Pressed glass, alternative both provide light, privacy
Q: I grew up in an older home that had pressed glass in the bathroom windows. It allowed lots of light in, but you didn’t have to put up shades or curtains for privacy. Is this glass still available? If it’s too much trouble to switch out the glass, is there an alternative? — Marsha B., Lynchburg, Tennessee
A: I’ve got quite a bit of experience with the bumpy pressed glass you remember. Not only was it in the home I grew up in, but I also had this gorgeous glass in several older homes I owned.
You can still buy the glass, which comes in countless patterns and styles. Years ago, molten glass was poured into molds to create the glass. My guess is the manufacturing process today involves giant rollers that press a pattern into soft semi-molten sheets of glass.
If your current bathroom windows are double- or triple-pane insulated glass, switching to single-pane pressed glass will cost you a fraction more in energy, given that you live in a somewhat mild climate.
You can go online and find all sorts of pressed-glass options. It can be shipped to you. Odds are that a local company could cut it to the perfect size.
A local glazing company may be able to create an insulated glass panel for your window using one piece of pressed glass and one piece of normal clear glass, so you don’t have to sacrifice energy.
Local glazers may also stock sheets of the pressed glass. I’d just call them and see what they offer. Talk with the general manager to get the best advice about what to do.
My wife, Kathy, asked me last year to do the same thing in our master bathroom, which juts out of our home and has windows on three walls. The problem is the entire set of windows that’s at the end faces our neighbor’s deck.
For years we just kept the roll-up window shades down to the window sills. This transformed the bathroom into something of a cave.
One day our UPS driver left a tall square box at our front porch. Kathy had purchased a roll of plastic film that resembled etched glass. When I asked what was in the box, she showed me countless plastic window coverings that come in all sorts of patterns and colors, some that even resemble stained glass.
It was my job to add the film in the master bath windows. Kathy wanted to hang plants in both rooms and this would allow for enough sunlight.
The plastic had an adhesive on one side, and the sheet was about as thick as the cardboard boxes butter comes in. I’ve installed thousands of square feet of wallpaper in my life so I thought it would be pretty easy to do this job.
The manufacturer recommends that you watch a few videos to see how to install the plastic. I did and it seemed straightforward.
The most important step is to clean your existing window glass. I don’t mean just clean it once. You need the glass to be completely clean, and the edges of the sash and all nearby trim, too.
Years ago, I researched how professional window washers clean glass. Believe it or not, the solution in their buckets is just water with a small amount of liquid dish soap. I use a tile grout sponge soaked in this solution to rub the glass. It’s best to wash it three times and dry it each time with a clean micro-fiber towel that leaves no lint.
Most of the plastic privacy coatings require that you get the window wet before applying the film. Some require a little liquid soap in the water. Pay close attention to this step and only put in as much as called for.
After you install the plastic coating using the tools the manufacturer usually provides, you may have a few bubbles under the plastic. Over a few days, these bubbles will disappear. If the windows don’t get direct sunlight, the bubbles may take a week or two to dissipate.
Kathy and I love the plastic coating. It looks remarkable and it’s durable. You’ll discover it’s far cheaper, faster and less disruptive to install the plastic coating than the traditional pressed glass.