Color Gains Attention
The ability to use PVC without paint attracts some buyers, notes Kleer’s Michalski. “One of the great attributes of PVC is it can be left unpainted and still perform against the elements. For that reason, a lot of homeowners choose to leave PVC white.”
But color options are growing. “Color is more popular all the time,” says KOMA’s Sinks. “We promote the paintability of our products and encourage it. About half of all homes don’t use traditional white mouldings, and the types of colors being used are growing.”
“Some markets are moving to the use of darker painted trim,” says Ply Gem’s Short. That has caused problems in the past due to concerns about the paint not providing the same expansion and contraction attributes as the mouldings, causing cracking. Those concerns are being mitigated, notes Sinks. “The technology in paint has allowed darker and richer colors to be applied to the mouldings without those worries. Now there are heat-reflective paints that prevent those problems, and we can encourage more use of colors of all types.”
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Boral’s products need to be painted, Zimmerman says, which can make customers wary. “But our products are so dimensionally stable that they offer better paint adhesion and long-term stability, so repainting is less of an issue.” Their stability also allows the use of darker colors, he notes. “We’re seeing more colored mouldings in general, so our product offers more color options to match the home’s needs.”
Popular lengths remain the same, with 16 feet being most traditional. But some customers want other options. “We found that installers were complaining because they would wrap a door with a brick mould and come up short,” says Versatex’s Kapres. “So we created a 17’6″ brick mould to go all the way around, and builders love it.”
“For new construction, the longer the length of moulding piece, the better,” says ECM’s Delbridge. “Material handling is not an issue for them, and they don’t want any seams. KOMA, for instance, offers some products in 18-foot lengths, while Ply Gem offers lengths up to 20 feet. “Customers wanting longer lengths come to us for more options,” says Short.
The desired length often depends on the customer and the application, notes Boral’s Zimmerman. “Some want 20-foot lengths, but others want 12-foot to fit into the back of truck. The key is to provide the needed length without waste.”