Did they say anything about the black window trim fading? I am also thinking of a White House w black window trim.

No, but I am guessing there will be some fading over time. The windows are made from fiberglass (Pella Imperiva) rather than vinyl or wood painted black so I'm hoping it's more durable. I'm not sure where you looking to build in, but I live in WI and sun exposure might not be as bad as CA or something like that.... It's also just something you got to accept when dealing with black color....

Omg! I'm obsessed with your windows! What does single hung or double hung mean?

Single hung means only the bottom sash moves up to let air in and out -- essentially how you would typically expect a window to operate. Double hung means the bottom sash can move up, and top sash can also move down; these sashes often "tip" inward allowing you to clean the exterior glass without having to step outside.

Hi! What other brands did you look at? And how did you choose Pella? Thanks for sharing!

Tracy, I looked at Anderson 400, and Marvin, as those are the big 3 window makers. Went with Pella because it was priced better than the others (esp Anderson which was very expensive), the fiberglass was more durable than vinyl, and they were already painted black exterior and interior. Hope this helps....

I love the look and this is such great info! Can you advise us on how much more it was verses the standard vinyl windows? 10,20,30% higher...Our current home has quite a few windows. We really want to go with the black windows like yours.

The difference I had in bids was about 20% more expensive. Thing is, there were no black interior and exterior vinyl option in any of the manufacturers I looked, so had to go with the more expensive fiberglass. You should check with your window supplier, maybe things changed. I feel like black windows are a trend now so manufacturers may have that option.... Also, dark vinyl windows tend to fade with time so depending on your sun exposure......

Love your home!! Congrats. I am looking into the black interior windows as well. I was thinking of mixing the Andersen 100 series (black inside and out) in the bedrooms for cost savings and doing a bit nicer in the kitchen. Did you hear anything bad about the Andersen 100 series? I had a bid for the Pella Impervia and it was $50K and that did not include all of my windows. Yikes.

Drawbacks to the 100 Series for me:

There is no double hung option.

Otherwise, they look nice & perform well IMHO.

Love the look!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us.

Shami, love your design style. House looks amazing! Just curious how things are holding up since the build? Any major fading with the black fiberglass impervia? Has anyone else on here that has inquired want to share if they have tried the Andersons or any other black on black? Thanks in advance

Thanks Chad. No fading so far, but the only issue I had was that with a recent temp drop in WI (-15 degrees or so) a couple of the windows had some frost forming at the corners. My builder looked at it and will contact Pella to see whether it's a defect or just installation issue. I think the seal wasn't installed properly... we'll see. Otherwise happy with their look and function.

On Wisconsin... But damn those sub-zero temps! I’m in Pardeeville, WI Hoping to get some impervia single hungs for our build this spring. Your research and post has been very helpful thank you!

Also curious i see you did black gutters vs white, are they more expensive?

Sara, there was no increase cost for black gutters.

Shami, I brought up the frost in the corners to my builder and he recommended an air to air exchanger install as part of my build to avoid that.

I've been trying to decide between Pella's Portobello color (dark but not black) or White for the exterior. Something to consider is that replacement windows show a lot more of the window frame than in a new build situation. We want to paint the brick white and I'm concerned our traditional house will look good but trendy with a dark frame, but with no shutters white on white could look boring.. It's a $30,000+ decision and that's for vinyl!

The Anderson’s and Pellas are both said to be Fiberglass. I ended up choosing the Pella Impervia also thanks to all of Shami’s research. Hoping to post some pictures within the next month or so. This is as far as we got yesterday.

Hi shami,

My new home builder is quoting $495 for a single hung 2/8 x 5/0 vinyl window and an additional $135 per window to make it black (just exterior, interior stays white). Do you think the fiberglass option comes out to be cheaper than this?

Thanks in advance!

I just ordered my Anderson 100 series black/black. I had 19 windows to get and some were BIG. I will receive them next week (hopefully). I spent about 13K. It is about a 5 1/2 week wait for these so I hope they come in time.

Visruth,

Seems very expensive for a vinyl window. Does the price you have is including installation or just the windows themselves? The price I got for the Pella Imperiva (black/black fiberglass) for same size window was $480...

Hi Shami, thanks for the quick reply!

I assume the price of $630 I mentioned includes installation too since this is the price they add and subtract when I add or remove windows.

Does the $480 you mentioned include installation costs? Any idea how much it was per window?

Great looking house btw! Love the corner wood accents!

Visruth, my house was a new construction so the price was for the windows alone (480 for a window similar in size to yours). My builder installed them as part of the contract and I’m sure there was a cost to it. Maybe you can ask your builder for a break down of the costs.

Heather Smith-Goodwin any progress on yours? We had some major snags with our whole process build, very long story. Anyway Pellas got switched Andersons. I think with the patio door we were at $10k. The Pellas were right there also but Windsor Buiding Systems rescinded the offer after I got the loan and had the foundation in. Lots of frustration but it’s still coming along. Here is current photos. I guess it will be a good comparison with Shami on how the Anderson's perform/hold up vs. the Pellas in Wisconsin’s extreme weather changes.

Which Andersen series? By switching from Pella and Jeldwen to most anything Andersen you are definitely moving up the food chain as your previous two windows are not a quality window. Unless of course you ended up with Silverline then the move is lateral.

Hi Chad,

Yes, we finally got them. Of course it was not when they had said and was a big ordeal. Not happy with Anderson themselves but the windows look great and hopefully will hold up and not fade. The 100 series did not come with screens but I ended up ordering those and just got those last week.

MIllworkman- 100 series.

Thanks for the post Heather, how much did the screens run? I missed that.

Shami did the Pella Impervia include screens?

The screens for 19 windows ran about $1000.00 Chad. Not too bad to me to be able to lift the windows without letting all the bugs in. I believe the 400 series comes with them.

Thank you everyone for commenting. This post has been very helpful.

Some progress. Anyone have a good texture contact in the Madison area. Skip trowel plaster or knock down drywall. Mine fell through

This is about a month ago. Almost move in ready. The front of the house gets heavy sun almost all day and the glue that binds the panes to the glass at the very top on the bottom sashes has pulled back a little on the very top of the window on about 3 windows. Thank goodness I went through a good vendor who is taking care of it for me. Andersen will be sending replacement sashes. Even though they will take their sweet time just like they did with delivering them.

Love the black windows, hoping to upgrade soon, appreciate all the feedback and info.

Heather - Looks AMAZINGGGG!!! This is the look we are hoping to get once we start our home project (likely a whole home reno plus addition) and hubby and I are going back and forth on the black int/black ext! I’m all about them, he’s iffy (mainly for cost/trendy reasons which I keep saying it’s not a trend, just a very classic look).

This conversation has been extremely helpful in coming to a decision on windows for our new construction. I’ve loved the look of black windows since early in the planning process, but I’ve gone back and forth, afraid to commit. We’ve decided to do black/black. I had planned to follow Shami’s lead and go with Pella Impervia. After doing a little more research I found that recently Marvin has started offering a black/black fiberglass option in their Integrity line. I’m thinking this is going to be the best choice for us. I can’t wait to get started and finally see them installed!

Chad,

very nice.

my windows came with screens (Now I have to get some replacement screens because grasshoppers chewed through some of them!!! Insane!). So far a couple of winters and no issues

glad this discussion helps others too. We are very happy with the windows and the black/black look. Our house is on the modern spectrum and goes well together.

interiorly did drywall return, rather than a frame and it looks sharp (while also reduced the cost of the windows overall).

Love the clean look drywall return Gives. They talked us out of doing the bottoms though so we have a sill there.

Love your idea for your house! I believe the color does not make such a big difference than the one about the window maker you select. But definitely make sure to select the right material to avoid the fading over time issue.

Heather Smith-Goodwin did you get your issues resolved with Anderson? Do you have pictures of said issues? i have a few already myself .

does anybody know if the do the white windows inset like the black I have seen? are they the same price as the black?

heather....your house looks just like a house down the street. are you in brick nj?

Trying to get a bid on my house for black framed windows inside and out, who has gotten bids and on what different kinds. I am finding they are 4xs the price of white on white but my heart is set on the other. HELP!

Shami and Chad, any updates on your windows? We are getting ready to build and like everyone else here, I just discovered that black/black windows are $150 more per window. There‘s no way my husband (who is also my contractor) will let me add that cost to the budget. Just wondering if the fiberglass option ended up working out for Shami and how the glue pull back issue was resolved for Chad.

Agree with Rebecca--would love to hear any updates and see photos of the finished homes. I also would like to have black windows and found this post while researching the additional cost. I am disappointed that I may have to give it up for budget concerns. :(

What is it about black windows that makes it so much more expensive? We are also hoping to do black windows but I am afraid it will be out of budget.

did anyone do blk Windows on the outside and white interior on the inside? very early stages of starting to build our house

Shayla- I didn’t do the black/white but I know Anderson has those available. I heard they don’t take as long to receive.

Mike- No, we live in GA.

Chad- Yes we did end up getting those three window sashes replaced by Anderson. No hassle really. Just had to wait for them to be made again. We have not had any problems since.

Love this kitchen!