Good to know Trish

" Some Bronzes lean black some lean brown. Fingers crossed yours leans black."

PGT does not, it is actually more brown than black, especially on vinyl. Most all vinyl ends up more brown than black.

What about PGT aluminum? Does it lean more brown than black too?

I would imagine it is a brownish bronze as I imagine there are times when the two are mixed on the same project. Although I could be incorrect.

Thank you for the input.

What does your *written* change order say?

No written change order, just the original contract which I now see says white or bronze PGT impact windows even though we told the builder we wanted black and asked ahead of time if he could accommodate. He said yes. There were so many documents and details at the time that we missed it.

have you googled pgt impact bronze windows? This is what comes up

Don’t be surprised if they’re white on the interior either...very common standard finish

you’ll be ok..don’t fret. You could always go oil-rubbed bronze on your lights and hardware instead of black. The overall look will be the same

Thank you! They are bronze on inside as well. We saw them yesterday at the construction site and confirmed. I’d be happy if they look like that picture as those read black to me.

Now that you've seen them, time to ask questions:

1. Cost of ordering new?

2. Time to get black delivered?

3. How would the delay impact the schedule?

4. Can you afford all three above.

Writing. Fine print, All the print. I am sorry but " We told him" gives you not a chicken leg on which to stand. All that shall ever count is font on paper.

So sorry _ it's a very hard lesson, learned. Pay, or live with it.

Sit back down with ALL the documents and be certain you missed nothing else. Do that right away : )..................and get a roof sample too. ASAP.

As to interior finishes? This does not mean you need to drown in BROWN. White, Warm grays, and deep bronze are lovely.

Get an independent interior designer on board. You may be surprised, and very pleasantly. There's quit a bit of WARMTH in your flooring..

Do you have a lot of interior doors? Maybe you could pay to change from black to oil rubbed bronze for the knobs and hinges. I wouldn’t worry as much about your other finishes, I think they will blend.

Surely the builder could use those knobs and hinges on another build, and it shouldn’t take anytime to get new ones.

If for some reason you don't like it when you see it all come together (I'm fairly certain it will since brown and black are both neutral) then you could consider painting the interior frames black. It does take some work and you have to do it properly, but it can be done.

cweintraub99 I suspect you will be pleased with the windows once they are installed. I just today went to a friend's house today who has PGT Aluminum Winguard windows in bronze, and to me they appear a more dark charcoal color. I did not see any brown at all in them. They did not resemble the color on their website or above at all (to me). Her home was very contemporary and they were beautiful.

And for anyone shopping these windows, while the vinyl windows can be ordered with black or bronze on the outside and white on the inside, PGT's aluminum windows are the same color inside and outside. (which is causing me concern as I sort of like the bronze or black on the outside and white on the inside. Not sure if I'll like the black/bronze on the inside or not.

Thank you Karen Carty! They are now installed and look good. They look more bronze in the direct bright sun and black when not in direct sun. The house is still under construction - no drywall yet - so hard to know how they will look when all is said and done. But so far we are pleased.

wondered how it has worked out?

We have bronze windows [Marvin].

We have black hardware inside and outside. Light fixtures are bronze.

I don't mind mixing.

Beautiful! We will be mixing as well. Our front door will be painted an off- black and we will have black interior door hardware. Medium wood floors and pretty much white walls and cabinets in kitchen so hopefully it will all come together.

This was very helpful. Thank you for this post. We just had the same thing happen.

@cweintraub99...how do you like your PGT windows? Are they vinyl or aluminum?

They are aluminum. Still too soon to say how we will like them. We had cheap aluminum sliders and windows in our last house and hated them. Loved the vinyl we replaced them with but the windows and doors we are getting now are definitely higher quality. Our builder is just starting to install interior finishes so not sure yet about the bronze versus black we desired.

I have a similar problem, except my contract calls for black wondows and doors (and I agreed to the upcharge). There’s no dispute that they were supposed to be black. But I just learned today that they ordered bronze by mistake. I hate this situation more than I can describe. I wanted black windows and doors without question; they are a different look, overall, than bronze.

I have the right to refuse them. But if I do, my builder will eat over $200k in custom windows. Obviously, that would be a huge hit to his bottom line, which I’m not happy about either. My job will also be delayed 6 months. (If the delay only impacted me, I could easily tolerate it. However, that will further impact his bottom line. And in truth, it will keep me from enjoying my home.) Any words of wisdom from anyone, especially from any builders?

Unless you trust this builder 100%, my fear is that since you are just beginning the project, the builder might be tempted to find a way to make up that $200k by skimping on other materials or labor costs in your house.

This a tough one. I've settled on some stuff, but not anything like a whole house package of windows/doors.

Make a partnership with the builder and sell the home as a spec house while the RE market is hot?

We moved in recently and don’t really notice the bronze instead of black windows. We still used black hardware throughout and black headers on window treatments. They fade into the background. But only you know what you can and can’t live with. It’s a very personal decision.

Honestly black is trendy. Bronze will withstand the test of time. How do I know? The windows in my old condo for most units were bronze and the condo was built in the early 80's and still worked.

Whose product is it? Some Dark Bronze are dam near black.

Well. If I am a builder placing a window order that substantial. I check that order once, twice three times..................................maybe five, and maybe six.

There's no good answer here. Assuming it is a forever scenario I would hazard yes. ? Consider the exterior as bronze, and the inside painted black, his cost on paint, and huge credit to half price on the exterior left as is. You live on the inside.. A six month delay has dollar consequences for you? No law says that won't go to nine.....or ten months. It's insanity out there right now. : )

Trisha what type of Marvin is that ? Gorgeous

Thanks all, I appreciate the help, especially the pics and thoughts from cweintraub99. The pics and your experience make me think the bronze windows/doors won’t look like a mistake to anyone else. Still, this is a huge disappointment for me and there’s no good solution, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do. The builder hasn’t offered anything to compensate for the mistake (other than to refund the upcharge for the black windows). I don’t want to be a jerk, but it seems like there should be something (signaficant) to make up for this colossal mistake. Btw, my windows and doors are PGT impact, which helps to explain the high cost. Any additional thoughts are always welcome.

Mine are PGT aluminum impact as well. I understand the disappointment. Certainly there should be a significant concession if you agree to live with the windows as is.

"The builder hasn’t offered anything to compensate for the mistake (other than to refund the upcharge for the black windows)."

You . Have. To. Be. Kidding.

How many years has this guy been around. I will hope you say ONE.

It doesn't look good for him. I don't CARE if his calendar is full now.........it's extremely short sighted. I wouldn't be able to look at HIM. Forget the windows.......and i'd be really ON site at YOUR site.

I don’t think it’s uncommon for someone to not volunteer a way for the homeowner to be compensated. They likely floated the mistake and want to see your reaction. We had a situation with a massive oversight that went same way and when we said we weren’t happy and wanted compensation then we got it. But we had to say we wanted it and make it clear we weren’t happy.

You are well within your rights to ask for additional compensation beyind the refunding of the cost of the upgrade, @Suzanne. He's not going to offer, but you can ask. Are there any additional bells and whistles that might make you feel better about things? I've received a wide range of compensation for builder errors over the years... from all free labor on a renovated primary bathroom (for a BIG screw up,) to a custom built dog crate (for a smaller mistake.)

Thanks Jan Moyer. I typically go through the house once a day, but will go even more as they’ll be getting into more precise details (after the window debacle is settled). I know how the mistake was made—their purchasing guy simply input the order wrong. A simple mistake with huge repercussions. All the paperwork associated with my house was correct.

Refunding the cost of the upgrade is laughable. You may have to change your color schemes also since what works with bronze doesnt always work with black. I think the brinze looks a litte dated on the interior side. The contractor has a lot of room to give .

@cweintraub99 love all your choices! i ordered bronze rather than black in error - told there was no black and then too late to change! can i ask what brand and colour the floor you put in is? love it! and all the tile choices too. Also if you have a photo of outside - i am struggling with roof choice

Of course Julie Jones! And thank you! Tile floor is MSI. https://www.msisurfaces.com/porcelain-kenzzi/paloma/. Wood floors are Lifecore artful. https://www.lifecoreflooring.com/hardwood-flooring/engineered/lifecore/abella-acacia/

how are they holding up? we are on Fort Myers Beach and thinking we should go all tile vs wood due to sand and 2 dogs

This is my third house with engineered wood floors. We have two young kids and always had a dog. So far so good. This wood floor has a matte finish and some hand scraping (but not too much) which helps a lot. Our last wood floor had a glossier finish and our dog scratched it terribly.

We are in Tampa :)

Sand is tougher and tile is probably a better idea!

do you have a pic with your windows and outside choices ? i am now having to choose the roof and debating between charcoal and dark bronze but would love charcoal!

Can you share a picture of the bronze windows? Trying to decide between bronze and black PGT windows?

@Suzanne Just wondering how it all turned out? I’m sorry you had to go through this!

@cweintraub99 It all looks great! I’m glad it worked out!

We have now lived with our bronze windows for 9 months. We don’t even notice the bronze anymore except when we are outside and it is sunny. Then we can tell the are bronze. Otherwise we don’t notice. Here are pics from today on inside. If you can get black without a lot of extra cost or wait time, go for it. Otherwise in most applications the PGT bronze will be okay.

We are building a beach home in Florida and have the same exact problem right now.

We told the builder that we want a white home with black windows and doors.

They said No Problem. We paid a lot of money for the upgrade.

Last week we got the rendition of the house and the house is beige with bronze windows. I looked at the contract and sure enough it says upgrade price for bronze windows.

I have no idea why they put that in there when our discussion was so different.

Now we are back and forth trying to figure out what to do.

Are you building in Palm Coast, Florida by any chance?

We built in Tampa. We moved in last year. We were so stressed about the windows but it’s been fine. You only really notice they are bronze when you are outside and it’s sunny. Inside the bronze PGT windows have been fine. We have black hardware on the doors and it blends fine.

"I looked at the contract and sure enough it says upgrade price for bronze windows."

Did you sign the contract, verbal unfortunately means nothing as you now know. I agree with cweintraub99, bronze is actually a better color in many instances and the darker bronzes give the impression of black with a better look in many instances.

Thank you. Bronze it is.

We are building in Sanford FL. Ordered our black frame, inside and out, windows in Nov. of 2020. Received in Sept. of 2021. Then our secondary building that has matching windows, we're still waiting on. They say that several glass companies were hacked last summer. Our second building window order was dropped during this hack. We are still waiting on them. This week they said 16 weeks, these were ordered in Nov. of 2020, what a joke. I'm not laughing. Good luck to anyone just starting this. I hope it's better for you.