Why do plastic windows need no painting or maintenance

The tape removes easily without damaging the finish. Back to top. Project step-by-step guide. Installing temporary plastic window storms: Consult the instructions on the box.

Properly size the film, leaving a few inches on either side. Clean the window frame before applying the film. Apply the adhesive and then film, using the hair dryer to tighten the film. Sealing plastic with hairdryer. Other projects for your home. Get Started on Your Next Project. Attic Air Sealing. Attic Insulation. This may seem pretty basic at first but it becomes more involved with replacement windows.

Incorrect color placement on your windows will have a negative effect on the appearance of your house. Read on and you will see what I mean. Basically you have two options when painting windows: paint your windows one color or paint them two colors. This is important since windows are a character-defining feature on a building.

However, when painting windows using two colors, you need to better understand the parts of the window and know what to watch out for. Once you learn, you will be able to avoid color placement mistakes that could make your house look bad.

Proportion is extremely important for every structure. Proper proportion is what makes traditional architecture look strong and pleasing to the eye. Color placement mistakes when painting windows can alter the effect of proportion making the structural appearance weak as if wood trim were missing.

The window casing — the pretty frame that holds in the window sash. The casing is stationary and considered Trim on a house.

The window sash — the window part that moves up and down and fits inside the casing. When the window sash is removed, the window casing is just framing an opening to see inside the house. When painting your windows two colors, paint the window casing one color and the window sash the other color.

Sounds simple right? Then why do so many people do it wrong? This is how it should be painted. The window sashes are one color and the casing is another color.

One common mistake is painting the face of the casing one color and the inside of the casing the sash color. This is wrong!

Painting the sash AND the inside of the casing the same color makes the sash appear larger and heavy looking. Instead, the sash should appear more delicate and the casing larger and stronger. Note: In the casing there are channels holding the top and bottom window sash, allowing them to slide up and down open and close. Most channels have been painted many times over the years, which results in paint build-up and difficulty opening windows.

Stripping the paint is best if your windows are hard to open. If your windows open fine and you are changing colors, only apply a thin coat of paint. Following these instructions may be simple for an old window but new windows are designed differently resulting in a not only wrong, but stupid look when painted. You have a window sash and a window casing that holds in the sash. There is no need for it to be complicated. Both sash and casing must be sized proportionally to make a visually pleasing impact on a building.

We showed you an example above of what to do and not to do when you are painting your windows. The first mistake was for the homeowner to buy a new replacement window! The homeowner selected nice colors but as you see the window manufacturer does not understand window design. New windows are now designed with an extra trim.

Manufacturers may believe that this extra trim makes the window look fancier. They may convince the buyer that it is more elegant. The fact is that this extra trim overlaps and conflicts with the structural appearance of the window sash. Instead of a crisp transition, with a nice shadow lines between the casing and sash, there is now a new molding muddling the traditional look.

First let me say we are discussing the inside jamb part of the window casing. This window example is full of other design errors that we will not go into. To understand more about window design, click here.

This extra red trim makes the sash appear heavier and the casing weaker. This is the opposite of how it should appear. There is also a fake sill that is painted the same color as the sash. See how the window casing appears weaker and the sash appears stronger in the bad version? Yes, you can do that and it will look better. But it still will not have the effect or be as good as the traditional window we all know for older window sashes are a bit wider.

Additionally this trim is attached to the jamb part of the window casing and houses the tracks the window opens and closes in. It can be painted of course but I would not recommend it. This example shows a window casing and sash both the same color. Color placement does not come into play here but other issues do.

The extra trim on the inside of the casing is less obtrusive since it is not painted in a contrasting color as the other examples. Shadow lines are what brings buildings to life. It fails at that. If you go to the Pella website they show many top of the line windows but only images of the interior, not the exterior. This really is a problem — how would they know what the windows will look like from the outside based on this?

A homeowner can buy a nice wood window based on what they see on the inside and assume the exterior is like a normal everyday window. They might be surprised when these windows are installed. The salesperson may say this resembles fancy molding. Please understand that molding is designed based on classic rules of architecture. A baseboard molding has its roots in ancient Greek temple design. If this homeowner wanted to paint his window sash a contrasting color he would not be able to do so.

With this design the sash would be too thin. There is not enough visible sash for a contrasting color — it will not be noticed. Notice how the extra trim creates a sloppy look. The painted sash is so thin it is hardly noticeable. These windows are self-contained systems. If there is a problem, they are designed to be removed intact. All hope is not lost for in years the windows will have to be replaced and a new more realistic design may be available. Home Depot window display. Go see the problem in person.

The age-old design of the window casing showing strength to the subconscious mind is now reversed to show the window sash to be stronger than what supports it. The average homeowner is not a window specialist.

That is just a scam to perpetuate window sales. Read the truth about windows here. A homeowner orders Anderson series replacement windows. They order green windows because the green window sash would look nice with a white trim and yellow clapboard. When used on a light color house this splash of color adds a nice accent effect without competing with the other colors. The average homeowner assumes they will be getting a replacement for what they have.

Who would think there are so many design issues to be aware of. Energy efficiency is complicated enough! When the salesman explained everything it all sounded great. The homeowner was just looking forward to some nice color combinations on their house. When the windows came in they received the upper and lower window sashes combined into a single window unit. Both window sashes were green like they wanted but the entire window unit which includes the jambs were also green on the exterior. As you see the jamb part of the window unit is visually part of the window casing and should therefore be painted the window casing color which is white.

When looking at this window at an angle the jamb is visible and you can see there is too much green. The window therefore appears heavier. One option shown to the right is to paint the jamb part of the Anderson window unit to match the casing.

Another problem is that you are painting the jamb which contains the slider tracks for the windows to open. Anderson window is painted to correct a bad design. This is not exactly what the homeowner had hoped for but this is the best option for a window designed in this way.

Green window casing to match Anderson window. If you must purchase a window similar to my examples, to get the best look on your house you must purchase a window in the color you want for the trim on your entire house. To let your friends know about painting windows correctly, I have created an Infographic.

It only covers the basics and hopefully will lead readers to this page for details. My hope is for homeowners to understand what they are buying and the impact it has on curb appeal. Here it is — I hope this helped you.

Please share it on your favorite social media site and help improve curb appeal! Storm windows must match your exterior window sash color.

Remember Old House Guy offers a virtual house painting service. We will make sure your house is painted correctly and no mistakes are made. It may seem unimportant but it does make a difference. This area that will touch the upper sash as it slides downward should be oiled with Linseed Oil.

The reason is that a build up of paint will make the window difficult to open. That is if you are using the upper sash. Otherwise if already painted just apply a very thin coat of paint to match the trim color. Enjoyed reading your appreciation for windows. Hi OHG, you have been so helpful in my home renovation project! I wish I had found you earlier. I love the exterior muntins, but have been irritated by something wrong. Sure enough you covered it here.

This is infuriating. Thanks for fighting the good fight. Do you take on fake wood grain in places where real wood would be milled smooth-a huge pet peeve of mine, with pella doors being a big offender! Thanks for your comment. I wish I could have stopped you sooner! About the fake grain — how stupid do manufacturers think we are? I did write about this on my porch skirt page where to make lattice a sheet of plastic has holes punched into it with fake wood grain to fool us.

Thank you so much for taking the time to inform your readers about this. The porch is a mix-mash of styles, doors, and windows.

I think they used whatever they found at the resale store. Some casement, some sliders, some storms. We added reclaimed french doors and a trellis as a temporary fix 7 years ago.

The existing single door looked ridiculous. The right side will have to remain 3 season as it is for now. My question is what type of windows should I use in the new bedroom, and what should I do about the front door that now needs to go back to a single door to allow enough room for the bedroom? Remodeling the entire porch is not financially possible.

We would appreciate any thoughts you have. Sincerely, Kris. Hi Kris — please send your photos to info oldhouseguy. Redoing an Greek Revival and want to do black windows. Thanks for all your tips! Your site is a phenominal resource. Enjoyed the article. I am getting replacement windows and want them to be black sashes on the outside, yes they define the windows and make them look crisp. It in the details that makes the difference. Fantastic article— I definitely tweeted it!

This was very helpful and helped focus my eye on proportion and shape. I have a question: Is there ever a time that the color of the mullions would be different from the color of the sash? We live in a hi-rise apartment building so the outside appearance is of no consequence and cannot be altered.

We have aluminum windows that have a crank handle and open inward in oil rubbed bronze color. Our apartment is antique farmhouse style and I began working on the windows to improve their inside appearance to the extent possible. First, I built very nice white casing all around the windows where there was none.

It is white, to match other extensive molding in the home. Where there was excessive sash as in some of your pictures, I did an overlay of white molding to further add weight to the casing and reduce the bronze part. Now I have inserted window grills.

So white casing and bronze sash. Before painting the mullions bronze, I primed them white and did a size check and was surprised that the white actually looked very bright and nice. So before I continue and paint the mullions bronze to match the sash, is there ever a case where you could have the casing white, sash bronze, and mullions white? Or do the mullions have to be the same color as the sash? Sorry, I meant muntins, not mullions. I am asking about the paint color of the window grills, i.

Thank you, I thought as much, but wanted to check. I used your painting tutorial as the reason for applying molding over some of the sash to minimize it and increase the casing and it was an amazing difference.

Thank you so much. What is the best way to paint Pella windows? The salesman said we needed to hire a car body repairman to come and rough the windows up before repainting them with Pella paints. Is this necessary? That sounds crazy. This is what they say. However, left by a previous owner, I have a vinyl window in my attic that was white and I painted dark green. It has not warped and gets full sun. However most paint manufacturers Benjamin Moore etc carry dark paint for this purpose with reflective properties you can use that will not heat up.

Before you do that the glossy surface needs to be buffed up with one of those steel wool pads as any glossy surface would. Update: Benjamin Moore no longer carries paint for vinyl. Sherwin Williams does have a selection of darker colors they offer.

Paint manufacturers are now telling people not to paint their replacement windows for fear of legal issues and voiding useless window warranties. I love your article and found it just in time. I have been agonizing over window selection for updating windows on my house.

I am looking at Andersen A Series windows and considering a different color for the sash. Their catalog shows the sash and the parting stop, sash channel and blind stop painted the same contrast darker color; with a different lighter color on the trim. I understand you consider this wrong. Is it also a mistake to have just the sash in a contrasting color. Will the window appear too weak? In other words, is the only good option you would advise to go with just one color?

No contrast. They also offer a three color choice. Sash in one color darkest , the parting stop, sash channel and blind stop in a second color, and the trim in a third color. What do you think of this option? As the article states. There are two components the casing and the sash. Each can be painted its own color.

The blind stop etc which are part of the casing are part of the casing and it would be crazy to paint them a different color. We are also purchasing new storm windows for increased efficiency. Should the storm window be cream, or black? How about window screens in California , same principle? The screen frames should match the window sash? Awesome site! This helped us decide to keep our 80 year old true divided light windows. Love the colouring tips. Our interior trim and sashes will be painted dove white.

The exterior will be painted a grey colour. The question for you is what colour should the storm window side facing the interior be painted? Should it be grey matching the rest of the exterior paint colour for the sash and trim or should it be dove white because it faces the interior and therefore matches the interior colour scheme?

Saving your window — great news! The entire storm window will match the window sash. Good luck! What do you do when the interior trim on our tudor is white and the exterior is brown?

The windows need replacing and they are currently white anderson casement with the cross bars all white in and out. Hi Patti. If your window trim is white on the interior, keep them white but on the exterior they should be tan, dark brown, or black. Actually black windows look great on a Tudor.

The big problem comes in with bad windows. You need to have True Divided Light windows so they can be painted the correct way. The cross bars muntins must hold the glass and be on both the inside and outside. Anderson is not that advanced for they think homeowners do not know any better. LOVE this site. We have a rough stucco American Foursquare with the original aqua-colored exterior body paint! This year, we plan to take each window, one at a time, and strip, re-caulk, and paint each one.

I have been agonizing for several years over colors and storm windows — exterior flush or interior — as well the colors themselves.

Any comments and guidance to help end my uncertainty would be truly appreciated. Thanks for all. We have just reglazed all our sash windows, managing to save much of the original glass.

Looking at painting the sash a dark blue grey on the outside but wondering if it is suitable to have the inside and outside of the sash different colours? The house is white on the outside and we will do interior trim white Dove with finish plaster walls.

Dear Ken: Thank you so much for your website. What a wonderful source of info. I wish I had done my homework. Pete FL.

We wanted to match the painting and trim style of our main house white with grey blue trim casing which frames all 4 sides of each window but the contractor ended up putting in the new windows differently than we had expected.

There is casing around the sides and bottom of each window but the top casing is part of a band which continues around the building. This is done upstairs and downstairs. We assumed each window would be framed as the windows of the main house casing which frames each separate window on all four sides.

We had hoped to keep both buildings white with colored trim but now we have to deal with two bands going around the top of each story of the new building and think it might not look right to have these bands anything other than white which means we have to rethink our color scheme.

Any suggestions? My house is a bungalow with the original wood sash windows. Most are painted shut and are white on the exterior. I really would like to have the exterior painted black, but the original storm windows were replaced by white aluminum storms.

All the windows casings are wrapped in white aluminum. And if so, what is the proper way to paint them so the paint adhere and be long lasting? Or should the window sashes be painted black plus the aluminum windows?

Thank you, Cathy. Your storm window and sash must be the same color. I have older bare aluminum storm windows. Would I just paint the exterior face, or the tracks and all? I have black sashes on a red brick home. Yes the storm window must match otherwise the sash is painted to look nice for nothing. Those old triple track storms can be painted but not the tracks. New storm windows have low-e glass and are double track looking much better.

Please see my storm window page. Do shutters usually match the widow sash color or the casing or are they third or forth color including the siding color. There is no point making them solid.

Although there is no definitive answer as to the specific materials that are used to make Armour window frames, it has been found that the majority of these are made from vinyl. This is a great advantage, as they never need painting and come in a variety of colours. Wood, treated and plastic PVC coated wood, aluminium and aluminium alloys, polyvinylchloride. You can purchase wood window frames online with ease. All you have to do is type wood window frames online and find the website that suits the customer.

They are made of compounds not elements unless they are Iron or Aluminum window frames. Most window frames were made of wood but UPVC is becoming more popular.

Window frames used to be made from steel but aluminium is lighter and does not rust. Plastics extrusion is when raw plastic is melted and formed into a continuous profile. The following products can be made with plastic extrusion: tubing, fences, window frames and wire insulation.

Sounds like it's worth trying, -good idea. The difference between wooden window shutters, and plastic is simple. Wood absorbs water, and can swell and cause damage if not installed properly to the frames. Plastic lasts longer, and may be cheaper, but may not be as aesthetically pleasing as wooden designs.

Most metal window frames are made of an aluminum alloy. It is inexpensive, relatively strong, and resists corrosion well. Window frames for homes should not be made of steel because of the danger of lightning strikes. This is one of the reasons why window frames are made of either wood or aluminum. Steel also has the potential to rust if not treated properly.

Plastic extrusions is a manufacturing process in which raw plastic material is melted and formed into a continuous profile, in high volume. It produces items such as weather stripping, fences, window frames and adhesive tape to name a few. Anything that's plastic, glass or metal aluminum, steel cans, computers, printers, bottles, window glass, metal frames, plastic bags, garbage bags etc. Log in. Plastics and Polymers. Study now. See answer 1. Best Answer. Study guides.