Today’s vinyl and polypropylene siding is not the flimsy, low-quality cladding on your grandmother’s home exterior. In fact, for more than 20 years in a row, vinyl siding has been the number one choice for single family homes, according to the Vinyl Siding Institute1(VSI). And commercial builders, architects and retrofit contractors have taken notice, as the affordable cladding can also be specified for commercial applications. Standard grade vinyl is mainly used for light commercial and multi-family projects. Premium and super premium polymeric panels are used on smaller to moderate-sized commercial projects, for example banks, schools, medical, structures three stories or less. Property owners, architects and contractors see the value and ability to marry high-end architectural aesthetics and increased weatherability demands with stringent budgets and short construction timelines.
The latest proprietary technologies resulting from innovative research and development also means meeting strict local zoning regulations for aesthetics, building codes or other stipulations where wood or fiber cement might otherwise be the specifier’s go-to product on new construction such as multi-family developments, office and retail buildings, and even historic district and landmark commercial retrofit projects. According to the 2018 IBC, vinyl siding shall be permitted on exterior walls of buildings located in areas where wind speed does not exceed 100 mph and the building height is less than 40 ft. in Exposure C. When any of these criteria are exceeded, the IBC requires that tests or calculations indicating compliance with Chapter 16 of IBC shall be submitted. Quality vinyl and polymer siding products are confirmed to perform to the ASTM standard for windload: ASTM D5206; as well as tested by an approved third party testing lab to exceed this standard.