We fit window film to the flats of Pļavnieki, to stairwells, to ground-floor windows beside the courtyard, and to local shops, offices and salons. This is a densely built neighbourhood - some windows stand in the shadow of the block opposite, some take the full afternoon sun, and many look straight into the windows of the building across the way. So we choose the film window by window, not building by building. From €25/m², measuring free of charge.
The gaze people most want to hide from in Pļavnieki doesn't come from the street. It comes from a window in the building opposite, thirty metres away and at exactly the same height. So here the question of privacy doesn't disappear as you go higher: on the fifth floor the kitchen table is just as visible as on the first, only it is usually noticed later - on some summer evening, when the lights are on in both buildings. The other side of that same density is shade: one window stands screened for almost the whole day while the next one in the same flat takes full sun in the afternoon. Together, those two facts decide what is worth putting on the glass and what isn't.
The solution is film on the existing glass, from inside the room. Windows are not removed, frames are not touched, and a typical two- or three-room flat is finished in a single visit. We make the choice window by window rather than building by building - the pane looking into a neighbour's flat and the pane looking onto an open courtyard rarely suit the same film. We work with flats, stairwell and communal windows, with ground-floor shops, salons, clinics and offices, and with the larger glazed areas of newer developments. Behind us are 15 years and more than 400 completed properties.
Measuring and quoting cost nothing, and it is during the survey that it usually becomes clear which windows need no film at all. Prices start from €25/m², covering both film and labour; prices are excl. VAT and the minimum order is €75. We have no branch in the neighbourhood - we travel in from another part of Riga, and within the neighbourhood itself that complicates nothing. If there is already old film on the glass that is yellowing, bubbling or peeling, we remove it as separate work; in Soviet-era estates that comes up often enough, because in many places the first films went on many years ago.
Pļavnieki is a large eastern housing estate where the buildings stand close together. That creates two opposite problems within one and the same building.
In dense building stock the main privacy question isn't the passer-by on the street but the neighbouring building. When two blocks stand facing each other with a comparatively small gap between them, the flats look literally into one another - and that applies not just to the ground floor but equally to every floor. Someone on the fifth floor is just as visible as on the first; they simply tend to realise it later.
Curtains solve it, but at the same time they take daylight out of a room that doesn't have much to spare. So here people often choose one-way mirror film for the panes facing the block opposite, or frosted film where the view out doesn't matter - the lower part of a bedroom window, say, or a bathroom or kitchen. The most important thing to know about mirror film from the outset: it works while it is brighter outside than in. In the evening, with the lights on in the room, the effect reverses. If privacy is needed in the evenings too, the right choice is frosted or blackout film, not a mirror.
In practice, two different types of film are often fitted in one flat: one for the side facing the neighbours, another for the side facing the open courtyard or the street.
The second consequence of dense building is that the sun conditions within one building differ far more than you might expect. One flat's window is screened almost all day by the block standing next to it, while the next window in that same flat, or one floor up, is completely open to the afternoon sun because nothing stands in front of it. The result is one room that is cool and half-dark and another that is unbearably bright.
That means a single film applied uniformly across a whole building is rarely the right solution here. In a shaded window a dark film will only take away the light that is left, giving nothing in return, because there is practically no direct sun. In the unscreened window, on the other hand, a light film may turn out to be too weak. In Soviet-era flats the window panes are generally not large and there are many of them, so the overall reserve of light is modest - over-darkening is easier than it seems.
During the survey we walk through all the rooms and look at what stands in front of each window. It takes a few extra minutes, but here that is precisely what decides whether the result will be good.
On the top floors the situation is the reverse - no block stands in front, and the windows take the sun in full. On top of that the flat roof heats up in summer and gives the warmth back to the rooms from above. Film deals with the share that comes through the glass, and that is usually felt in the afternoon, but it doesn't replace the roof. We say so before the work, not after. Here solar control film or heat rejection film with higher light transmission is usually the answer - effective enough against the heat, but without turning the flat into a twilight.
Inside the blocks the courtyard is at once a footpath, a playground and a place to park. A ground-floor window sits almost at the eye level of a passer-by, and there is a flow of people all day. The typical solution is blackout or frosted film on the lower part of the window with the top left clear, so that light stays in the room. If the view out matters, mirror film works during the day, but in the evening it no longer helps. For low-set panes close to a path or a play area, safety film sometimes makes sense too.
For daytime privacy when a window looks into the windows of the building opposite. The view out remains, but in the evening, with the lights on, the effect reverses.
For panes directly facing a neighbour's flat, and for bathrooms and stairwell windows. Works around the clock.
For the lower part of ground-floor windows beside the courtyard path. Light comes in from above, the view in is cut off completely.
For unscreened south- and west-facing windows, especially on the upper floors. We choose a lighter option so that modest-sized panes don't go too dark.
For top-floor flats under a flat roof and for ground-floor commercial premises with large glazed areas on the sunny side.
For low-set storefronts and ground-floor glazing on the courtyard side. 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 dense building stock that is especially useful, because one and the same film looks completely different in a shaded window and an unshaded one. Prices for every type are set out on the prices page, and the films can be compared in the services section.
1. Enquiry. Fill in the form with the street, the block, the floor and the main problem. If the main reason is being overlooked from the building opposite, mention it straight away - it changes the type of film.
2. A call within 5 minutes. We get in touch and talk the situation through. Often that conversation alone makes it clear whether you need mirror film, frosted film or solar film, and roughly what it will cost.
3. Free on-site measuring. We come out, measure every pane and look at what stands in front of each window - open space, the block next door or a tree. We show you samples against the real glass. This step often also settles which windows need no film at all.
4. A fixed price. The quote covers film and labour together, excl. VAT. The price doesn't change afterwards as long as the scope of work doesn't.
5. Installation. A typical two- or three-room flat is finished in a day. We clean the glass, cut the film on site, cover sills and floors, and clear everything away afterwards. The film takes a few days to dry out fully - during that time you may see slight haziness or tiny water spots on the glass, and that is normal.
Tell us the address, the floor and the main problem - heat, glare or being overlooked from the building opposite. We'll call you and talk you through the quote.
The neighbourhood is connected to the centre by Deglava iela and Lubānas iela, and those are the roads we take. Driving times in Riga depend on the hour, on roadworks and on the specific address, so we don't promise an exact minute of arrival - we agree the time on the phone and stick to it. No separate call-out charge is applied, because the neighbourhood falls within our service radius.
The practically most important part is access within the blocks. In dense estates a single address can have several blocks, the courtyards are full of parked cars, and the nearest place to pull up is sometimes a hundred metres from the entrance. We carry materials and tools by hand, so the useful details in your enquiry are the block letter or number, the floor, whether the stairwell has a lift and whether the courtyard has a barrier or coded gates.
To work indoors we need clear access to the window - a strip of roughly a metre along the sill. If a heavy piece of furniture or a shelving unit stands by the window, say so in advance so that we can allow time to move it. Curtains and blinds we usually take down and put back ourselves.
Alongside the housing, the neighbourhood has retail, schools, health services and everyday service premises, some of them on the ground floors of blocks of flats. In premises like these the briefs differ from those in a flat: large glazed areas at the entrance, sun falling directly on the counter or the workstation, and a need for partial privacy without losing the function of a display window.
The typical solution here is a frosted band at eye level or decorative film with a pattern, combined with solar film on the sunniest pane. For consulting and treatment rooms blackout film is appropriate; for meeting and reception areas, frosted. Logos or printed graphics on glass are quoted individually, since it depends on the size and the design.
On commercial properties we often plan the work before opening or after closing, so that customers aren't disturbed. If the premises are open all day, we split the work pane by pane.
The most typical jobs in a densely built neighbourhood of flats, 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 Pļavnieki are free. If several neighbours in one stairwell order together, the minimum is reached easily and the façade looks uniform. The full price list is on the prices page.
Pļavnieki lies on the right bank of the Daugava, in the eastern part of Riga, and the neighbouring areas often fall on the same day's round. Close by we work in Purvciems, Dārzciems, Dreiliņi and Šķirotava, as well as in the rest of the Riga neighbourhoods. We have no branch or outlet in any of them - we travel out to all of them.
If you have several properties in different places - a flat here and business premises on another edge of the city, say - they can be submitted in one form and planned as a single job with two visits. The full list of areas we cover is on the service area page.
That is one of the most common briefs in building stock like this. If there is a modest distance between two blocks and the windows are at roughly the same height, then either one-way mirror film or frosted film will help. Mirror film blocks the view from outside during the day and keeps the view from inside, but after dark, with the lights on in the room, the effect reverses. Frosted film works the same around the clock, but the view out is lost. In practice people often choose a combination: frosted film on the pane that looks straight into the windows of the building opposite, and clear solar film on the rest.
Not always, and we say so openly. If the neighbouring block stands in front of the window for almost the whole day, there is little direct sun there, and heat rejection film will produce a barely noticeable result while making the room darker. In that case only privacy film is worthwhile, if there is a need for it. At the same time, a window on the other side of the very same flat may be fully open to the afternoon sun. That is why, during the survey, we go through every room individually and don't push film where it will change nothing.
It helps with the share of the heat that comes through the window, but not with the share that comes through the roof. On top floors under a flat roof the heat usually builds up from both directions at once, and it is only fair to say so from the outset. Solar control film or heat rejection film on the sunniest windows substantially reduces the heat coming in through the glass, and the difference is most often felt in the afternoon. If you are expecting the flat to become as cool as it would with air conditioning once the film is on, that won't happen.
In dense building stock the courtyard is also a pedestrian route, so plenty of people pass a ground-floor window and the view in is almost at eye level. Here the usual choice is blackout or frosted film on the lower part of the window, leaving the top clear so that the light stays. If you want to keep the view out, mirror film works during the day, but in the evening the window becomes see-through and a curtain is needed all the same. We normally make the choice on site, because it depends on how close the path runs to the wall.
It isn't compulsory, but for the sake of the façade it is often sensible, especially if you are choosing a strongly reflective film. If several neighbours in one stairwell order together, we make one visit, measure all the flats in turn and complete the work in a single day. The façade then looks uniform rather than patchy. A joint order also makes it easier to reach the €75 minimum order if each flat on its own has only two or three windows. Before choosing a strongly reflective film it is worth checking whether the building manager has rules about the appearance of the façade.
We have no branch in the neighbourhood - we travel in from another part of Riga along Deglava iela or Lubānas iela, and the neighbourhood falls within our service radius, so the call-out is not charged separately. The practical part is access within the blocks: we carry tools and rolls of film by hand, so it helps us to know the block number, the floor, whether there is a lift and from which side it is easier to pull up. If the courtyard has a barrier or coded gates, say so in your enquiry. Measuring and quoting are free.
Describe the situation in the form - we'll recommend the most suitable film, get in touch and give you a quote.
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