Harvey Introduces BetterGrain Finish Option

Harvey BetterGrain™

Harvey Building Products has announced a new premium finish, BetterGrain,  available on qualified windows and door products. Harvey BetterGrain gives you the maintenance free benefits of energy efficient vinyl windows with a premium paint finish in three colors. According to Harvey:

No longer will you have to choose between the maintenance-free performance of vinyl and the look of wood! Harvey’s new BetterGrain™ finishes provide a natural wood look and feel on select Harvey vinyl windows. BetterGrain™ is a revolutionary dual-process painted wood grain finish that mimics the qualities of natural wood better than veneers, laminates, foils or other alternatives.

Available in three popular finishes, BetterGrain™ will match the interior of any home.

• BetterGrain™ interior finishes provide the beauty and feel of wood with the proven performance of vinyl
• Available in Pine (light), Red Cedar (medium), and Dark Oak (dark)
• Revolutionary dual painting process; base coat plus grained top coat
• Ten year warranty on BetterGrain™ finishes
• Touch-up kit included
• Window trims can be stained using the leading brands for a perfect matching look

We’re Going To Put BetterGrain To The Test

I’m sure many of you reading this are going to be very skeptical of a painted vinyl window. However, vinyl windows have been being painted over the last few years with great success. I recently had the pleasure of visiting one of Harvey’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and watched how the BetterGrain premium finish is applied. To say I was impressed with the entire process is an understatement.

I’m so impressed with the product that we’re going to be installing several of these windows in a house this spring. The homeowner is looking for a maintenance free vinyl window with improved energy efficiency. The homeowner previously installed Harvey Tribute Replacement Windows and absolutely loves them. For the remaining windows in their home they were hesitant to use vinyl windows due to the style of the remaining rooms that include natural wood trim. So for this project they’ve decided to go with Harvey Tribute Windows with the premium BetterGrain finish.

So be sure to keep an eye out for an article later this spring after we install the BetterGrain finished Tribute Windows. We’ll be sure to report back on our experience and show you some great photos.

Impressive Manufacturing Process

The BetterGrain premium finish is quite labor intensive and requires impressive craftsmanship from the painters. The finishing process is done prior to manufacturing the window assemblies.  Due to the method of applying the finish each window order requires quite a bit of set-up time including cleaning all the vinyl material, masking (taping) components to protect surfaces to remain white and preparation of the “graining” machine that applies the graining color and texture. The unique graining process ensures that no two windows will ever look the same as the grain patterns are completely random.

Before the grain is applied the base components receive several coats of paint until the pieces match the standard color samples. The paint is allowed to dry prior to the application of the grain. The grain is also painting on and also creates a bit of texture to the surface.

What impressed me most was the strength of the paint finish. This stuff adheres to vinyl in a way I didn’t think possible. The first sign of how confident Harvey is in their finishing process starts with the manufacturing process. After the pieces of vinyl are painted with the top coat they are stacked in a rack awaiting the grain finish. Pieces are just stacked on top of other pieces and dragged over each other as they are pulled from the racks. No worries about scratches as each piece is able to withstand the pulling, scratching and scuffing that it receives. These guys are so confident in the finish that they have established a 10 yr warranty on the finish!

Harvey BetterGrain Promotion

For a limited time the folks at Harvey are offering several spring promotions including free set-up for windows ordered with the BetterGrain finish ($200 value). They are also running a free upgrade promotion that could qualify you for more than $1500 in savings on new energy efficient windows. Check out their products and give them a shot. I have their windows in my home and absolutely love them.