Siding makers launch new composites, vinyl colors

The pandemic-driven surge in home improvement projects continues to benefit sales of polymer siding with some manufacturers working around the clock to meet demand as they launch new colors and styles to grow their market share.

Royal Building Products introduced five new colors of vinyl siding for 2021, new polypropylene shake and black PVC soffits for the modern farmhouse and other looks.

And Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based Alside Inc. launched Ascend composite cladding to take aim at fiber cement and premium sidings. The company combines a glass-reinforced polymer with graphite-infused polystyrene to produce a Class A fire-rated cladding in 20 colors that also resists strong winds and impact.

Ascend was named "most innovative building material" during the virtual International Builders Show organized by the National Association of Home Builders from Feb. 9-12.

Alside invested in more extruders and hired operators at an Ohio facility to produce Ascend, which is distributed from a regional center there, Nick Thompson, senior product manager of siding and metals, said in a Microsoft Teams interview.

"We launched in the mid-Atlantic region and expanded out nationwide. We've been in the market over a year now and it's being well received everywhere. The real driver is the labor savings," Thompson said.

While housing is one of the few sectors experiencing year-over-year job gains, having hired more workers in the wake of the pandemic, it hasn't been enough to meet the increasing demand for housing, according to the NAHB.

Historically low interest rates and a geographic shift in where people are choosing to live is affecting the housing industry. For example, lower-density areas are becoming more popular, in large part because of new work-from-home options for buyers.

After posting an 11 percent gain, single-family housing starts totaled a little less than 1 million in 2020. The NAHB forecast calls for an additional 5 percent increase to 1.03 million in 2021. If it happens, that will mark the first year that total annual single-family production has exceeded 1 million since the Great Recession.

Remodeling also will remain strong as people continue to upgrade existing homes for more purposes, such as home offices, home gyms and in-law units, according to NAHB. The group expects residential remodeling to go up 4 percent this year over 2020.

Building product manufacturers are trying to keep up with the stepped-up pace of new construction and home improvements.

"It has been quite a challenge. We were fortunate that we never had to shut down our plants due to COVID," Royal Vice President of Marketing Steve Booz said in a phone interview. "On our pro side, with our vinyl siding and trim and moldings, we've had a full order file since the summer. It hasn't stopped. We're not alone. A lot of building products have longer lead times these days."

Booz described the company's vinyl siding sales as "way up" and said the industry is experiencing growth across all of North America.

At Alside, Susan DiMauro, marketing director at parent company Associated Materials LLC, agrees. The company is bracing for a busy 2021.

"We're really optimistic," DiMauro said in a Microsoft Teams interview. "There's strong interest and demand in our solutions this year and we're up for the challenge. We're making adjustments and improvements to do what we can to meet that demand and get these products into the marketplace."

With an estimated $320 million in annual sales, Associated Materials ranks 15th among North American pipe, profile and tubing extruders, according to Plastics News' latest ranking.

Ascend composite planks consist of a glass-reinforced polymer extruded with weatherable pigments and impact modifiers that are then adhered to a graphite-infused polystyrene foam, Thompson said. The glass fibers are provided through the composite technology from Tundra Cos., a White Bear Lake, Minn.-based material science company.

"We took known technology and combined it for a siding product that creates a value proposition for all stakeholders," Thompson said. "The glass reinforcement gives strength, rigidity, stability on the wall, lower expansion and movement. The graphite polystyrene brings strength and energy efficiency."

Ascend has the look of a deep-grained wood and a solid feel but is moisture-resistant, low maintenance and a fast install, Thompson said.

"Ascend is light," he added. "Some siding can weigh 200 pounds per 100 square feet of coverage. Ascend is 75 percent lighter, which benefits the person down on the ground as well as the one on the second story on a walk board. A lightweight product certainly plays into the ease of install."

Thompson also listed the benefits for homeowners.

"With Ascend there's no caulking, flashing, water management details or touch-up paint required, so for the homeowners it's a low-maintenance product," he said.

Vinyl siding is experiencing its largest growth spurt in many years, Booz said.

"A good chunk of that was in Canada, but the larger chunk is in the U.S.," he said.

Royal is a subsidiary of Houston-based Westlake Chemical Corp., which ranks as the No. 4 pipe, profile and tubing extruder in North America, with estimated sales of $1.26 billion, according to Plastics News' latest ranking.

To improve its selection, the manufacturer has expanded the color offering of its two vinyl siding lines called Royal and Exterior Portfolio with new hues (Silver Mist, Riverway, Stone Harbor, Spruce and Smoky Ash) in a variety of styles, including board and batten and shake and shingles.

The company says the siding incorporates Chromatix technology color protection, which warrants the products to fade up to a maximum of three Hunter units, keeping dark shades true.

Also, in response to the increasing popularity of dark trim, Royal added black soffit to its Exterior Portfolio and Royal vinyl lines.

Black soffits create a distinctive accent when used in porch ceilings, eaves and overhangs. Soffits also shield roof rafters, ventilate attics and protect homes from pests. Royal soffits are available in low-gloss woodgrain and brush and matte finishes.

Black soffits, trim and window profiles combined with crisp white siding are some of the exterior building products used to achieve the popular modern farmhouse style, which blends a traditional country look with contemporary minimalist style.

"The modern farmhouse has taken off the last couple years," Kriss Swint, Royal's in-house design expert and marketing communications director, said in a phone interview.

"I think the trend will continue, but I feel it will shift a little with people tiring of the black and white style, which is everywhere. You will continue to see that contrast, but it may be white with a dark brown or dark gray. We'll start to see some transition there as well with more elements like a clapboard, a board and batten and a shake on the exterior. Even if it's all white, its adds an element of texture."

When board and batten products hit the marketplace, Swint said, many thought their use would have regional appeal in rural and rustic areas.

"But it's now everywhere," Swint said. "I think shake is doing the same thing. We're seeing it in areas where we wouldn't before. I think people are open to the idea of making their house stand out."

To keep up with changing trends, Royal also is out with four weathered colors — Gray Moss, Cottonwood, Aged Pewter and Stonehedge — in its Portsmouth product line for 9-inch hand-split shake, which is made of PP.

In addition, stone elements also are being used more, Swint said. To meet that need, Royal offers an Atlas-brand injection molded PP product that looks like stone.

This year, the company also came out with an embossed woodgrain finish for its cellular PVC column wrap offering.

Royal also has added 5-inch smooth clapboard to its Celect-brand cellular composite siding. Smooth-brushed finishes are popular with some designers who don't like deep woodlike grains in polymeric siding.

"The smooth finish emulates wood in a much more authentic and cleaner way," Booz said. "It's a request from the architects so we're happy to provide that in both the 7-inch and the 5-inch lap in that Celect line."

Launched in 2011, Royal's Celect brand of composite siding is made of PVC with an insulating foam and a water-based Kynar coating for durability. The company invests in the brand regularly and consults with architects, including leaders in the New Urbanism movement, about how to improve products and what to offer next.

New Urbanism puts well-crafted houses with big porches on tree-lined streets in walkable neighborhoods. The houses are built near schools, shops, banks and dining to limit traffic and encourage exercise and socializing. The movement creates an opportunity for sales of smooth clapboard as well as decking, columns, trim and more.

While vinyl siding manufacturers work with top designers to help them carry out their visions, another state, Indiana, is grappling with issues of architectural design requirements related to the material.

A state bill seeks to prevent cities from dictating the minimum size of a house, the kind of siding on it and the size of the garage. The bill is similar to others backed by the Vinyl Siding Institute. The trade group found success in North Carolina, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and currently it is focused on Georgia, Tennessee, Minnesota and Indiana.

However, there is an added layer of controversy in Indiana, where the lone author of the proposed legislation (House Bill 1114) is state Rep. Doug Miller, who owns a development company called Tailor Made Homes in Elkhart. He also is on the NAHB board of directors.

Miller chairs the Indiana House committee that passed the legislation. He told the local media his goal is to provide more affordable housing options and push back on local overreach.

Critics raise issues about potential conflicts of interest even though Miller's involvement isn't classified as one, according to the Indianapolis Star. The local media outlet also reported that a Purdue University ethics professor says concerns could've been avoided had a state lawmaker other than Miller proposed the bill.

But Andrea Davis, executive director of HAND Inc., doesn't mind. The head of the affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization advocacy group pointed to the part-time General Assembly.

"Miller obviously has skin in the game, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as the bill receives hearings and any potential conflicts are disclosed," Davis told the Star. "Indiana has a citizen legislature by design, so it's natural that lawmakers who have specialized knowledge would try to address issues they see in their industries."

Alside Inc.'s latest product, Ascend, was named 'most innovative building material' at IBS X; Royal expands color palette for vinyl siding.