Security Window Film for Orlando Homes

How Security Window Film Works on Orlando Windows

Standard window film is a couple of thousandths of an inch thick. Security film is several times thicker and uses a stronger adhesive. When something hits the glass hard enough to break it, the glass still cracks, but the fragments remain glued in place. The window turns into a sagging sheet of crazed glass rather than an open hole surrounded by sharp edges on the floor.

For a burglar, that changes the math. Instead of one quick strike and a reach through to the lock, it takes repeated blows, noise and time to punch an opening. Most break-ins at houses rely on speed, so the delay is the point. For extra strength, the film can be tied into the window frame with an attachment system, which stops the whole filmed sheet from folding inward as a unit.

Where Orlando Homes Are Most Vulnerable

The glass most often broken in a home break-in is near a door handle or lock. Front door sidelights, the glass in back doors, French doors onto the lanai and sliding glass doors are the common targets. Ground-floor windows hidden from the street by landscaping or a privacy fence are next. In Lake Nona, Oviedo and most newer subdivisions, homes have a whole wall of sliders onto a screened pool enclosure, and the screen is no barrier at all.

We usually recommend starting with the doors and the glass beside them, then adding the ground-floor windows that are out of sight from the street. Second-floor glass is rarely a break-in risk, though some owners film it anyway for storm debris or for kids' rooms. We look at sightlines from the street during the visit.

• Front door sidelights and door glass
• Sliding glass doors to the lanai
• French doors and back doors
• Hidden ground-floor windows

Security Window Film and Hurricane Season in Orlando

This is where we are careful. Security film will not protect a house from a hurricane. Adding it does not give a window an impact rating, it does not satisfy what Florida's code asks of openings in a windstorm, and it is no replacement for the accordion shutters, steel panels or impact windows you already own. If a tropical storm is aimed at Central Florida, put that protection up as planned.

What film can do is keep a broken pane from spraying shards into the room when a branch, a patio chair or a hailstone hits it during one of Orlando's summer thunderstorms. Those storms bring sudden gusts and falling limbs from the oaks that shade College Park, Audubon Park and other older neighborhoods. Holding the broken glass in place reduces cuts and keeps rain out a little longer until the pane can be replaced.

Security Film That Stays Invisible

Most security films are clear, so the house looks exactly the same from inside and out. If you also want heat control or privacy, there are security films with tint or a frosted finish built in, which saves adding a second layer. A clear film on sidelights can be combined with a decorative pattern for privacy at the front door.

Security film also blocks nearly all ultraviolet light, like other window films, so it protects floors and furniture as a side benefit. It needs a few days to cure before the glass is cleaned, and thicker films can take a bit longer than standard ones in humid weather. Cleaning guidance is included.

Before film goes on a slider, we check whether the panels are tempered, which most sliding doors are by code, and whether they are insulated units. Tempered glass breaks into small cubes rather than shards, and security film keeps that mass of cubes hanging together in the frame. We note any damaged panels.