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Protect Your Business & Employees
Protecting Your Assets
As a commercial or public building manager, you have many important responsibilities. None more vital than keeping tenants and occupants, as well as all interior assets, safe from harm.
Security threats to your building come in all forms, ranging from natural disasters to emergency situations, theft, and vandalism. All of these situations can put your tenants in danger. A comprehensive, tiered security plan offering multiple layers of protection is the best way to provide the highest level of protection possible.
Security and Safety Window Film can play a key part as a first line of defence. It provides a barrier that helps hold glass in place upon impact. It also helps control and reduce the safety issues and costly damage associated with broken glass.
When an unprotected window shatters, it can send dangerous shards of glass flying, which can cause serious injuries and leave your building’s tenants and assets exposed to the elements. Security window film helps hold window glass in place even when force is brought against it. Upon impact, the film helps to protect against shards of glass from flying, offering protection to the people inside. By providing a layer of protection with security window film, attempts at breaking through the glass can be delayed, which could help stop or reduce the security threat.
From Security Threats to Extreme Weather
Security films help to reduce damage and the likelihood of injury from flying glass in the case of severe weather, impacts, or violence. While you can’t always predict disaster, you can prepare for it if you plan ahead. British Columbia has the highest earthquake risk in Canada. In fact, several thousand small earthquakes are recorded in B.C. every year. A much smaller number are big enough to be felt and over the last 10 years there has been an average of one larger earthquake of at least magnitude 6 per year. This is something we must prepare for.
Security films are designed to offer maximum resistance to penetration and tearing, effectively deterring break and enter. By upgrading your windows, you will rob would-be thieves of their two desired essentials: time and stealth. Thieves plan on being in and out of your business in a matter of minutes. If a window isn’t broken after 3 or 4 tries, the amount of noise they have made will be alerting the whole neighbourhood, and the extra time it takes them is usually enough to force them into early retreat. Make it too noisy and time consuming to gain entry, and even the most determined burglar will be deterred.
When vandals strike, the transparent film is peeled away –along with the graffiti – saving time & money. Window films are easily removed when needed, and applying new films is much cheaper than entirely new windows. If you are in an area that is prone to vanadlism, perhaps downtown or on a poorly lit side street, we might suggest you choose a specific anti-graffiti film. They are even cheaper to install and replace as needed. You can see a full write-up on them right here.
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Helping businesses decorate and customize their offices is a big part of what we do at Sun Shade Film Systems. Our blog is where we explore what is possible in modern spaces. Have a look at the latest commercial window film articles below.
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Read MoreWindow films provides specific personal and property protection from the effects of the sun as well as added safety and security for events that result in broken glass.
There are many types and constructions of solar control and safety window films. In their simplest forms, window films are composed of a polyester substrate to which a scratch resistant coating is applied on one side; a mounting adhesive layer and a protective release liner is applied to the other side. When the release liner is removed, the side of the film with the adhesive is applied to the interior surface of the glass.
Is window film applied to the interior or the exterior of my windows?
Typically window films are applied to the interior surface of your windows. There are window films designed to be applied to the exterior of your windows. Initially for special circumstances such as limited access to the interior surface and triple pane windows they are being used increasingly for their elevated performace characteristics.
The effective life of window film will vary by the type of film, type of glass, window construction, compass orientation of glass, and in which part of the world the building is located. There are documented cases of film lasting up to 22 years or more in some instances. This should not, however, be assumed to be the normal expected life.
All quality window films for residential and commercial use are warranted by the film manufacturers for a minimum of ten years and up to the life of the home.
How should I clean my windows after film is applied?
Windows with film applied are easily cleaned without damage to their appearance as long as a few common-sense guidelines are followed:
The availability of scratch resistant coatings as a standard feature of quality films has virtually eliminated the need for extra special precautions in cleaning.
When a customer calls to inquire about our service we begin with a sequence of questions that help us understand how to best meet your needs. Once we begin to zero in on what you are looking for, we are able to lay out a variety of options for you. Some basic opening questions are:
Once we have a reasonable understanding of your objectives, we set up an appointment to view your space in person. At our visit to your home or workplace, we make an assessment and present a series of options to suit your particular needs. In person quotes to individual residential clients are free of charge with no obligation to purchase.
At this point you are able to take the next step and set an installation date. To do so, you will be referred to our office assistant who will take your deposit and begin the scheduling process.
Glass breaks when stressed. There are five types of stress which may cause glass breakage:
The first type, thermal stress, is the only one which film may affect. The use of window films will increase the thermal stress on sunlit glass. However, there are also other factors which will increase thermal stress such as: partial shading of windows from overhangs, tightly fitting drapes or blinds, signs or decals on windows, heating and cooling vents directed at glass. In addition, different types of glass (annealed versus tempered, clear versus tinted) have different solar absorption rates and will withstand different degrees of thermal stress.
The window film manufacturers have recommended film-to-glass tables for use by factory-trained dealer installers. If a consumer is ever in doubt, he/she should request a copy of such guidelines. Listed below are some glass types or conditions where the use of a solar control (not clear safety) type of window film is not recommended without extreme caution.
Window film manufacturers have developed and utilized a variety of patented adhesive formulas to apply their films to the glass surfaces. These formulas are know as mounting adhesives.
Films, utilizing all types of adhesives are installed in similar fashion. Most films are installed by using soapy water sprayed on both the glass surface and the film adhesive surface after the protective liner has been removed . The film is then positioned on the glass, cut to size, and squeegeed to remove excess water.
Window film should generally be installed in new or renovated buildings only when all other work has been completed. There are many reasons for waiting until the end of construction.
There is little sense in applying window film to windows that have frames that may need to be stained or painted. This could lead to stain or paint splatters on the film itself which would need to be cleaned off. Some cleaning agents would damage the film requiring the film to be replaced.
Other reasons could be the potential for damage to the film due to the high amount of activity in a construction environment. Also, in many cases, there is a high level of dust and particles, such as wood dust or carpet fibers, in a construction area that could become trapped between the glass and the window film.
The best, most convenient time to install the window film is just before your furniture is placed in from of your windows and before the window treatments have been installed.
The benefits of tinting skylights are tremendous. With the sun’s rays being more direct in the spring and summer, window films will reduce the fading of items below the skylights while reducing the ambient temperature.
In most cases if a house plant is already receiving adequate light the use of window film will not harm it. New growth or flowering may be retarded, and, for a few days, a plant may go into a state of shock while it adjusts to the light change. If a particular plant normally wilts by the end of a sunny day, it will actually thrive better with film installed.
Although there are some obvious guidelines in determining what, if any, effect window film will have on a plant (for instance, dark green plants need less light than lighter coloured ones), there is one sample test which can be done prior to film installation: merely move the plant to an area with less sunlight for a few days. In addition, most nurseries or local agriculture agencies can advise you whether a particular plant needs closer to maximal or minimal light.
