painting windows


I ordered and installed some new white fiberglass Marvin windows for the front of my house. The plan was to paint both the new aluminum capping and the fiberglass exterior in a dark blue. Bay Ridge Windows and Doors said this would work fine. But now that the windows are installed, my contractor really does not believe that the windows should be painted. He says that paint will get into the cracks and stick the windows, and that the paint would not adhere very well to the fiberglass and would begin to peel within a few years. His advise is not to paint the windows; maybe paint the aluminum caps. This is unfortunate news because I ordered white windows in order to paint them; otherwise I would have ordered dark bronze color.

Does anyone have experience painting fiberglass or aluminum windows? Is it true that one shouldn’t paint these products? Why would the window dealer say I could do it?

Thanks.

Jeffrey

Categories: Windows
By JBfromCarrollGardens | 02/14/2009 6:08 PM | Comment

looking for salvage bricks


Our contractor is having a hard time locating bricks to match those on the facade of our Carroll Gardens brick house. Anyone know sources for salvage bricks? Anyone have any sitting around I could take/buy? I probably need about 75 bricks.

Thanks.

Categories: Architectural Salvage
By JBfromCarrollGardens | 12/16/2008 11:18 AM | Comment

white or bronze windows?


Along with having the ugly 1950s flagstone facade taken off my house and the brick repaired and repointed, I am going to install replacement windows on all three floors. Currently the windows are white, some wood and some vinyl. The replacements would be metal and wood. But what color windows should I get?

The downstairs windows will be set in a stuccoed section of the house; the other two floors in brick. I like bronze-color (black is 2 x expensive so not being considered) for brownstone buildings, but white looks good with brick.

Also, the window color will be the same on the inside and the outside. Would bronze windows look funny against the white painted window casing inside?

Any opinions?

Thanks.

Categories: Windows
By JBfromCarrollGardens | 12/09/2008 4:39 PM | Comment