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Yes, a bedroom is a popular place to convert into a secure room. You can certainly armor the walls with this type of material. We don't usually cover up windows with this material, but it could be possible with careful consideration of securing the weight of the panel properly. Usually we create new, high security windows, but that is a lot more expensive than covering up something with panels.

You'd be surprised!

That could be a good idea for a hopper or awning window. We've used a motorized opener when needed previously.

Hey Mikey, Good question. Kevlar is more expensive and comes in less protection levels. It's main advantage is that it is light and flexible. That is helpful for a mobile situation, such as using it for body armor. Ballistic fiberglass is heavier and much less flexible. But in a wall, the material is not moving, so neither of those downsides are relevant factors. Therefore, the much cheaper cost of ballistic fiberglass (it can be 70% less) makes it a preferable option for walls. Also, arguably, the ballistic panels may be more forced entry resistant because they do not allow for as much flex. To be fair though, Kevlar is a little easier to install, since it is lighter and you are not needing to work with fiberglass. But the installation of the ballistic fiberglass panels are pretty easy too, so it still is almost always the selected material.

@FortifiedEstate thanks for the quick response! I am an architect in Boston and currently specifying some ballistics panels for a project. Client keeps referring to Kevlar, but the industry seems to be biased toward the fiberglass.

Hey @@mikeydmalden, sure thing. Yes, it is relatively common that people will speak in terms of Kevlar. That is a popular brand name (from Dupont). The technical term would be para-aramid. Just like para-aramid doesn't roll off the tongue so well, neither does ballistic fiberglass. That, plus DuPont's years of marketing, plus familiarity from body armor, is probably why Kevlar is often used in the way that Kleenex is used instead of tissues.

Hey ChicoBong, that is a good question. There definitely is some balancing of security and other factors like insulation. However, technology has improved a lot over time. Since a lot of our windows are for residential applications, we actually offer insulated ballistic glazing! That unit has the ballistic glass, followed by an air gap, followed by an interior thermal pane. That insulated unit itself has an R value of around 3, depending on the security level. For the frame, it's not really secure to have a thermally broken frame, as that provides a weak point. However, all cavities are filled with rock wool insulation. In addition, multiple layers of gasketing are used to seal any small gaps between window sash and window frame (for an operable window).

Hey Cameron, good questions. The windows have pretty good seals, but I'd need to know more specifically what the passive house standards are in that domain. Steel is used for the framing, often layered with ballistic steel. Thermal rockwool is stuffed into all empty areas. On a thermal insulation perspective, we have some of the only ballistic windows to have a thermally insulated layer, of air or argon. R values of the glazing unit are around 0.3 - 0.4.

Lastly, as far as cost, windows range from around $4k - $15k. Doors range from $10k - 30k+ It's a wide range as it depends on a variety of factors, from security level to size to design.

​​@@FortifiedEstatek per window? How big of a window is 4k? Also, I think he is asking can you make an airtight window when it's closed, but if not I'm asking.

@@jasonbourne1596 It would probably be for maybe a 24" x 24" window for example. It would be pretty close to air tight, but I'm not sure to the extent you may be asking about. Like do you mean for extreme situations or just for every day weather resistance?

@@FortifiedEstate I'm asking air tight as in bunker tight where your NBC filter only lets air in.

We offer a wide variety of design options including glass of all shapes and natural solid wood cladding, such as Mahogany. What sort of design did you have in mind?