Which window and door glass is better for privacy to bungalow?

Generally the builders install transparent glass on the exterior windows, especially in high rise buildings. In standalone buildings or where the near buildings are low rise or bungalows there is not much issue and it will be a sort of luxury to have a flat with good light and ventilation. But when there are adjacent buildings close and facing with windows facing each other or when windows are opening to foyers and pathways or are in visibility line, then privacy becomes a concern.
In places where buildings are close by and at jarring distance or face to face privacy has to be obtained by using thick window curtains. But then this will prevent natural lighting from outside and one has to keep the electric lights on always. In such cases we can use translucent glasses. Mostly they are commonly coming and known as decorative glasses, ground glasses etc. The decorative glasses or frosted glasses will be having some decoration on one side to have a good look. It will transmit part of light from outside and people outside can only see some distorted shapes or ghost like images of people inside the room. Even when the room is lighted, the situation will not be bad. Moreover at that time we can use curtains also. This can be used for internal partitions also.
For internal partition doors/sliding one can select tempered glasses with decorative patterns and more obscurity.
It is always better to see and test the glass varieties personally and ensure our need is satisfied before ordering.
If it is difficult and expensive to remove the originally installed transparent glasses, then it is also an alternative to have aluminium Venetian blinds with suitable thickness and suitably coloured curtains. We may use the Venetian blinds or curtains or together as per situations and need : as per light needed, privacy needed and when it is dark outside and lighted inside.

There are many types of glasses are avaible in the market which will be good for privacy and appearence. The following are some known. You can select from the list.

1. Translucent glass : These are made by acid etching techinque. Onone surface of the glass on oneside markings will be etched . Hence it blurrs the vision from that side. But light will be passing through without any problem. These days Vinyl sheets are availble which will have the same effect.
2. Textured glass: A pattern or design is impressed on the glass. The glass will have good looks and also images are not visible. Various patterns are availble and the sides of the main door will be beautiful if we use these glasses here with a good pattern.
3.Glass block bricks: These are decorative. They have very good light effects also. The natural light will pass through. Privacy will also be there always. They are more thick and they are good for reducing heat, cold and sound effects inside the house from external factors.
4. Leadlights: These are made of small small pieces of various types of glass pieces. They are enclosed in a frame made of lead. They come in variety of styles. They are having privacy and also gives very good looks to the windows or doors.

These are the four types which I know. But as mentioned there are many types. Basically we can decide the best glasses only when we know the sizes of windows and doors and also based on the use of the room. We can have seperate types of glasses for living room, children room and bed room. For a better selection it is better to take the help of a designer or an architect.

In the case of glass for a door, this is rare. Some people may put a length of glass on one side of the main door so that they can see through it to know who a visitor is, but the visitor cannot see inside. I have also seen some main doors with a stained glass purely for decorative purposes. I don't think in India, though, many people put glass panes on doors placed within doorways indoors within the home, other than on the large doors leading to the balcony or terrace areas. In fact, most homes have curtains in doorways rather than doors, other than those leading to rooms where total privacy is required.

In the case of windows, I do not exactly know the names of the types of glass but I would suggest keeping a few things in mind when selecting it for a duplex home. Firstly, you need to check the direction the windows are facing. Are they, for example, constantly going to be exposed directly to the sun for a greater part of the day? In such a case, you will need to opt for the type of glass which will reduce the glare and reflect the heat off it rather than increasing the heat entering the home.

Secondly, if there is a lot of breeze coming in the direction towards the windows, you can put a louvered glass. This helps to keep the interior cool. Talking of louvered glass, you could try a louvered glass window at opposite ends of the same interior space, such as a large living room. These can even be placed in smaller windows above the main windows. This will ensure cross-ventilation. In case of fear of rats entering through the louvered panes, you can put a mesh wire over the window frame from the inside. The mesh wire can be installed in a way that it can be removed when the panes need to be cleaned.

Thirdly, consider strong winds during the monsoon season. Such winds can easily result in the glass cracking, especially if the duplex home is on a higher floor of an apartment building and is not an independent house.

Finally, if the duplex home is in a noisy area where there is constant traffic, you could consider installing thicker, soundproof glass windows. These will also be useful during noisy festivals!

One thing I have noted is that a majority of new homes have sliding glass windows and no separate ventilator windows at the top. Thus, essentially when you slid shut the windows, you are shutting out all fresh air. The earlier style of two individual windows or a single large window which one could keep open on a latch also seems to have been tossed out. This is unfortunate, as these earlier styles not only lasted longer but also had thick glasses which kept in privacy and kept out a good amount of outside sounds. The problem with the sliding glass windows of today is that after a couple of months the runners on which they are installed tend to rust and requires frequent maintenance. So, perhaps, you could consider having proper double glass windows which open outward and can be closed inward.

There are some types of glasses which are good for privacy purposes and can be used in the high rise windows. Some of them are -

1. Translucent glass - This is a special type of glass which passes enough light for illumination but does not allow to see things through it. It is used for the privacy purposes in the high rise buildings.

2. Frosted glass - This is similar to the translucent one but is slightly different in is looks.

3. Tinted glass - These glass are prepared by adding different degree of additives in glass to make them transparent to desired level. Tinted glass are available in various grades.

4. Obscure glass - These are specially designed glasses and one side is painted or designed and due to this one can not see through them but they pass a good amount of light through them.

5. Textured glass - They blur the images across them and pass sufficient light.