Garage door window privacy ideas?

[hondakilla98]

I put in a new door with Windows. I like that I can see my front yard from inside the garage, but I don't like that you can see into my garage. I was thinking about putting an opaque film on the Windows, but I'd like to be able to look out when I want to. I'm looking for suggestions on a solution. Maybe hang something on the inside of the door that I can lift up?

 

[bazzateer]

Mirror window film? You can see out but no-one can see in unless it's night time and you have the lights on inside.

 

[PCO6]

I built blinds out of Masonite. One side came with a white finish and I painted the other side black. They are held in place by Velcro along the bottom and slide up into a plastic track that I repurposed from fence components that are used for installing lattice.

It takes about 15 seconds to take them down or put them up. The beauty is that I get natural day light during the day and privacy at night. I can work inside with the lights on but you can not see that they are on from the outside. The blinds stay up during the day when I am not there so it's impossible to see inside.

The total cost was about $25 to $30 and it solved a lot of concerns I had about having garage windows.

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[hondakilla98]

I built blinds out of Masonite. One side came with a white finish and I painted the other side black. They are held in place by Velcro along the bottom and slide up into a plastic track that I repurposed from fence components that are used for installing lattice.

It takes about 15 seconds to take them down or put them up. The beauty is that I get natural day light during the day and privacy at night. I can work inside with the lights on but you can not see that they are on from the outside. The blinds stay up during the day when I am not there so it's impossible to see inside.

The total cost was about $25 to $30 and it solved a lot of concerns I had about having garage windows.

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Great idea, I think I'll do something like this. Then I can just peel a panel back to look out front. And I think I'll "frost" my side window.

 

[LX-Markham]

Frost the windows. You can buy it in a spray can or film.

Still get lots of light, but you can't see through it.

 

[scarpozzi]

Most companies offer obscure glass with their windows... The only problem is that you can still see if there's a car parked there. I like the total black-out idea when you're not around and want real privacy.

 

[pendragon1998]

Take a sheet of wax paper and tape it along the top edge of the window. You will get a diffuse light still coming in, but nobody can see past the wax paper. You can always pull up the bottom edge and peek under it if you want to. I did this in my garage and it has been up for 2 years with no problems.

 

[rsanter]

Cheap roll up shades
Roll them up when you want to see

Bob

 

[kbs2244]

Limo Tint

 

[hondakilla98]

Take a sheet of wax paper and tape it along the top edge of the window. You will get a diffuse light still coming in, but nobody can see past the wax paper. You can always pull up the bottom edge and peek under it if you want to. I did this in my garage and it has been up for 2 years with no problems.

I'll have to try this first. I'm trying to keep people from seeing my tool box and work bench as much as possible. Especially when I'm not home.

 

[pendragon1998]

I'll have to try this first. I'm trying to keep people from seeing my tool box and work bench as much as possible. Especially when I'm not home.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting it to stay up as long as it has, but it works just fine. The shipping tape I used isn't releasing from the door, so it's just been left up for almost 2 years now. It looks pretty decent from the outside: during the day, the window just looks dark; at night it glows about like you'd expect from a frosted window. And did I say CHEAP?

 

[Zeke]

Regular old rollup window shades will give you both options.

 

[1jjpop]

I have roll up window shades and i have a refrigerate magnet on the bottom, when I put door up the magnet holds shade in place. My door has metal on inside, so magnet holds good...Remove magnet & let shade go up. Works for me....

 

[justin1795]

i put up a shed and left the protective film on the windows

 

[BillK]

Honda,
My Wife made curtains for ours. They are hanging from a piece of heavy cord that runs through the center of the hinges right above the windows. A couple of small magnets in the bottom hem keep them against the door. I can just pull them back if I want more light or just lift a corner if I want to peek outside. If I remember I will post a picture later tonight when I get home.

On my detached garage, I used opaque contact paper. I really don't like the looks of a solid door.

 

[wayne55]

I found some window film at Walmart that says it's for RV windows. It's dark gray in color. You cannot see in except at night if a light is on, but you can see out just fine. I put it on mine to block the sunlight. It's not the same as the window tint for car windows. This can be removed easily and re-applied if necessary.

 

[Periodic]

automotive window tint, buy the roll at an autoparts store. Like noted above, lights on at night, the peeping toms will still be able to see in.

 

[OctoMan]

There's an opaque film you can get at home stores. It lets light in but you can't see directly into shop.

 

[toolmiser]

I don't know where you are from so it may or may not be an issue. I asked a glass person about applying tint on "thermo" panes, and he recommended I not do it in the inside, if I must on the outside because it could cause heat buildup between the panes and cause them to fail. I did like someone else suggested and just taped some diffuser film on the frame and not sealed and I left corners untapped so I could peek out.

 

[hondakilla98]

My garage door faces north, so sunlight isn't an issue. This is just too keep people from knowing what's in my garage. The wax paper sounds like a good start. Rollup shades are an option as well. I'm just not sure what look I want.

 

[Zeke]

There's an opaque film you can get at home stores. It lets light in but you can't see directly into shop.

So how does this let the OP see out as he stated he likes to do?

 

[70C-10]

Thought I saw a thread on here recently that was the same. Check out the links.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...roducts/Residential/Sun_Control_Window_Films/

http://www.gilafilms.com/en/Privacy-Window-Film.aspx

 

[JRock10]

You can more than likely go with a window film on your doors. 3M film will be expensive (you're paying for the name, and they outsource a LOT of their films). Look for dealers either through manufacturer websites or Google. Some high quality but less expensive options will be SunTek (www.suntek.com) or Johnson (www.johnsonwindowfilms.com). You can also check out Llumar (www.llumar.com). They are pretty much the leader in window film technology.

A dual reflective film is probably the route you're looking to go, and most manufacturers will offer a warranty for seal failure and glass breakage. Check with your dealer. The job should cost less than $250, if you have a basic 2 car garage with 8 or less windows.

Gila is the cheap, low end brand made by CPFilms (Llumar's parent company) and I would recommend staying away from that brand.

If you're wondering, I used to install window film.

Tapatalk...my downtime occupier

 

[70C-10]

Good to know. THanks

 

[NewShockerGuy]

Old thread but figured it might help someone now. Was in the same situation wondering how to make the garage windows more private. I used the spray frost in the can for a couple years and that was OK, however after a month it would crack and peel and show spots... I would have to re-spray many times. Ended up finding Gila frosted adhesive film at Lowes for about twenty bucks. Super easy to apply if you have ever done window tint before, it's the same principle. It was easier for me since I was able to remove the glass completely.

Here are some pictures. You can see that if you are directly behind the glass you can make out the shape, but stand 4" away from it and you can't. Lets in all the light now but keeps all the privacy. Night shot at the end to show you can't see in but can only see light. I know with certain films sometimes when you have lights on inside and it's dark outside you can see through it, but not this stuff.

Plus it's blocks 95% of the UV rays!

Love it, wish I would have done this sooner.

-Nigel

 

[MagicMarker]

Old thread but figured it might help someone now. Was in the same situation wondering how to make the garage windows more private. I used the spray frost in the can for a couple years and that was OK, however after a month it would crack and peel and show spots... I would have to re-spray many times. Ended up finding Gila frosted adhesive film at Lowes for about twenty bucks. Super easy to apply if you have ever done window tint before, it's the same principle. It was easier for me since I was able to remove the glass completely.

Here are some pictures. You can see that if you are directly behind the glass you can make out the shape, but stand 4" away from it and you can't. Lets in all the light now but keeps all the privacy. Night shot at the end to show you can't see in but can only see light. I know with certain films sometimes when you have lights on inside and it's dark outside you can see through it, but not this stuff.

Plus it's blocks 95% of the UV rays!

Love it, wish I would have done this sooner.

-Nigel

Thanks for the idea and reviving this thread. I need to do that to my garage doors and will try that wax paper idea for the windows. My garage windows are original to the house so they are wood panes with individual glass panes. So a lot of work if I tried to apply that adhesive film....

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Old wood garage door- I just used some 6mil black poly and stapled it to the wood along the top. Hangs and blocks view. Can lift it up to see out. From outside, it looks like the garage is just empty- no lights at all. You literally have to put your nose to the glass to figure out its black plastic hanging over the Windows.

 

[koondog]

I had the same issue; wating to be able to see out when I wanted to but still obstruct the view from outside. My approach was much simpler. I had my wife make curtains out of black and white checkered material. It does the job and doesn't detract from the "garage-ness" as it resembles a racing checkered flag.
It works well for me and was very easy to do.

 

[Jazz1]

Interesting, applying film to windows. That would be my choice.
I spent half a day scrubbing 18 years of overspray off my garage windows. Amazing the amount of light coming into garage now. Nogoodniks don't venture into my 'hood.

 

[Todd.Brock]

I used the same Gila frosted film to block out our two 4x4 windows in the bathroom. ***** not watching the hottie next door shower, but is nice not to be watched brushing my teeth.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I used clear shelf liner from walmart.. Makes it look frosted and sticks like a champ.

 

[JunkYardDawg]

I've got patterned/frosted window film. There's one corner I can discretely lift to peek at what's going on outside. Otherwise, I get all the light and no peepers. I live in a real rural area - you can hear the trees growing out here - however, anyone who pulls into my drive may be encouraged to go further based in what they see in my garage. Just a precaution.

 

[black00lightning]

My garage wee on a service alley and it was very hard to see the driveway except through the garage door windows. However, there is no privacy at night when working in the garage. Since it faces west, I went ahead and insulated the door to reduce heat. I went ahead and covered the windows with foam boards but left a peephole for the duke of security.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

Old wood garage door- I just used some 6mil black poly and stapled it to the wood along the top. Hangs and blocks view. Can lift it up to see out. From outside, it looks like the garage is just empty- no lights at all. You literally have to put your nose to the glass to figure out its black plastic hanging over the Windows.

Surprisingly it might be as bad as you think. I have found that the smaller windows are actually a lot easier than a bigger style window. I once tried to put this stuff on an entire storm door and it was a freaking nightmare. What might take the longest part is cutting each individual window pane size. However, if they are all the same size, creating a template and then tracing that on the film would be super fast and easy. Trick is making sure there is NOTHING on the window, no dust, lint, particles of anything. IE: Cleaning it with a razor blade is a must. I put the same stuff but the darker tinted almost black out version on my shed transom windows mainly to cut down the internal heat and temp inside of it, and I did a so so job on cleaning the windows... there was still some dust on them which created a small air bubbles. No one can see because they are so high up but I know they are there.

Post pictures of the waxp aper trick if you do it.

-Nigel

 

[MushCreek]

I just worked naked in the garage for a few days, and the word got out. No one peeks in the windows anymore...