Vinyl siding is plastic exterior cladding

Cladding

Cladding is the covering of one material with another. It may refer to the following:*Cladding *Cladding *Cladding **Copper cladding**Rainscreen cladding*Cladding *Cladding...

 for a house, used for decoration and weatherproofing, as an alternative to traditional wood siding or other materials such as aluminum or fiber cement siding

Fiber cement siding

Fiber cement siding is a building material used to cover the exterior of a building in both commercial and domestic applications.-Usage:...

. It is an engineered product, manufactured primarily from polyvinyl chloride

Polyvinyl chloride

Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...

, or PVC, resin, giving vinyl siding its name. In the UK and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 a similar material is known as uPVC weatherboarding

Weatherboarding

Weatherboarding is the cladding or ‘siding’ of a house consisting of long thin timber boards that overlap one another, either vertically or horizontally on the outside of the wall. They are usually of rectangular section with parallel sides...

.

Approximately 80 percent of its weight is PVC resin, with the remaining 20 percent being composed of other ingredients that establish color, opacity, gloss, impact resistance, flexibility, and durability. It is the most commonly installed exterior cladding for residential construction in the United States and Canada. There is controversy concerning the use of this product within the building industry, especially within the growing green building

Green building

Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...

 industry, due to environmental concerns in the processing, manufacturing, and disposal of the product.

History

Vinyl siding was introduced to the exterior cladding

Cladding (construction)

Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements, or for aesthetic purposes....

 market in the late 1950s. It was first produced by an independently-owned manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ohio. The process was originally done through mono-extrusion. At that time, blending of colors was done manually, and the product was little more than a replacement for aluminum siding.

This original process made it difficult to produce and install a consistent, quality product. Beginning in the 1970s, a transformation of the product began, with the industry engineering formulation changes. These changes affected the product's production speed, impact resistance, and range of colors.

In the following decade vinyl siding grew steadily in popularity in large part due to its durability, versatility, and ease of maintenance. Today, vinyl siding is the most commonly used siding product in the United States. As the product continues to grow, the Vinyl Siding Institute regulates manufacturers and sponsors installation certification programs for contractors.

Modern manufacture

Today, vinyl siding is manufactured by coextrusion. Two layers of PVC are laid down in a continuous extrusion process; the top layer is weatherable capstock, which comprises about a third of the siding thickness. This capstock includes about 10% titanium dioxide, which is a pigment and provides resistance to breakdown from UV light. Vinyl siding, like paint, will inevitably fade over time, but the fade rate is somewhat slower with vinyl, and in any house cladding (vinyl, paint or others) the intensity of the color is in direct correlation to the rate of fade. For example, two currently popular colors are "barn red" and "clay". In reaction to sunlight, the barn red will fade faster than the very neutral clay color whether paint, vinyl siding or other composition. The lower layer, known as substrate, is typically about 15% ground limestone (which is largely calcium carbonate). The limestone reduces cost, and also balances the titanium dioxide, keeping both extrusion streams equally fluid during manufacturing. A small quantity of tin mercaptan or butadiene is added as a stabilizer to chemically tie up any hydrochloric acid that is released into the PVC material as the siding ages. Lubricants are also added to aid in the manufacturing process.

Specs and product variables

Vinyl siding can be observed in a wide range of product quality realized in a substantial differences in thickness and lasting durability. Thickness can vary from .35 mil in cheaper grade siding products up to .52 mil in the highest grade products which vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Today, the thinnest vinyl siding commonly used is of .40 mils, and is known as "builder's grade". Vinyl product can vary in thickness even within one manufacturer up to .10 mil of thickness through varying product lines offered that range from basic to premium-grade products. Thicker vinyl products, usually realized in higher cost, are more rigid which can add to the aesthetic appeal and look of the installed, inherently flexible product and also add to durability and life expectancy. Thicker grades of vinyl siding also have much more resistance to the most common complaint about vinyl siding – its tendency to crack in very cold weather when it is struck or bumped by a hard object.

Chemical formulas can also vary somewhat from manufacturer to manufacturer which can impact life expectancy. Most important is a UV coating that most major manufacturers apply to the surface of the product that filters out UV spectral light from the sun which would otherwise degrade the PVC more quickly. As a rough general rule, the higher the grade (and price) of the siding, the more resistant it is to fading (intensity of the color being taken into consideration, as mentioned above).

Vinyl siding is manufactured with its own partial fastening or locking system that is coupled with nails that 'loose' fasten the product to the exterior wall. This locking system can be either a rolled or an extruded lock, depending on the manufacturing process, either of which has its own design considerations. One locking system has a bottom lock which locks into either a start piece or onto the top lock of the panel below. The top lock is then 'loose' nailed to hold the panel to the wall. This 'loose' nailing allows for float which is created by expansion and contraction from varying temperature and weather conditions. With well designed siding, and proper 'loose nailing' installation, the siding can easily expand up, down, in and out, and left and right without restriction. Vinyl siding, by its nature, will tend to expand and contract more with temperature extremes than any other common type of cladding.

Environmental aspects

From an environmental standpoint, vinyl siding offers both advantages and disadvantages. It is less energy intensive than aluminum siding but also less recyclable. Vinyl siding can be recycled, but current technology permits recycling only of new vinyl (factory scraps and job-site cutoffs), not old siding removed during remodeling or demolition. No company in the market currently manufacturers vinyl siding composed of either post-industrial or post-consumer recycled content.

Vinyl siding, like natural wood siding, is flammable. However, because of its thin profile, vinyl siding may be more likely to ignite due to exterior fire; for example, the National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...

 found that, in tests involving vinyl clad structures in close proximity, fire was observed to spread between two vinyl-clad test structures, located six feet apart, in less than five minutes. Additionally, vinyl siding can release toxic fumes when burning, particularly dioxins

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds are by-products of various industrial processes, and are commonly regarded as highly toxic compounds that are environmental pollutants and persistent organic pollutants . They include:...

. This is not only an environmental concern, but the fumes can be dangerous to firefighters and bystanders, and the toxic fumes released may increase the likelihood of fatality from smoke inhalation for anyone trapped in the burning structure.

In Section 2.1.5, of the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, points are awarded for using building materials that require no additional finish resources to complete on-site application. [NAHB Research Center, Inc. NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines. Version 1. Part 1. Section 2. Resource Efficiency. 2.1.5. December 13, 2004.]. Because vinyl siding requires no paint, stain, or caulk in its installation, it meets this NAHB requirement.

The PVC used in vinyl siding used to be produced in open vats, until 1971, when a rare cancer of the liver, angiosarcoma, was traced to vinyl chloride exposure among PVC workers, and strict workplace exposure limits were established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These changes required all vats to be tightly sealed, which led to greater capital costs and a concentration of the number of producers.

Criticism

A common problem that homeowners who have installed Vinyl siding find is Vinyl’s fragility. Due to Vinyl siding’s PVC base, it is highly vulnerable to wind damage and projectiles. Homes with Vinyl siding in rural areas are especially susceptible to naturally caused damage. Additionally, Vinyl siding uses a notching system to clasp sheets together. When the clasp is broken via improper installation and/or weather conditions, warping and buckling occurs and vulnerability rises dramatically. When buckled, the siding is free to flap in the wind and consequently create substantial levels of noise.

As is common to most siding products, fading eventually instills. Vinyl siding, however, is unique in the way it fades. Due to its capstock of various chemicals, including titanium dioxide, the fading effect is often especially distasteful to homeowners

Partly due to the fact that Vinyl siding must be installed loosely to compensate for temperature changes, homes with Vinyl siding often host abnormal amounts of insects. Various species of wasps, hornets, and beetles use the interior of the siding system as a refuge from the sun and predators. This poses a danger to homeowners, and especially young children, as hives can contain many wasps at a time.