Are you considering a different colour to white, for your windows and doors to enhance their appearance?
During lockdown we have seen a trend throughout the whole of the UK of people becoming more adventurous with DIY and home improvements, there has been an unprecedented surge in people wanting to make their homes into their castles.
One of the tasks homeowners have been undertaking is refurbishing existing PVCu windows and doors by painting them in a variety of colours.
With various pages online devoted to beautiful images of doors in a wide variety of colours, including pinks, greens, and bold yellows and black to name a few!
Instructions and forums online advise a quick wipe down and sand of the PVCu doors and windows, then painting with outdoor paints, with a wide array of brands now pushing this as a must have for the home.
Technically you can paint PVCu - but should you?
PVCu was designed to be low maintenance and painting it goes against everything it was designed for, once painted you have set yourself up for the lifetime of the windows and doors to require maintenance and repainting.
There is also the potential that unless you are well versed in painting, your windows and doors could potentially look a lot worse than before you started!
Let's investigate this trend a little more in depth.
Longevity
Sanding the surface of PVCu removes the protective layer, which will have the adverse effect of shortening the longevity.
However, there are further areas to also consider, such as upkeep, this being in most cases yearly touch ups here and there or repainting whole areas due to use and high traffic areas.
An important consideration is ensuring the paint does not encounter rubber seals as this inevitably lends itself to the perishing of the rubber, leading to doors and windows sticking, thus no longer closing properly.
UV is an issue with the darker colours also unless a specialist paint is used.
There is the obvious issue of keys, bags, kids, and dogs creating scratches and dings on a painted UPVc door.
Guarantees
Should your double-glazed windows and doors still be in warranty, painting them will, in most cases, void this.
You should also check that painting your windows and doors will not affect your home insurance policy.
Maintenance
The purpose of PVCu is to create a low maintenance solution for the home, painting them is treating them as you would old fashioned frames and doors, thus removing the main attraction of the ease of UPVc windows and doors.
Seals and Silicon
Should you wish to paint, you will need to remove the beading to get the job done properly, this is fine until you need to gently hammer these back into place, which leads to scratching in most cases.
The rubber seals should also be avoided with any paint as it will break down the structural integrity of the rubber, leading to perishing and then your windows and doors not closing securely, leading to energy efficiency issues.
Silicon would need to also be removed as you cannot paint over silicon, it would need to be replaced with caulk.
Sunshine and Temperature
We know that there are ‘on-trend’ colours now such as anthracite and grey tones, dark blues and black.
Painting white windows and doors can cause many issues, the PVCu was not designed for the heat absorption of the darker colours, which can lead to warping.
The paint itself also must cope with thermal expansion and contraction of the PVCu, should it not, this will lead to cracks and over time peeling.
Lastly, the paint would need to be tested to be UV safe, otherwise it will become bleached by the sun over a period of time.
Adhesion
PVCu secretes resins for over a year after the manufacturing process, thus causing issues with adhesion to the surface, sanding will not solve this as the resins will leach.
Should your windows and doors be over a year old, you do need to consider that preparation is king, each piece will require degreasing, sanding and any sealants removed and then resealed.
Sanding does however remove the protective layer of PVCu which can also shorten their lifespan.
In Conclusion
Your doors and windows may well be looking a bit sad, however painting it will just give you a painted and sad finish and it could end up looking a lot worse or cause you issues.
New windows and doors are a great investment whether you are looking at remaining in your house for many years or should you be considering selling, either way in the long and short term it will provide value for money.
Bored of white PVCu?
Think your home needs kerb appeal in the form of some funky coloured window frames and doors?
Hallmark provides bespoke designs with colours to suit all, our expert team of designers can help you colour match to bring out the best in your home.
Wave goodbye to boring windows and doors and say hello to a rainbow of colours from Hallmark!
