Are you researching protection for your windows and glass doors? You can put in all new security windows, or you may wish to retrofit your existing windows with an after market applied security product. In this video we take a deep dive into the differences between two of the most popular window security products – Riot Glass® and Security Window Film. Which one will you choose?
Transcript: Riot Glass VS Security Window Film
Hi everyone. Today I'm going to break down the differences between security window films and AP 25. Access to now glazing systems from right class. Both retrofit solutions, meaning they installed right on your existing windows and glass doors in don't need to replace your glass. And you don't need to replace your framing system for either one of these. But there are significant differences in how they work, and how they're going to truly perform when the bad guys come to break into your building. If you're in charge of protecting people and property and buildings, you know that the glass is the weakest and most vulnerable part of any building. That is where the bad guys are generally going to come through, they're counting on the glass not being protected. And they know they can get in and out very quickly with little or no effort. Now before we get to the comparison of window film and Riot Glass, let's talk about a couple of other ways that you may have already researched, which could include bars, scissor gates, roll down shutters, ballistic glass, or force entry glass. All of these can be used with varying results. And it really depends on the threat level that you're anticipating or concerned about the look that you're trying to maintain. And of course, the budget that you need to work within. But let's just assume that you have a pretty tight budget and you're looking for a lower cost retrofit solution. And you don't want to change the way that the building looks that disqualifies roll down shutters and gates and bars because those are going to change the look. And that would also disqualify changing out your whole glazing system for force entry and ballistic because that's going to blow your budget. So that puts us squarely on the two retrofit solutions that are affordable, easily installed and don't change the way that the building looks. Those two solutions are security window film and AP 25 from Riot Glass. So how do they compare? Well, window films are a clear mylar sheeting that is installed directly onto the glass using a liquid solution like a slip solutions basically soapy water, the glass is thoroughly cleaned, and then the film was installed directly onto the surface of the glass, it's then squeezed out and once it dries, it is designed to hold the glass together if it's ever broken, how well it holds together really depends on a couple of factors, how thick the film is, if there's a single layer of film one on the inside, or if there's a double layer one on the inside one on the outside, if it's attached around the edge with a down 995, well, liquid attachment system or maybe even a battant mechanical attachment system, those all helped strengthen window film. And also the glass that used if it's tempered glass window film is going to be a lot weaker. If it's a Neil glass window film is going to hold up a lot better. And of course, if it's thicker film, it'll hold up better than thinner film. And if it's double sided, let's say you have like an interior 15 mil and an exterior seven mil and an attachment system that is going to hold up better than just a thin single film on the inside that's maybe unattached. So there are certainly many ways that you can order your window film system. And today because the way the bad guys are breaking into buildings has changed fundamentally in recent years, you really should probably go with the most robust multi layer attached system you can get your hands on if you're going to go with window film. And the reason why I say if you're going to go with window film is because we are seeing a behavioral change in the criminal element. They're coming with much heavier tools and they're more organized and they're creating a lot more force on the glazing systems. And they're getting in if you watch the footage from the riots, you'll see folded up glass everywhere. And that's either a laminated glass, which is a factory. Basically it's like two pieces of glass a window film sandwiched in the middle and it's all glued together. Or it's a retrofit, which is just regular glass with window film applied on the inside. Both create pretty much a similar result. And that is the glass is held together in a minimal type of attack. But if it's given enough force, it will fail relatively quickly. And now with heavier tools being used as standard protocol for bad guys, window films are questionable whether or not they're going to hold up in a forced entry attack. highly questionable. So now let's take a look at the Riot Glass ArmorPlast 25 or AP 25 access to non glazing system. This is installed not on the glass but actually in front of the glass. It's installed on to your existing framing system. Now it doesn't matter if it's aluminum storefront, a wooden system, masonry steel, even all glass systems can be retrofit with right class AP 25. So what makes it so different from window film is that it is an unbreakable panel being held into the framing system anchored into the superstructure of the building. So there is no weak point around the edge and the panel itself is unbreakable. Unlike window film, which can be punctured if it's hit in the same place more than just a few times, it will puncture and then it becomes a weak point and it will tear and then that's how it fails with AP 25. It is got this unbreakable panel which can take enormous force and even when it's punctured or shot with multiple rounds, which is how it's been tested. It doesn't fail. Those holes don't become a weak point and they don't spread so for that reason. It's great when it's used around Schools for active shooter around doorways where someone would normally punch through into film and they get their hand inside the building. Unlike the panic egress hardware, so you only need a breach about the size of a human hand to get through and access the egress hardware, and you're in the building. But most importantly, if you've got multiple attackers with heavy tools, and they approached the building, and they start wailing on the glass, they're gonna get in really quickly, if it's laminated glass or window film, it just can't handle that kind of force, or AP 25 can take abuse like that for a prolonged period of time. And in fact, in laboratory testing, it was virtually impenetrable. The tech just got tired and just stopped, he was just exhausted from swinging the sledgehammer for eight full minutes, and couldn't get in. So this is a fundamentally different technology than window film. And it really isn't even in the same category. If you'd like to see a demonstration of this product, we will do these for any large client that's looking to roll out across the US or has a large building. In fact, seeing is believing we do these demos all the time. And just to give you a little bit of an idea of some of the feedback we get during the demos, we always will juxtapose the AP 25 to a window film book. So we have two box which are these these test fixtures. And we'll show the different side by side. And it's really very apparent very quickly how different they are. And most of our clients will say, why would I ever go with window film now that I've seen this other product? And the answer is, well, you may want to go with window film on certain areas that are annealed glass, for example, that are four feet above grade or more that are kind of difficult to access and get in. If you're doing a very large campus, for example, multiple windows, in some cases, you can use window film to, you know, help reduce cost a little bit and use the AP 25 and all the areas that are much more vulnerable. And we see that quite a bit. That combination of different products. But some some clients would just say no, we don't want anything except AP 25 on all our windows, because you never know. On that night, that one window, you know which windows are going to be you never really can predict where a bad guy is going to choose to go into a building. It's more likely that they'll try and get in at an entrance. That's typically where people break in the doors or the sidelines beside the doors, but not always. So are you going to take that chance. So that's basic difference between window films and AP 25 You'll probably have more questions. So we're going to make more videos but let me know in the comments below what you think of this video and what you think of these two different technologies. What would you use on your building? What do you like most about the two different technologies. Thanks for watching everyone. If you know someone that would benefit from this information, please forward it onto him and help us spread the message. We'll see you on the next video.
