The short version
Reeded glass is a pane with a run of narrow vertical ribs across its face. The ribs bend the light and break up whatever is on the other side, so the glass gives privacy without giving up daylight. It has come back in bathrooms, kitchens, front doors and office partitions, and the demand for it is why this film exists.
Reeded glass film is an adhesive-backed film that carries the same ribbed texture. It is applied to one face of the glass you already have. The glass stays where it is; the look changes.
What it does to the view
Stand close to a pane of reeded film and the room behind it breaks into narrow vertical bands. Step back and the bands merge into a soft, textured blur. Shapes and movement read through it; detail does not. That is the same behaviour as reeded glass, because the film is doing the same thing to the light.
How much it hides depends on two things: the rib width and whether the film is clear or frosted. A fine 6 mm rib breaks the view into more bands and hides more at close range. A wide 25 mm rib reads as a bolder texture and hides less when someone is standing against the glass. The frosted versions add a diffused tone on top of the ribs and hide more again.
How it is sold
Refraxion reeded glass film is 1520 mm wide. It is sold by the lineal metre, as a 25 metre half roll, or as a 50 metre full roll on footprintcreative.com.au. Rib widths run 6, 12, 13, 15 and 25 mm. Finishes are clear, clear with a tint (bronze, blue, smokey grey), and frosted (steel, bronze, silver).
Where it goes
Front doors and side lights, where it gives street privacy to a hallway. Shower screens, where it gives the fluted-glass look without a new screen. Glass cabinet doors in a kitchen. Office partitions and reception glazing, where it is a cheaper, faster and reversible answer than reeded glass. Any street-facing window where the brief is privacy without blinds.
Film or glass?
Reeded glass is a replacement. Reeded film is a refurbishment. Film costs a fraction of new glass, goes on in hours rather than weeks, and comes off cleanly if the room changes. If the glass itself is being replaced anyway, reeded glass is the honest choice. If it is staying, film is.
Choosing a rib width
Do not choose from a screen. Order a sample of the two widths you are weighing up, hold each against your own glass in your own light, and look at it from both sides. The rib widths compared page shows every width with the finishes that come in it.
Questions people ask
Is reeded glass film the same as fluted glass film?
Yes. Reeded, fluted and ribbed all describe the same run of vertical ribs across the glass. Suppliers use the words interchangeably.
How wide is it?
Refraxion reeded glass film is 1520 mm wide, sold by the lineal metre, half roll or full roll.
Can it be removed later?
Yes. The film comes off cleanly with heat and a scraper, and the glass is left as it was.
