Anyone not got grey windows?

[SuperJohnG]

I'm close to picking a window supplier and hence spent the last few weeks looking at windows. 

 

We have aluclad and had planned standard grey 7016 on the outside as it seems contemporary and the safe bet.

 

However part of me wants to buck this trend, its a bit boring and I don't want it to be just same same. I'm not looking for anything extreme like cool pink or anything...but something that will add interest, fit with the setting and stand the test of time. 

 

Anyone done anything different to grey? Any pics.

 

House is rural Scotland, very large plot with a render finish and siberian larch cladding.

 

Its meant to be white render but now I'm even thinking I want a different tone here too.....

[Russell griffiths]

My last place was just standard black, very nice and easy to touch up without too much hassle, I would have gone black again but gutter is grey and so is roof. 

[Mr Punter]

I am also bored of grey.  I have gone for black on the current property and will do white on the next development.

 

Colours can look really crappy unless very carefully selected and muted.

[PeterW]

Watch out with mixing the same RAL colour on different materials as they will all be slightly different. And black can be really bad for not matching. 

[Nick]

We manufacture windows on a large scale and 7016 / anthracite is now more than 50% of everything people buy.

 

Personally I prefer black (anthracite has a very blue-y tint) but you need the right house design as Russell mentioned. Can look quite stark when you have bright white wall finishes, woodwork, soffits, e.t.c. Black looks great with more rustic or industrial colour schemes where you're combining it with concrete/mid-greys or earthy tones.

 

The safe thing about White, Black & Anthracite is that you'll get them at a lower cost than a bespoke colour. You'll possibly be paying a one-off setup charge if you want a specific RAL colour and If something gets damaged on site and you need to re-make a window later down the line, you'll pay the setup charge all over again as well as waiting weeks for custom powder coating. I see it happen very often - people don't realise how easily other trades destroy windows once they are fitted.

[Simplysimon]

went for RAL 7033 which was supposed to be cement grey and looked grey on the screen, they arrived as a green window. we like them and have been asked by a few people about them. retuned the screen colouration and it now matches. get a sample in your hand prior to ordering.

[SuperJohnG]

38 minutes ago, Simplysimon said:

went for RAL 7033 which was supposed to be cement grey and looked grey on the screen, they arrived as a green window. we like them and have been asked by a few people about them. retuned the screen colouration and it now matches. get a sample in your hand prior to ordering.

I loke the idea of a green. But think I'd defo need to possibly mock it up to see it with the white render before committing. 

[nod]

1 hour ago, SuperJohnG said:

I'm close to picking a window supplier and hence spent the last few weeks looking at windows. 

 

We have aluclad and had planned standard grey 7016 on the outside as it seems contemporary and the safe bet.

 

However part of me wants to buck this trend, its a bit boring and I don't want it to be just same same. I'm not looking for anything extreme like cool pink or anything...but something that will add interest, fit with the setting and stand the test of time. 

 

Anyone done anything different to grey? Any pics.

 

House is rural Scotland, very large plot with a render finish and siberian larch cladding.

 

Its meant to be white render but now I'm even thinking I want a different tone here too.....

No grey here 

They will look quite dated in a few years time when something else is in 

[Ferdinand]

It's like the base colour range of VW cars,  or Trousers worn by Mormon Missionaries or IBM Salesmen pre Julian Clary, isn't it? 

 

The standard less expensive, potntially less offensive ones dominate. 

 

At this point I admit that mine are all white or brown upvc.

 

They are right on get a sample - if you even print out that image above on your own colour printer the colours will be quite inconsistent.

 

I see no safe way to buck the trend except wood, or accept that you are a "sod you all" self-build eccentric. (I think all selfbuilders want to be a little eccentric, but not very eccentric.) 

 

Ferdinand

Edited September 13, 2020 by Ferdinand

[timsk]

Hi SJG,

We've just replaced the white uPVC windows on the front elevation of our 60s bungalow with powder coated aluminium windows in 'Pebble Grey', RAL: 7032. It's certainly muted, but has a distinct green tinge to it, so the inclusion of grey in the name is somewhat misleading. Anyway, we're very pleased with the colour and we've had lots of favourable comments from neighbours and visitors alike, who all say that it's a refreshing change to the ubiquitous dark grey that one sees everywhere. (No offence to anyone reading this who's opted for dark grey!!!) The pics below are of the window in my study.

 

All colours change according to the light conditions, but this colour changes more that most. It can look almost bronzy at times, or very green at others and then sometimes quite neutral. For this reason, I agree with the earlier post that recommends getting samples - absolutely essential, IMO. Also, keep in mind other colours that the windows will need to complement; this includes internal wall colours if the frames are the same colour inside and out.

Tim.

 

 

[Ferdinand]

Should we actually consider that colour change in the light is a good thing?

 

That was the reason I chose the colour for my Skoda Estate.

[willbish]

We began with heritage olive colours, moved through various pastel shades and decided upon a real RAL 5021 Water blue. 

 

Matching it in with a clotted cream render, not too yellow not too white.

 

[joth]

13 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

That was the reason I chose the colour for my Skoda Estate

 

?

[daiking]

8 minutes ago, joth said:

 

?

RAL 1023 Skip Yellow

[Ferdinand]

58 minutes ago, joth said:

 

?

 

They sold their honey, 

And p*ssed the money

on a beautiful pee-green float.

 

That is I think an "Exclusive" colour that cost a few hundred extra on the MAMIL ("Sportline") version of the car.

 

I'd say the aesthetic works on the Mediterranean Coast of Germany, without seeing it in the metal - which I have not done. It would get lost in the underwatered (very) giant hosta.

 

In the full range 11 out of 15 are white, blue, grey or black. Like windows. And two of the others look like grey or black as well ? . Mine's petrol blue, which is darker than that looks on my screen.

 

 

(At this point, half of BH turns out to have something that colour.)

Edited September 14, 2020 by Ferdinand

[the_r_sole]

black (or just off black) frames are coming more into fashion now

[Ferdinand]

3 minutes ago, the_r_sole said:

black (or just off black) frames are coming more into fashion now

Coming back on topic, is "off black" a version of dark grey, or does it mean a really dark shade of any colour? Would (eg) British Racing Green qualify?

[the_r_sole]

11 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

Coming back on topic, is "off black" a version of dark grey, or does it mean a really dark shade of any colour? Would (eg) British Racing Green qualify?

 

It's always been something called "...... Black" when I've specced them tbh - my biggest issue with coloured window frames is that they seem to age pretty badly.

[SuperJohnG]

23 hours ago, nod said:

No grey here 

They will look quite dated in a few years time when something else is in 

Agreed.

23 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

 

 

 "sod you all" self-build eccentric. (I think all selfbuilders want to be a little eccentric, but not very eccentric.) 

 

 

haha, totally. something, same same but different. 

19 hours ago, timsk said:

 

 

 

I think these look spretty good. We will be white inside, simply as we don't want wood, albeit I like the look, I feel white would allow us to choose what we want later inside. 

17 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

Should we actually consider that colour change in the light is a good thing?

 

That was the reason I chose the colour for my Skoda Estate.

I think it is , different tones etc. My soon to be new neighbour has a Yellow Rolls Royce Wraith and Just got a Yellow Lamborghini Urus too. They match his company...but they are not particularly nice.  

 

17 hours ago, willbish said:

We began with heritage olive colours, moved through various pastel shades and decided upon a real RAL 5021 Water blue. 

 

Matching it in with a clotted cream render, not too yellow not too white.

 

 

I think these look mega. Specifically suit little coastal towns where they wouldn't be frowned upon and would fit right in. If I coudl I would but just wouldn't fit in with us (and planning would have a heart attack) 

 

3 hours ago, the_r_sole said:

black (or just off black) frames are coming more into fashion now

Architect telling me the same, but I just can't see how it'll blend well. I feel it would be too stark.

 

3 hours ago, the_r_sole said:

 

It's always been something called "...... Black" when I've specced them tbh - my biggest issue with coloured window frames is that they seem to age pretty badly.

 

Cache 22 with all colours, is there any that don't age badly? unless you have a traditional build. Anything contemporary I don't think ages well. 

[Ferdinand]

Wimbledon Green !

 

(Or Soylent Green)

[joe90]

We wanted National Trust olive green, but found they use more than one shade, depending where it is. Foolishly we picked a colour on my iPad, ral 1000, informed our window manufacturer and they sprayed them. Upon delivery I nearly had a fit. They looked very “yellow” and the wife said can I repaint them? . “Not on your nelly” I replied, I hate painting which is why I paid to have them sprayed. It turns out they go well with the rustic bricks and everyone compliments the colour and we have grown to like them (thank goodness). Funnily enough the colour appears to change with the light.

 

So, the moral of this story is, if picking a colour, go see it in the flesh, not on a devise and in natural light (We were lucky).

 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by joe90

[ProDave]

As someone else above, we went for a lighter grey, "Pebble Grey" I forget the RAL number.  Very pleased with it.  SWMBO swears it is light green.

[Roundtuit]

Sorry, another lighter grey here I'm afraid but Slate Grey (RAL 7015). Who knew there where so many shades of ... oh, well, never mind...

 

I think it goes pretty well with siberian larch, if you're letting it silver naturally.

 

I believe that all of the aluminium trims pop off, so if you did want to change the colour in 5 or 10 years time, it would be a ball-ache, but doable.

[PeterW]

This site is really useful as it allows you to see the colours in not just RAL but RGB, Hex and CMYK

 

https://www.visual-graphics.de/en/customer-care/ral-classic-colours/

[dpmiller]

We were advised against black because it would have more of an issue with fading. RAL7016 as a foil on UPVC, it's a mid grey now, and if it fades it'll still be a mid-grey, lol.