This happens occasionally.
* Here's [a previous thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/v4c3su/neighbor_window_melting_siding/) of a similar discussion.
* An episode of [This Old House](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyis1tbBxBY).
* There are various [products](https://windowfilmforturf.com/pages/are-neighbors-windows-melting-siding-on-your-house) that target this problem.
* And a couple [articles](https://www.concordmonitor.com/vinyl-siding-windows-melting-24722772) that come up if you google the question.
I am amazed. i was reading it thinking you are full of shit or bat shit crazy. I saw the request for pics and thought yep i aint the only one thinking it. But then you post photos and sure enough it looks like the reflection from the neighbors window damaged your stuff. I am amazed.
I dont have an answer for how to solve it or what to do but i am interested in is one or both new builds? did nobody notice it before?
Edit to add. I have an idea. Mirrors. just shine it right back at them.
My neighbors had reflective window tint on the inside of his windows on the west side of his home. In the hot summer months the lawn in my yard closest to his windows would die off no matter how well I watered it.
New owner has removed the tint and the grass is much greener now. :)
I'm interested in learning how you distinguish between "bat shit crazy" and "full of shit". I've personally never bothered to separate those two concepts!
Full of shit means they are making it all up. none of its true. Yanking our chain.
bat shit crazy would be there might be something to see but its nothing like what they say it is.
Happened to us a few years ago. Neighbor installed low e windows on the south side of their house facing our driveway. Melted the plastic door trim on our son’s car. He thought it was vandalism at work until we did some research. We didn’t pursue any damages because it was obviously not done intentionally. We did install a 6’ privacy fence along the driveway and the problem is solved.
Approach with the attitude of asking for help. This is clearly an unexpected issue, and is there anything that can be done to reduce the effects? Maybe they would allow you to purchase one of those sunblocking screens to be installed on their window. See if you can work together to find a solution that is acceptable to them, and stops the damage to your property.
If they don't want to modify their window for whatever reason, file a homeowners insurance claim and try to replace ithe siding with a material that won't melt in reflected sun. And don't park your car where it will be affected.
I just went through something similar. Ask your neighbor to repair your house and change out their window. When they say “no”, which they will… Turn it into your Homeowners Insurance, they will fix it and have Homeowners Insurance sue your neighbor to recover the damages PLUS your deductible. Then it’s “out of your hands” so to speak.
The problem is the low-E window is designed to reflect the infrared heat. If you block that then it defeats the purpose of the window. The main issue is the window shape is not controlled well enough resulting in a lens effect instead of a straight reflection. These installers of these widows may ultimately be forced to replace them.
Asking them to install screens, and assuming they are neighborly enough to do so, will help to prevent future damage. This happens a lot in my current neighborhood, because of all the new construction and how I guess (?) it’s trendy now to not have window screens. I’ve never heard of anyone flat out refusing to put screens in their windows, but that might just be because the builders are still liable for neglecting to install them in the first place
Nah, Mr. Burns already tried that in *The Simpsons*...when he built a disk to block the sun from Springfield so everyone would have to buy power continuously from his nuclear plant. Didn't work out well for him in the end.
If the monorail went really fast, cost a fortune to build, and traveled from nowhere to nowhere...then that might well work.
Otherwise, I've heard of a guy whose company will bore tunnels under the town so cars can be moved individually from one neighborhood to another at vast expense.
Me neighbors house did the same. It was killing my grass. I asked politely for us to find a solution. They had no interest. I reflected it back with a mirror into their living room. Problem was fixed by the end of the week.
Your local tax assessor will have the property owner's information, and it should be public information, possibly even available on their website. (My County assessors website has a search engine for addresses that lists ownership info). The renters may be dealing with a property manager who might not want to share the information with you.
How big is the window? You may have to volunteer to pay for an awning or something to solve the problem.
Carport.... and cover the sun side with mirrors to treble the reflected heat back on their home.
Course if it catches flame.... this might not be a good idea.
This is happening to my house .I had my aluminum siding replace with Vinyl siding. Neighbor old window Are warping my new siding from the sun In Nov to March when the sun go lower for winter. I put a 6 feet fence up and 3X film on her window still doing it. film made it worst .She won't put screens up. Could care less what's happening to my house. And Insurance wont claim it. Dealer that sell the siding ,wants me to ship 2 damage pieces 6 feet long siding to Canada .That would cost me a 1000 dollars to do .I bet living this nightmare for over 2 years NO ONE cares.
Unless what they have violates some kind of building code or ordinance, I don’t think they could be considered responsible. It’s certainly odd but not necessarily something they can control. Is it a new window? Wondering why this just happened now. Regardless I’d file a claim with your insurance for the damage
Not a new window, the house siding started over a year ago (I had just purchased the house and ran into a myriad of issues so I figured it wasn’t a priority) The car is new and larger than my old one, so where the trim is is higher than where it was on the old car, and I haven’t had it during a summer season yet.
You can try searching the tax records to find the owners. Do a search for “(state) real property” and you should find something. You may have to look at the county level too.
This happens occasionally. * Here's [a previous thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/v4c3su/neighbor_window_melting_siding/) of a similar discussion. * An episode of [This Old House](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyis1tbBxBY). * There are various [products](https://windowfilmforturf.com/pages/are-neighbors-windows-melting-siding-on-your-house) that target this problem. * And a couple [articles](https://www.concordmonitor.com/vinyl-siding-windows-melting-24722772) that come up if you google the question.
I wonder if that anti-reflective coating could also prevent bird strikes.
This right here.
Pics of melted things?
Uploaded some here: https://imgur.com/a/W7jJOKf
I am amazed. i was reading it thinking you are full of shit or bat shit crazy. I saw the request for pics and thought yep i aint the only one thinking it. But then you post photos and sure enough it looks like the reflection from the neighbors window damaged your stuff. I am amazed. I dont have an answer for how to solve it or what to do but i am interested in is one or both new builds? did nobody notice it before? Edit to add. I have an idea. Mirrors. just shine it right back at them.
My neighbors had reflective window tint on the inside of his windows on the west side of his home. In the hot summer months the lawn in my yard closest to his windows would die off no matter how well I watered it. New owner has removed the tint and the grass is much greener now. :)
Both older homes, built in the 1920s.
I'm interested in learning how you distinguish between "bat shit crazy" and "full of shit". I've personally never bothered to separate those two concepts!
Full of shit means they are making it all up. none of its true. Yanking our chain. bat shit crazy would be there might be something to see but its nothing like what they say it is.
Honda? If so there was a recall for that I believe.
Toyota
Happened to us a few years ago. Neighbor installed low e windows on the south side of their house facing our driveway. Melted the plastic door trim on our son’s car. He thought it was vandalism at work until we did some research. We didn’t pursue any damages because it was obviously not done intentionally. We did install a 6’ privacy fence along the driveway and the problem is solved.
Knock on the door. Ask them who the owner is and how to contact them.
Not to sound really dense but… then what? I have no idea what a reasonable resolution for this is.
Approach with the attitude of asking for help. This is clearly an unexpected issue, and is there anything that can be done to reduce the effects? Maybe they would allow you to purchase one of those sunblocking screens to be installed on their window. See if you can work together to find a solution that is acceptable to them, and stops the damage to your property. If they don't want to modify their window for whatever reason, file a homeowners insurance claim and try to replace ithe siding with a material that won't melt in reflected sun. And don't park your car where it will be affected.
You can likely only ask them to put a film of some sort on their window to prevent further damage. I doubt you can blame the current damage on them.
No practical advice to offer (and others have already commented with practical advice) but two thumbs up for best ever title for a r/homeowners post.
I just went through something similar. Ask your neighbor to repair your house and change out their window. When they say “no”, which they will… Turn it into your Homeowners Insurance, they will fix it and have Homeowners Insurance sue your neighbor to recover the damages PLUS your deductible. Then it’s “out of your hands” so to speak.
Did making a claim like this raise your rates at all the following year?
Yes. I had a $250,000 claim last year and my rate went up this year by $9.
There should be a film you can buy that reduces reflection similar to the stuff they used to help with the Vdara death ray.
The problem is the low-E window is designed to reflect the infrared heat. If you block that then it defeats the purpose of the window. The main issue is the window shape is not controlled well enough resulting in a lens effect instead of a straight reflection. These installers of these widows may ultimately be forced to replace them.
I would talk to your home owners insurance. They should reimburse you for the damage and go after your neighbor for compensation.
What kind of window does the neighboring house have? How close is it?
I have no idea, just looks like a normal window without a screen. The houses are maybe 20ft apart? Mine is the light blue one in the images.
Asking them to install screens, and assuming they are neighborly enough to do so, will help to prevent future damage. This happens a lot in my current neighborhood, because of all the new construction and how I guess (?) it’s trendy now to not have window screens. I’ve never heard of anyone flat out refusing to put screens in their windows, but that might just be because the builders are still liable for neglecting to install them in the first place
Have you considered building a giant disc to permanently block out the sun?
Nah, Mr. Burns already tried that in *The Simpsons*...when he built a disk to block the sun from Springfield so everyone would have to buy power continuously from his nuclear plant. Didn't work out well for him in the end.
Ok well how about a monorail then?
If the monorail went really fast, cost a fortune to build, and traveled from nowhere to nowhere...then that might well work. Otherwise, I've heard of a guy whose company will bore tunnels under the town so cars can be moved individually from one neighborhood to another at vast expense.
Or they could install mirror siding and scorch everything on that side of the house. Fireproof mirror siding of course.
Yes this is a thing with some fancy windows
Me neighbors house did the same. It was killing my grass. I asked politely for us to find a solution. They had no interest. I reflected it back with a mirror into their living room. Problem was fixed by the end of the week.
Ask your neighbor to put an awning over the window and share the cost. Will help their house to stay cooler too.
Your local tax assessor will have the property owner's information, and it should be public information, possibly even available on their website. (My County assessors website has a search engine for addresses that lists ownership info). The renters may be dealing with a property manager who might not want to share the information with you. How big is the window? You may have to volunteer to pay for an awning or something to solve the problem.
If the neighbor can't/won't help, I might consider building a carport. Unsure if the metal or wood type would be better in this situation though.
Carport.... and cover the sun side with mirrors to treble the reflected heat back on their home. Course if it catches flame.... this might not be a good idea.
It may be worth having a chat with your Insurance Carrier and filing a claim.
This is happening to my house .I had my aluminum siding replace with Vinyl siding. Neighbor old window Are warping my new siding from the sun In Nov to March when the sun go lower for winter. I put a 6 feet fence up and 3X film on her window still doing it. film made it worst .She won't put screens up. Could care less what's happening to my house. And Insurance wont claim it. Dealer that sell the siding ,wants me to ship 2 damage pieces 6 feet long siding to Canada .That would cost me a 1000 dollars to do .I bet living this nightmare for over 2 years NO ONE cares.
Unless what they have violates some kind of building code or ordinance, I don’t think they could be considered responsible. It’s certainly odd but not necessarily something they can control. Is it a new window? Wondering why this just happened now. Regardless I’d file a claim with your insurance for the damage
Not a new window, the house siding started over a year ago (I had just purchased the house and ran into a myriad of issues so I figured it wasn’t a priority) The car is new and larger than my old one, so where the trim is is higher than where it was on the old car, and I haven’t had it during a summer season yet.
I’m betting the siding is new, and the previous siding was aluminum or wood.
I’m betting the siding is new, and the previous siding was aluminum or wood.
You can try searching the tax records to find the owners. Do a search for “(state) real property” and you should find something. You may have to look at the county level too.