My house has what is referred to around here as a "daylight basement", which, in case that's a regional term, means the basement isn't actually sunken very far into the ground (maybe 3 feet), and as a result can (and does) have large windows at ground level. These are somewhat of a security concern, since someone in the backyard isn't visible from the street and has a nice large window at kicking height that's super easy to climb in through.
I've heard of stuff called "security film" that is basically a coating that makes it difficult to break out a window -- you can break the glass, but it stays in an intact sheet so you can't actually get through it. I'm considering putting this on these basement windows. But I have some questions about it, and I thought someone here might have some input.
1) Does it really work?
2) Is it something you'd put on yourself, or is it like window-tinting, where DIY jobs tend to end up looking crappy?
3) So the glass stays intact as one big sheet when broken, but what actually keeps it from just coming out of the frame at the edges? Does the installation procedure somehow bond it to the frame as well? If so, does this make it a nightmare to replace the glass if it does get cracked?