Wood vs. PVC Trim
Hi- I’m having carpentry repair done on my 1935 Cape. The wood trim on the dormers and windows is deteriorating. I’ve signed on with a carpenter. He’s recommending using PVC (I think that’s what he said) instead of wood since it will “last forever”. I’m having second thoughts, wondering about production of this and thinking that perhaps I should ask him to use wood, despite the chance it could deteriorate again. I will be painting the house afterwards. Any feedback appreciated.
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Replies
PVC trim board has a good reputation and holds up well. It's important to treat the ends properly to "close" the structure (usually this is done by wiping with a solvent after cutting the board), and you need to be careful painting it, especially with dark colors. Aside from that, it's a good product. I try to stick with PVC trimboard myself since it doesn't rot, and insects don't eat it. If you are OK with white trim, PVC is essentially maintenance free.
Bill
Here is an article comparing PVC to wood (and wood composite and fiber cement) trim:Wood Trim Alternatives; and another explaining the benefits of PVC trim:Today’s Best Exterior Trim。I hope they help inform your decision.
Thanks very much! I'll read the article. It turns out the work is scheduled this week, although I'm trying to put it off til next week so your quick replies were greatly appreciated!
One thing to watch with PVC is thermal expansion. Even though you are not supposed to, I did some black PVC for my own home and the ones on the west side are impossible to keep tight as they move way too much.
你有没有尝试焊接末端？我知道他们通常会说做出一种隐藏的腿部关节，但我一直认为溶剂焊缝可能会更好地工作。我只是没有足够长的一块，看看是否有像涟漪或其扩展时的扭曲等等。
Bill
The best and worst quality of PVC trim is that it lasts forever. Cutting it generates piles of micro-plastics that are pervasive in our environment, it's made of virgin PVC with all of the associated dioxin pollution and health impacts, it's floppy, expands and contracts a LOT with the weather, is electrically charged and will attract dust, and can only be painted with light colors (with some exceptions). I've trimmed out a couple of large houses with it and hopefully never will again. But your carpenter is right, it will hold up better over time than wood.
当我在自己的家中卸下壁板和护套时，我安装了Azek修剪。对于Windows，我使用口袋螺钉和Azek溶剂胶水组装了每个装饰单元，3年后仍然完美。对于外角，我制造了Azek Dominos并使用多米诺骨牌和胶水来连接每个角落。再次，任何关节都没有开放。与长期的围巾关节相同（仅限胶水）。此外，Azek与Sherwin Williams合作，配制了“乙烯基安全”涂料配方。如果你去任何SW经销商并告诉他们你想要他们的乙烯基安全涂料，它将与Azek（或者我假设任何PVC产品）工作。您可能需要与经理交谈，因为它仍然存在于某些工人，因为红斑仍然在德克萨斯州中部的一部分罕见，但我真的很喜欢它的产品井（剪裁，路由器，平面漂亮）。如上所述，灰尘是一个真正的疼痛，所以我用良好的灰尘收集，用于所有我用于处理修剪材料的工具。Azek还制造了不同厚度的Azek，用于制作定制成型，凸起板等。
您是否知道乙烯基安全涂料是否可以应用于现有的乳胶漆？我有一个房子，乙烯基修剪被涂上深绿色，它令人伤心地翘曲，我想知道重新粉刷是否会修复它，或者需要更换。
I doubt if it would, as the vinyl safe paints have specific properties, and the darker paint may already have damaged the trim. my trim is a sorta avocado green, so not really dark, and absolutely not issues. I don't know what brand of trim you used, but if it is Azek, their technical support was pretty gooe