Stop the street and the neighbours seeing in, without keeping the curtains shut all day. I fit frosting, one-way film and darker tint straight onto your existing glass in Sunshine Coast homes and businesses, and the daylight still gets through.
I’m Thom Caruth, the owner of Glaze Window Tinting. I have over 20 years experience in window tinting, and I measure, quote and fit every job myself. Glaze is a window tinting service based in Nirimba. I work on flat glass only, so homes and businesses but not cars, from Caloundra and Landsborough up to Noosaville.
A lot of privacy calls I get on the Sunshine Coast start the same way. The house next door looks into the kitchen, or the bathroom window faces the driveway. Curtains and blinds fix that, but they shut out the light.
Tinting the glass fixes it without the gloom. Privacy window film usually goes on the inside of your existing glass. It cuts down what people can see from outside, blocks UV rays and still lets the daylight through. Sunshine Coast estates around Caloundra West, Nirimba and Kawana have houses built close together, so I do a lot of this work there.
Bathrooms are the obvious place to start. A frosted bathroom window means no blind going mouldy in the steam.
Lounge rooms and home offices facing the street are where one-way and darker tint earn their keep. By day you can still see out, and people walking past see a reflection or a dark pane instead of your lounge. That only works in daylight, which I explain below.
A frosted panel beside the front door stops people looking down the hallway. The same goes for glass facing a neighbour’s pool, and units in Mooloolaba or Maroochydore that look across at the next building.
For Sunshine Coast businesses it’s usually meeting rooms, partitions, consult rooms and the back of a shop. The frosting can cover a whole panel, run as a band at eye level, or be cut around your logo. For heat and glare on screens, see office window tinting.
There are three main options. The choice comes down to two questions: do you need privacy at night, and do you want to keep the view?
| Frosted | One-way mirror | Darker tint | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy in the daytime | Yes | Yes | Some |
| Privacy at night, lights on | Yes | No | No |
| Can you see out? | No, light only | Yes | Yes |
| Daylight in the room | Soft and bright | Less | Less |
| Heat rejection | Low | High | Medium to high |
Most films I fit block up to 99% of UV rays, which slows fading on floors, carpets and furniture. For fading on its own, UV protection film comes in clear.
Frosting scatters the light, so the room stays bright but nobody outside can see in. It looks the same at 2pm as at 10pm, so it’s what I use for bathrooms, bedrooms and front doors. It comes plain or in patterns, and the window frosting page has the full range.
One-way film has a mirror finish on the outside. By day you can still see out, and people outside mostly see their own reflection. It only works when it’s brighter outside than in, so it’s for outside windows, not internal glass like partitions. It’s also good at keeping heat out on west-facing glass that cops the Sunshine Coast afternoon sun. See solar control film for the heat side.
A darker tint cuts glare and heat and makes it harder to see in during the day, without the mirror look. You get less privacy than with a mirror finish, but plenty of people prefer the look of a darker tint on a house. Ceramic options reject heat without a metal layer, so they won’t affect phone signal.
One-way film and darker tint work because it’s brighter outside than in. After dark, with your lights on, that flips, and people outside can see in. So for rooms you use at night:
I bring samples to hold up to your own windows, so you can see each one before you pick.
I price by the square metre, fitted. As a guide, privacy film on the Sunshine Coast comes in between $60 and $120 per square metre, for homes and businesses. What moves the price:
Every quote is one fixed price in writing, covering materials and labour, so the pricing is clear before anything starts. Here are six things to get in writing from any installer.
Book a free measure: 0419 440 537
I measure, quote and fit every job myself. No sales rep and no subcontractors.
I fit 3M, SunTek, UltraGard, LLumar, Madico, Solar Gard and ASWF, with a manufacturer-backed warranty in writing: a lifetime warranty on most home films, and 10 years on commercial jobs.
I’m fully insured, police cleared and hold a White Card.
I’m flexible with hours and days, so I can start early or finish late.
You can read what Sunshine Coast customers say in my Google reviews.
Frosting lets plenty of daylight through but softens it, so rooms stay bright. One-way and darker tint let less light in, which also cuts glare.
Yes. A band at eye level, the bottom half of the pane or a border with a clear centre all work. You keep the sky and the light up top.
Bathrooms, ensuites, front doors and bedrooms, which need cover day and night. For lounge rooms and home offices facing the street, one-way or darker tint keeps the view.
Some does. Reflective one-way tint is good at rejecting heat, and ceramic helps too. Frosting does very little. Less heat can mean energy savings on cooling, but it depends on the house.
A little. Frosting looks like etched glass, and one-way film looks like a mirror by day.
Usually, with the right product. Some types absorb heat and can put stress on double-glazed glass, so I check the glass first. Where the inside isn’t safe, I tint the outside of the glass instead.
Good quality tint fitted on the inside lasts many years, and most home films I fit carry a lifetime manufacturer warranty. Old, bubbling or purple tint can be stripped and replaced.
I fit window tint and frosting in these 13 suburbs across the Sunshine Coast, QLD, from my base in Nirimba: Birtinya, Bli Bli, Buderim, Caloundra, Caloundra West, Kawana, Landsborough, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, Nambour, Nirimba, Noosaville and Sippy Downs.
Not sure if you’re covered? Call me on 0419 440 537 or fill in the form below. For heat control on the rest of the house, see home window tinting.
Tell me about your windows and I'll be in touch to arrange a free measure.
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