornsby or right beside them. Put your suburb in the form.
Which council do I ask about the front of my Wahroonga house?
The one on your rates notice. Wahroonga is split between Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire Council, and each publishes its own conservation areas and heritage items.
Can you film one window in a Hornsby unit?
Yes. One pane gets its own line and its own quote.
I rent near the station. What do I need before booking?
The owner's agreement in writing, usually through the agent. In a strata building the owners corporation may need to agree too. NSW Government: strata by-laws
Will film change how the front of the house looks from the street?
Only slightly, with low-reflective film: from the footpath the sashes still read as glass. Leadlit and coloured panes are looked at in person first.
How is a job priced?
From the measure, pane by pane. The amount of glass, the film each pane needs and the ladder or lift it takes all move the price, so there is no price list on this site. The quote lists every pane and its film.
Near Wahroonga and Hornsby
Reference
- ABS Census 2021 QuickStats: Wahroonga and Hornsby, the Australian Bureau of Statistics' suburb summaries: dwelling type, bedrooms, tenure and work from home.
- Ku-ring-gai Council: heritage conservation areas, including those in Wahroonga and Warrawee.
- Hornsby Shire Council: heritage conservation areas, for the part of Wahroonga in Hornsby Shire and for Hornsby itself.
- NSW Government: strata by-laws, what an owners corporation's by-laws can cover.