Fremantle · Port & southern suburbs
Window Tinting
Fremantle
A limestone cottage, a converted woolstore apartment and a West End shopfront need three different films. Fremantle has the most varied building stock in Perth, and that's the whole job here.
— Cottages, apartments & shopfronts — Heritage-appropriate films — Fitting film across Perth since 1995
The starting point
There's no standard Fremantle job
Most suburbs have a dominant housing type, so the recommendation is usually predictable before we arrive. Fremantle doesn't. Within a few streets you'll find 1890s limestone, post-war brick, a converted warehouse and a new infill townhouse — and each one wants something different from window film.
That's why we won't quote this area over the phone. Not being precious about it: it's that the answer genuinely depends on what the building is, which way the glass faces, and whether anything about the exterior is protected.
It also means you should be sceptical of anyone who quotes Fremantle sight unseen. A film chosen for a modern apartment will look wrong on original cottage glass, and a film chosen for a heritage frontage will underperform on a west-facing wall of glazing.
Character homes
Limestone cottages and character housing
Through South Fremantle, Beaconsfield and White Gum Valley the older stock tends to be small panes in timber frames, often with the slight waviness that gives old glass its character. The film that suits is neutral and low-reflectance — it takes the heat out without being visible from the street and without flattening the look of the original glazing.
What's usually causing the problem, though, isn't the original house at all. It's the extension. Almost every character cottage around here has had a rear addition put on it at some point, and those additions have far more glass than the front of the house ever did, usually facing north or west into a courtyard.
If your property is heritage-listed or in a heritage area, check with the City of Fremantle before booking anything. The requirements vary by listing and by what's visible from the street. We install on listed properties regularly, but we're not in a position to tell you what your particular listing permits — and neither is any installer who hasn't seen it.
Apartments
Warehouse conversions and apartment glass
The converted commercial buildings through the West End and North Fremantle are a distinct problem. Original industrial glazing was never designed for people to live behind — large single-glazed panes, high ceilings, and often a full western aspect with nothing in the way.
Those spaces get genuinely hot, and they're usually the jobs where film makes the biggest measurable difference. High infrared-rejection ceramic or spectrally selective film is the answer, kept light so the space doesn't lose the daylight that made it worth converting.
If you're in a strata building
Check the by-laws before you book. Many buildings require approval for anything that changes the external appearance of the glass, and heritage-listed conversions often specify a consistent film across the whole facade. We can supply the manufacturer's product specification for whatever we quote, which is usually what a strata company asks to see.
Where the issue is privacy rather than heat — ground-floor glass onto a laneway, or a bathroom — frosted film is the right product, because it works after dark as well as during the day.
Business
The West End, the Strip and the port
Fremantle's commercial glass is as mixed as its housing. Heritage shopfronts through the West End, hospitality along South Terrace and Market Street, offices above retail, and the industrial and marine services running out toward the port and O'Connor.
| Setting | Usual problem | What we fit |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage shopfronts | Stock and fitout fading behind original glass | Near-clear high UV-rejection film |
| Cafes and bars | Afternoon glare making window tables unusable | Neutral solar film |
| Street-level frontage | Tagging, etching and scratching | Anti-graffiti film |
| Offices above retail | Heat build-up and screen glare | Ceramic solar film |
| Marine and industrial | Large glazed frontages, salt exposure | Solar film with careful edge sealing |
| Premises empty overnight | Forced entry through glass | Security film, specified by thickness |
Plenty of Fremantle shopfronts end up with two films — solar on the inside for heat, anti-graffiti on the outside for the street. Commercial work can be scheduled outside trading hours. See office window tinting.
Cars
Looking to tint a car?
If you're looking to tint a car, call us or drop in. Cars are done at our workshop at 4/53 May Holman Drive, Bassendean — we don't tint vehicles on site, in Fremantle or anywhere else.
It's roughly a half-hour run from Fremantle depending on traffic, so it's worth knowing before you ring. Most people book a morning slot and make one trip of it. Two to four hours for most cars, depending on how many windows and how curved the rear glass is.
The reason we don't come to you is dust. Film goes on wet and stays tacky while the adhesive cures, and anything that settles on it during that window becomes a permanent bubble — not something that can be worked out afterwards, but a full redo of that pane. A controlled indoor space is the only reliable way to avoid it.
All automotive work is fitted within Western Australia's legal limits: at least 35% VLT forward of the B pillar, minimum 20% behind it, measured through your glass and the film together rather than off the film's packaging. Call with the make, model and year for a price. Detail on the car window tinting page.
Local conditions
What the Doctor does to an installation
Fremantle's afternoon sea breeze is the reason we won't fit film outdoors here, and it's worth understanding if you've been offered a kerbside job by someone else.
Wind carries grit. Film applied in a breeze picks up airborne dust and salt before the installer can squeegee it flat, and every particle trapped underneath is permanent. Indoors, with the doors shut, that risk disappears — which is why residential and commercial work here is done inside the building, and cars go to the workshop.
Salt is the slower issue. It doesn't attack the film, but build-up left sitting on glass eventually works toward the edges, and edges are where a rushed installation lets go first. On anything within a few streets of the water we spend longer on edge preparation for that reason, and we'd suggest rinsing exposed glass more often than you would inland.
- Let it cure
A few days after installation before cleaning. Some haze during that time is normal and clears on its own.
- Rinse exposed glass
Plain fresh water after a strong sea breeze does most of the work on salt build-up.
- Clean gently
Soft cloth, mild soapy water. No ammonia-based cleaners, nothing abrasive.
- Call early on edges
If an edge ever starts to lift, catching it quickly makes it a small fix.
Questions
Fremantle questions
Do you work on heritage-listed buildings in Fremantle?
Regularly, using neutral low-reflectance films. If your property is listed, check the requirements with the City of Fremantle before booking — approvals vary by listing and by what's visible from the street. Any installer who tells you it's definitely fine without seeing the listing is guessing.
What's the best film for a warehouse conversion?
Usually ceramic or spectrally selective, kept light. Converted industrial buildings have large single-glazed panes that were never meant to be lived behind, so infrared rejection matters — but keeping the daylight matters just as much, since that's generally why the space was worth converting.
Can I get both solar and anti-graffiti film on a shopfront?
Yes, and it's common here. They're two separate layers on two faces — solar film inside for heat and UV, anti-graffiti film outside as a sacrificial layer. The anti-graffiti layer gets replaced when it's damaged; the solar film underneath stays put.
Do you tint cars in Fremantle?
Not on site. All automotive work is done at the Bassendean workshop, about half an hour away depending on traffic. Wind and airborne grit make outdoor installation unreliable, particularly here.
Do you cover South Fremantle and White Gum Valley?
Yes, along with North Fremantle, Beaconsfield, Hamilton Hill, Spearwood, O'Connor and Bicton. No travel surcharge.
Coverage
Fremantle and the port suburbs
Homes and businesses fitted on site; cars at the workshop. We're based at 4/53 May Holman Drive, Bassendean.
Completed work is in our gallery.
Free quote
Every building here is different
Tell us what you've got — cottage, conversion, shopfront or office — and we'll come and look at it properly. Free, no obligation, and we'll tell you if some of your glass doesn't need doing.
Solarban WA
4/53 May Holman Drive, Bassendean WA 6054
Monday to Friday, 8am–4pm · Saturday by appointment
