Columbia City Window Film for Shops and Homes

Clear Window Film for Columbia City Landmark District Storefronts

The commercial blocks along Rainier Avenue South form the Columbia City Landmark District. Exterior changes in the district go through review by its board, and owners who want to keep their facades original are cautious about anything that alters the storefront glass. That rules out heavily mirrored or dark tinted films for most buildings.

Clear films are a good match. Applied to the inner face, a clear security layer keeps a struck pane bonded and delays a break-in. A clear UV film limits fading of goods in the window. Neither one changes how the storefront looks from Rainier Avenue. If you are thinking about frosted or tinted film, contact the Department of Neighborhoods first and bring a sample to the conversation.

Older storefronts sometimes have transom windows above the main display glass. Those can be filmed too, and they are often where the most sun gets in.

Security and Anti-Graffiti Window Film on Rainier Avenue South

Rainier Avenue is one of the busiest arterials in southeast Seattle, and shops along it deal with broken windows and tagging. Restaurants, cafes, the theater and small retailers in the historic core all have a lot of glass at street level.

Security film on the inside of the pane and a sacrificial anti-graffiti film on the outside cover both problems. When the outer film is scratched or painted, it is removed and replaced and the glass stays intact. When a pane is hit, the security layer keeps it from falling in. For owners who would otherwise be replacing glass every few months, the film can cost less over time than repeated glazing calls, although we will not quote a payback period without knowing your history.

Window Film for Columbia City Craftsman Homes

The residential streets around the business district are full of Craftsman bungalows and early twentieth-century houses with deep front porches. Porches shade the front rooms, so heat is usually less of an issue than fading and privacy. Side windows and back rooms facing south or west do take sun, and fir floors in those rooms show it.

Clear UV film handles the fading with no visible change. For front windows that face the sidewalk, a frosted lower band or a decorative film adds privacy while the porch and upper glass keep the house looking open. Many owners do the bathroom and the front door glass with a decorative film and the rest with clear UV.

Window Tinting for Apartments Near Columbia City Station

Columbia City station on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South opened in 2009, and apartment buildings have been added near it and along Rainier since. Units often look onto busy streets or the building next door, and upper floors facing west catch the afternoon sun.

Frosted and gradient films give lower-floor residents privacy day and night. Neutral solar films reduce heat and glare on upper floors. For property managers, we can apply a single film across a building so the facade stays uniform.