Window Film on Capitol Hill, Washington DC

Window Film for Capitol Hill Offices and Organizations

The western edge of the Hill, closest to the Capitol and Union Station, is office territory. Trade associations, advocacy groups, lobbying shops and policy organizations occupy converted rowhouses and small office buildings along Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues and the streets around them. Many of these buildings have older single-pane or early insulated glass, and the people inside sit right next to it.

Those organizations ask us for three things. Solar and low-E film for the south and west rooms that overheat in summer and feel cold in winter. Privacy film for ground-floor conference rooms that face the sidewalk. Security film that holds glass in place if a window is struck, particularly for groups whose work draws attention. We describe that film honestly as glass retention, not blast protection, and coordinate with any security consultant the organization has hired.

Storefront Window Film on Barracks Row and Near Eastern Market

Barracks Row along 8th Street SE and the blocks around Eastern Market are the Hill's commercial spine, with restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores and small boutiques in the ground floors of nineteenth century buildings. Pennsylvania Avenue SE adds more storefronts and offices. These shops have big display windows and sidewalks full of people, which means fading merchandise, glare at the register and the occasional scratched or broken pane.

Clear UV film keeps window displays from bleaching, light solar film cools west-facing dining rooms at dinner time, and anti-graffiti film protects lower panes that get keyed. All of them look like plain glass from the sidewalk, which matters inside the historic district.

Capitol Hill Rowhouse Window Film and Historic District Rules

The Capitol Hill Historic District is one of the largest in the city, and nearly every residential block in it is lined with brick rowhouses from the late 1800s and early 1900s: Italianate fronts, Queen Anne bays and turrets, and simpler flat fronts on the side streets. Owners prize their original windows and wavy glass, and the Historic Preservation Office reviews changes to what the street can see.

Interior film is the reversible option. A spectrally selective or clear UV film does not change the sash or the profile, and from the sidewalk the glass looks untouched. We steer away from mirror and dark films on front windows. On rear windows facing the alley, where nobody reviews the look, owners can choose stronger heat control for kitchens and additions that face south or west.

• Clear UV film for front parlors and bay windows
• Heat control film for top floors and rear additions
• Frosted or gradient film for English basement windows
• Security film for alley doors and lower rear windows

English Basements and Security Film on the Hill

Many Hill rowhouses have an English basement unit, either rented out or used as a family room, with windows a step or two below the sidewalk. Gradient privacy film on the lower glass keeps the view from the street out while letting daylight in. Rear basement windows below alley grade are a common break-in point, and security film there slows anyone trying to get through.

We check the old sashes before installing. Loose putty, cracked panes or rotten wood should be repaired first, since film works best on glass that is firmly seated in a sound frame.