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MILLENNIUM'

Elegant Handcrafted Cabinetry
& Fine Furniture

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1429480

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September 18 a 2008

Vinyl Sided from page Cl

polyvinyl chloride, a plastic that gives
it impact resistance, rigidity and
strength.
Vinyl will not dent or scratch eas-
ily, and it never requires painting. It
is a cost effective, low-maintenance
solution compared to wood and alu-
minum.
Making the material more popular
today is its aesthetics. Vinyl no longer
comes in drab colors. A homeowner
can choose from a rainbow of colors
and trims.
Vinyl is holding one more ace, and
it's a big ace — it's green. "The siding
is engineered for sustainability;' says
Jery Huntley of Washington, D.C.-
based Vinyl Siding Institute Inc. The
trade association represents manufac-
turers and suppliers of vinyl and other
polymeric siding.
Insulated vinyl siding can contrib-
ute to the overall energy efficiency
of a home by increasing the effective
R-value of a wall. This added value
reduces energy consumption over the
lifetime of the home and reduces the
overall carbon footprint. It is a recycla-
ble product and can be melted down.
The material can complement his-
torical restoration projects and at a
time when selling a home and buying
a new one may not be an affordable
option for homeowners, re-siding with
vinyl is a way to increase the value of
the current home.
According to Remodeling magazine,
vinyl siding is an excellent investment.
In the Midwest, a homeowner can
recoup 69 percent of its cost when sell-
ing the home. In the West that figure is
65 percent, in the East 76 percent and
84 percent in the South.
Vinyl hybrids are popping up.
Seamless siding is a recent alterna-
tive that some consider a hybrid of
vinyl and aluminum. It is constructed
on site and runs the entire length of
the home, preventing ugly seams and
curling around the edges.
Sophisticated vinyl that looks like
cedar shake and wood plank is more
expensive than regular vinyl but is
growing in popularity. They cost as
much as cedar. The fake slate shingles
made out of PCV at $400 per 100
square feet is just as expensive as a
slate roof. The fake slate lasts forever
and, because it is light, can reduce
load on the roof by 10 times, Lavey
says.
Lavey had to think long and hard
when asked what drawbacks there are

Contractor Brian Halprin stands

in front of a vinyl-sided home.

to vinyl. Vinyl can get brittle in the
winter. If you want to paint your house
and you would have to tear off the sid-
ing, paint the house and then install
new siding.
Extreme temperature climates such
as Michigan can play havoc with sid-
ing, Lavey says. "In Michigan, we can
go from 90 degrees in the summer to
zero degrees in winter. Vinyl siding
expands a little in the summer and
contracts a little in the winter. The
vinyl is now being designed to accom-
modate these changes!'
A green builder, Lavey says that sid-
ing can be both a green product and
a bad product for the environment.
When manufactured, siding spews
dioxins into the air. But the Vinyl
Institute says new manufacturing
processes have reduced those dioxins
dramatically.
Lavey calls vinyl a "technical nutri-
ent that can be taken out of the waste
stream and recycled for future use'
Vinyl manufacturers are answering
Lavey's complaint about bland colors
with new, dramatic ones. He likes the
new colors coming out, especially a
deep red with accented white trim
that he installed on his home. The new
colors add an extra $10 a square foot
to the cost.
His company sells vinyl for $175
per 100 square feet, including labor
and materials, and $10 per square foot
more for colors; fiber cement costs
$250 per 100 square feet and cedar
$350 per 100 square feet. ❑