What Home Owners

Must Know About Vinyl

Cladding

Peter Bracey

Address: Sydney, Australia Phone Number: 1800 631 541

E-mail: peter@peterbracey.com.au

Vinyl cladding is a popular choice for Australian homeowners as it is

affordable, supposedly weatherproof, requires little to no maintenance,

conserves energy and uplifts the look of a home’s exterior. But decades of

use reveal that vinyl cladding is not what it is.

The Truth about Vinyl Cladding

Dioxin is a toxin created in the industrial process of producing vinyl cladding.

Although this type of cladding releases dioxin into the atmosphere, it only does

so at about less than one-half of one per cent of the total emitted into the air.

Most of the toxin comes from volcanoes, burning wood, and forest fires.

Vinyl cladding uses a mix of plastics and chemicals that can lead to a

polystyrene backing. This mixture leaves homeowners exposed to a variety of

environmental elements that damage a home. Vinyl expands and contracts

when exposed to extreme heat or cold. It also warps and buckles when water

damages it; leading to an ugly exterior that people immediately notice.

Vinyl cladding is also susceptible to water and rain penetration because of the

gaps. Polystyrene foam found in this type of cladding acts as a blockade for

condensation accumulation in a house, leading to dampness that allows

mildew and fungi to grow between the wall cladding and polystyrene.

Vinyl cladding is a thin exterior covering that damage easily, whether it is

hailstones or balls hitting it. Exposure to extreme heat leads to discolouration,

a home will have uneven colours after vinyl starts to fade.

What is the quality

alternative?

Vinyl cladding exposes a

homeowner to a variety of

problems, but it is still an

affordable option for

property owners on a

budget. There are

alternatives to this type of

cladding, as long as one is

willing to spend extra for

quality.

Weatherboard cladding is a

quality alternative to vinyl.

It is low maintenance,

provides insulation for

temperature control in any

kind of weather, and it uses

cellular foam to provide

reliability and durability for

homeowners.

Sources:

http://peterbracey.com.au/vinyl-cladding/

http://untrainedhousewife.com/telling-the-truth-about-vinyl-siding

http://www.silive.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2013/05/the_dirty_truth_about_vinyl_si.html