How to Stop Sunlight from Fading a Floor

Bill in South Carolina, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?

BILL: Hi. We’ve got some nice, big picture windows in a house overlooking a lake. And we have some problems with radiant heat during the midday sun and we’re worried about fading in the floors, so we were thinking of tinting the windows. We were told that they’re gelled when windows – we were told that it would probably void the warranty. Do you all have any opinions about how often that damage occurs? And if you’re going to do window tinting on something like that, do you know which one gives you the best bang for the (audio gap)? I know that there’s the Llumar and SUN-GARD and 3M.

TOM: Yeah. I think 3M has got a pretty reputation on – in this space. I don’t know about the impact on the warranty. I could understand that manufacturers build and test windows and they don’t really like anything touching it after that. And you can understand that.

LESLIE: Right. But from my understanding, Tom, aren’t the 3M window – well, the option – isn’t it a film that you apply and it’s not a permanent coating? So I really can’t understand how that would void a warranty.

TOM: Yeah, I can’t either. And it doesn’t attach to the inside of the window.

BILL: It’s just a film that goes on the inside but they say that it can trap enough heat in there that it can cause a potential problem with the seals and cause cracks.

TOM: Correct.

LESLIE: Right.

TOM: Yeah and I’m sure it does.

BILL: Do you have any idea about how often that may occur? Is it a frequent occurrence or is that really rare?

LESLIE: I don’t know. I guess you really need to think about the costs of the sun damage that’s occurring to your fabric, your furnishings, your floor. Is it worth it to sort of get a light-diffusing shade that you can pull down during the super-sunny hours rather than putting a film on the window? You know, there are other options as far as adding a fabric shade or something just to reduce that light coming in. But over the long run, you’re going to have to replace your furniture again, as well.

BILL: Those are all good thoughts. Very good thoughts. OK, thank you.

TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.