To have different coloured windows…

[Annoynymouse85]

…temporarily.
I’m having a single storey side extension and porch added to my house. Front wall of extension with the window will be flush with the porch iyswim.

At the moment all windows are white upvc. They’re quite old so will probably need replacing at some point but I can’t afford it at the moment - prob 2-3 years. When we do replace them I’d like them to be coloured (greyish/greenish colour).
So DH thinks that we should get the coloured windows we like put in our porch and the window in the extension - because if we know all the windows will be replaced eventually why not do that now rather than put white ones in we know we’ll replace.

I’m worried that it’ll look odd having a porch and extension window in a different colour to the rest of the windows in the house, albeit temporarily. Although I have seen houses where they seem to have made feature out of having porch glazing a different colour.

Is this a bad idea? Any advice?

I think if it’s temporary, it doesn’t really matter but I would be wary of going for a fashion colour that is difficult to change because you may well have gone off the green shade by the time you change the rest of the windows. It is possible to paint UPVC with good results, so you could always do that if that did happen.

Thank you. What about if just the porch glazing was a different colour, not the extension window? I just think porches with lots of glazing look so much nicer when they’re not white!

I think grey pvc is dating already, much like the pretend wood pvc of the 90s.

Could you do a payment plan or take a small loan to do all the windows at the same time?

I just think that even if you get the exact same colour in a few years' time they'll look different as the porch and extension will have had a few years of sun exposure/bleaching.

I wouldn’t have them different if you haven’t at least booked the other windows in, for the reasons above. If you did have to sell for any reason it would definitely devalue the house

As has been said you don't know what the fashion will be in 2 or 3 yers time, hopefully the frigate grey will have gone! It will probably cost more to have the fashion colour than white now and if you want a different colour later thn it's more money wasted. I'd have the cheapest white now, less to waste later.

I just had new upvc and went through this. I was thinking along the same lines as you in terms of colours. We found that coloured frames are significantly more expensive than white. And will absolutely be dated in the next 5 to 10 years. So we replaced with white frames and have a coloured front door

I had to have planning permission for my very small single storey front extension flush with the porch. One of the stipulations was that the window in the extension should not only match the other windows but should be the same size and shape as the original/one on the other side. So my small utility/shower room has a massive great big window in it! Did you need/get planning permission? If so, check what it says about the windows.

Yes, got planning permission but I don’t recall anything about the windows? The windows on the other side is a big bay and wouldn’t fit in the v small extension.

Just paint the frames of the white ones in the meantime.

I would only do grey/green if it's a specific design that works with those colours. Too many people doing anthracite etc on builds that are not suitable.

I just did an extension and used white aluminium, they are a slimmer frame and look lovely. (British made and designed too)

My partner did anthracite on his flat roof modem designed house and it works perfectly.

Don't follow a trend, pick the colour that works for your House design.

But no it's fine to have different colours short term.

Doesn’t really matter, they’re just windows. I wouldn’t be paying twice just so it looks nice to other people. Do what suits your pocket, it’s your house.

Thanks for all the advice all.

I wouldn’t be going for anthracite grey - think it looks too dark and harsh. I was thinking more of a neutral grey/soft green.

The PP who said about painting the windows -are there companies that would do that? Wouldn’t trust OH and me to do it!!!

Yes, it's quite common. You can get them sprayed. My mother (78) has just done her own but she she does live in a bungalow.

Do you mind me asking how much it cost your mum @TheNineNine ?

Ok, as the general consensus seems to be that coloured frames would be a mistake, how can I avoid the porch looking like an ugly, white upvc box?
Any pics for inspiration would be brill, please!

It cost the price of a tin of paint because she did it herself. Probably £30.

I wouldn't not get the windows that you and your husband want because some people on MN don't like coloured window frames.

You probably wouldn't like the way they have decorated their houses.

I’m impressed she did it herself!

Yes you’re right - but I am worried about the fact that it might take longer to replace the rest of the windows than we’d like….

Honestly OP do some research into aluminium frames. They costed in just a little over the PVC ones and my white ones look great as they are a slimmer profile than UPVC. Some brands are really expensive like Origin, I bought Smarts which are a lot more affordable. I think ALUK are more in the middle of the two.