We fit window film to the flats, detached houses, offices and commercial properties of Mežciems - in the housing estates along Biķernieku iela and Hipokrāta iela, and in the private houses at the edge of the forest. The shade from the trees here is uneven, so we choose the film window by window rather than for the whole building. Measuring and quoting are free, and prices start from €25/m².
Some of the windows in Mežciems don't need film at all. We say so out loud, because it is the most honest thing that can be said about this neighbourhood: when a building stands beside Biķernieki forest and a tall pine grows in front of the window, the tree is already doing what elsewhere has to be paid for. The problem is that the next window in the very same flat can be in a completely different situation - and that is exactly where our work begins.
Forest shade moves and it is uneven. The lower floors sit behind the canopy; the upper floors are already above it and take direct sun all day. A conifer casts a dappled shade all year round; a deciduous tree drops its leaves in October, precisely when the low sun reaches deepest into the room. So we rarely offer a single solution for a whole building here. More often it is a list, window by window: a lighter film for this pane, heat rejection for that one, nothing at all for those three.
The work itself is straightforward. We apply film to the existing glass, we don't remove windows and we don't touch frames, and a typical flat is finished in a single visit. Measuring and quoting are free, prices start from €25/m² with film and labour together, excl. VAT, with a €75 minimum order. Behind us are 15 years and more than 400 completed properties in Riga and within a 50 km radius; we work with flats in the estates, detached houses, stairwell windows, offices, service premises, shops and storefronts.
We have no office or branch in Mežciems - we travel in from another part of Riga, but the neighbourhood is within the city limits, so the call-out is not charged separately. If there is already old film on the glass that has yellowed or bubbled, we remove it as separate work; in system-built blocks, where film went on many years ago, that is a perfectly ordinary job.
The main technical quirk of Mežciems isn't heat or privacy - it is how greatly neighbouring windows differ from one another.
Tall trees beside a building give real shade, but it isn't even and it moves. In the morning one end is shaded, in the afternoon the other. On the lower floors a window can be almost entirely behind the canopy, but on the fifth or ninth floor that same window is already above the treetops and takes direct sun all day. So it is perfectly normal for the lower flats in one stairwell to need no film while for the upper ones it is the most obvious need there is.
The second difference is horizontal. The edge of the forest isn't a straight line: in places the trees come almost up to the building, in others there is open ground, a path or a sports facility between them and the house. Two stairwells in one building can be in completely different conditions.
Pine and spruce give a dappled shade all year. It isn't dense, it reduces heat only partly, and it makes the light uneven - bright patches and darker bands alternate in the window and shift in the wind. A dark film in a window like that makes the room gloomy; the better answer is a lighter film with higher light transmission.
A deciduous tree only works for half the year. In summer it shades well, but at the end of October the leaves fall just as the sun drops low and the beam reaches deep into the room. In autumn and spring people in a flat like this suddenly start drawing the curtains in the middle of the day. It is a situation where film is justified, but it has to be chosen for the winter light rather than the summer heat.
That is why, during the survey, we always ask in which season the problem is sharpest. The answer “in summer” and the answer “in October” lead to two different films.
In system-built blocks the windows are fairly small and there are a lot of them. That leads to a simple practical conclusion: a dark film here takes away more than it gives. The room turns gloomy precisely during the winter half of the year, when daylight in Riga is already in short supply. The right choice is more often a lighter solar control film with higher light transmission, and it is fitted not to every window but to the ones that genuinely overheat.
Top floors under a flat roof are a case of their own. There the heat comes down from the slab as well, and even a partly shaded window is no help on a summer afternoon. These are the flats in which film makes the most noticeable difference.
On the ground floors the question is usually not heat but the view in. Windows on the entrance side, along the paths and beside the play areas, are right at the eye level of a passer-by, and the greenery around the building doesn't solve it - in winter the shrubs are bare. Here mirror film works for daytime privacy, or frosted film on specific panes.
In private houses and newer properties the panes are large, and there is often a glazed terrace or a garden-facing glazed wall. There the trees cover only part of the glazing, and usually two or three panes out of the whole lot overheat. We pick those out during the survey and leave the rest clear - it costs less and looks more logical than an evenly tinted wall.
The other common brief in private houses is UV protection. If direct sun enters a room close to the trees in the afternoon, the parquet, timber joinery and fabrics fade unevenly along that band - the line between the shaded and the sunlit part stays visible. UV film slows that down without changing the look of the room.
At the forest edge windows get dirty more quickly from pollen, resin and falling leaves. That doesn't affect the film, but it does affect the preparation: we wash the glass more thoroughly before applying the film, and we build that into the schedule.
In its lighter version - for windows that the trees shade only partly, or only in summer. Cuts glare without taking away the winter light.
For top floors under a flat roof and for south-facing glazing, where the main problem is temperature.
For ground floors along the paths and open areas. By day the view in is blocked; at night, with the lights on, the effect reverses.
For bathrooms, stairwell windows and panes facing the neighbouring house. The light stays, the view through does not - at any time of day or night.
Against uneven fading of parquet, timber joinery and furniture where the edge of the shade falls in the same place day after day.
For ground-floor windows, storefronts and glazed doors. Holds the shards together if the glass is broken.
If it isn't clear which option suits your window, there is no need to decide in advance. At the survey we normally bring samples and hold them against the actual glass. In Mežciems that is especially useful, because one and the same film looks completely different in a window behind the tree canopy and in a window above canopy level. The full price list is on the prices page, and every service is listed in the services section.
1. Enquiry. Fill in the form with your address, the floor, the type of property and the main problem. Here it is worth mentioning straight away which way the windows face and whether there are trees in front of them.
2. A call within 5 minutes. We get in touch and talk the situation through. Often the conversation alone can establish whether the issue is summer heat or the low autumn sun - the two lead to different films.
3. Free on-site measuring. We come out, measure every pane, look at the frames and the access, and show you samples. In Mežciems this step usually also settles which windows don't need film - and that can be a third of the original list.
4. A fixed price. The quote covers film and labour together, excl. VAT. The price doesn't change as long as the scope of work doesn't.
5. Installation. A typical flat is finished in a day, a larger detached house in one or two. We clean the glass, cut the film on site, cover sills and floors, and clear everything away afterwards. Full drying takes a few days, and during that time you may see slight haziness on the glass - that is normal and passes on its own.
Tell us the address, the floor and the main problem - heat, glare or privacy. We'll call you and talk you through the quote.
Mežciems is an official Riga neighbourhood on the right bank of the Daugava, and the main approaches are Biķernieku iela, Hipokrāta iela and the links towards Jugla and Dreiliņi. Driving times in the city depend on the hour, on roadworks and on events, so we don't promise an exact minute of arrival - we agree the time on the phone and, if anything changes, we let you know in advance.
We carry materials and tools to the property by hand, so it helps us to know the floor, whether the stairwell has a lift and whether there is a key code or an entryphone. In the housing estates the space by the entrance is often taken in the middle of the day; if we can only stop nearby for a short while, say so in advance - we unload and then move the vehicle further off.
The large institutional complexes, the racing circuit and the forest itself change in places where we can pull up and which side of the building is easier to approach. That is no problem when we know about it beforehand - it is simply one extra question on the phone.
In a system-built block the window sizes repeat within one stairwell. If several neighbours book at the same time, we measure in a single visit, cut the film to a handful of repeated sizes and work through the flats one after another. It is quicker, the façade stays uniform, and the €75 minimum order is no longer a question even if each flat needs only two or three windows done.
The same applies to stairwell windows and communal areas - these are often handled by the building manager or the residents' representative separately from the flats, and that work can be combined with tinting the flats on the same day.
If you have several properties in different parts of Riga, they can be submitted in one form. See also the Riga page and the full service area.
The most typical jobs in the building stock of Mežciems, with starting prices.
The price includes both the film and the labour. Prices are excl. VAT, with a €75 minimum order. Measuring and quoting in Mežciems are free. The full price list is on the prices page.
Mežciems lies in the eastern part of Riga, and the same route usually takes in Purvciems, Jugla, Dreiliņi and Brekši as well. It is all one direction of travel, so if there are several properties on this side of the city in a single day, we normally plan them together.
We have no branch or office in any of these neighbourhoods - they are all part of our call-out area within Riga. The other places we cover are listed on the service area page, and there is an overview of our work in the capital on the Riga page.
Sometimes it isn't, and we say so. If the trees are close, tall and coniferous, the shade can be sufficient all year round. But the edge of a forest is not a wall - it is uneven, and one clearing, path or group of lower trees is enough to let the sun through for several hours a day. So during the survey we look at the outlook and the floor level of the particular window, rather than assuming that facing the forest automatically means a cool room. If film would do nothing for a particular window, we recommend leaving it off.
Most often the answer is the floor level and the height of the trees. On the lower floors the tree canopy covers the window almost completely, but higher up the same window is already above canopy level and takes direct sun all day. The distance from the end of the building differs too: one stairwell can sit right behind a line of trees while another faces open ground. In practice that means different flats in one building need different films, or that some windows need no film at all.
That is a typical situation wherever deciduous trees grow beside the window. In summer the canopy gives shade, but in October it disappears just as the sun sits low and the beam reaches deep into the room - as far as the desk, the screen and the wall. Here a lighter solar control film is usually the answer: it cuts the glare without taking away light during the winter months, when there is little of it anyway. A dark film in a window like this is more often a mistake: it solves two months of autumn and spoils the other ten.
Technically it can be fitted, but it is worth checking the building's or the manager's rules on changing the appearance of the façade first. In a system-built block the windows are uniform and easy to take in at a glance, so a single mirrored window stands out immediately. If several neighbours in one stairwell order at the same time, the façade stays uniform, the work costs less and the €75 minimum order is cleared without effort. If there is only one client, we more often suggest a frosted or a more lightly tinted option.
It does. A terrace or garden-facing glazed elevation usually takes sun from several directions, and the trees cover only part of it. There we look at each pane individually and fit film only to those that genuinely overheat - often two or three out of eight. That costs less than tinting the whole elevation and looks more logical, because the shaded panes stay perfectly clear.
Prices start from €25/m², and that includes both the film and the labour. Prices are excl. VAT, with a €75 minimum order. Measuring and quoting are free, and no separate call-out charge is applied, because Mežciems is within Riga. A typical flat is finished in a day; a detached house with extensive glazing in one or two. The final figure depends on the number and size of the panes, the film chosen and access to the windows.
Describe the situation in the form - we'll look at every window individually and tell you when film isn't needed at all.
We have received your enquiry and will prepare a quote. We will call you on the phone number you provided.
