Principia Blog

By: Catherine Kavanaugh

Plastics News

No doubt vinyl siding has critical mass when it comes to single-family housing. It has been the top cladding selected for newly built homes since 1994, giving it a 25-year reign after it took wall share from mostly aluminum and wood but also brick.

Of the 840,000 single-family dwellings constructed in 2018, vinyl siding was installed on 215,000, or 26 percent, compared to stucco on 25 percent, brick on 21 percent, fiber cement on 20 percent, wood on 5 percent and other materials like aluminum siding on 2 percent.

Vinyl siding is king of cladding again, although the crown has slipped from its peak of 40 percent of the distribution in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which releases figures about new housing every July in its survey of construction.

The U.S. residential siding market is valued at $7.3 billion as of 2018 and is expected to reach $8.2 billion in 2021, Casey Olson, an industry analyst at Prinicipia Consulting LLC, said in a phone interview.

But new construction is only part of the picture, she added, noting that vinyl siding also is a popular cladding in the expanding remodeling market, where its use outstrips new construction.

In 2018, spending on exterior and interior remodeling reached $172 billion and is expected to grow 1.6 percent this year and 1.1 percent in 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders, a Washington-based trade group.

Homeowners looking to update their curb appeal tend to replace with like materials so that bodes well for vinyl siding, Olson said. Nowadays they have a wider selection of vibrant colors, smooth modern profiles and products engineered to withstand sunlight and winds of 210 mph, resist moisture and impact damage, and provide energy efficiency if insulated.

Principia puts the size of the siding market in 2018 at 63 million squares. A square is equivalent to 100 square feet. The firm tracks 10 siding materials, which in descending order by volume are: vinyl, fiber cement, brick, engineered wood, wood, stucco, masonry, veneer, polymer composites and others like metal.

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Polymer Siding: Aesthetic Approach

Manufacturers engineer stylish yet durable siding solutions for homeowners who desire wood without the frequent maintenance.

Qualified Remodeler
AUTHORS Kyle Clapham

Many consumers want the look of real wood on the exterior of their homes but not the continual upkeep associated with actual wood. Vinyl siding requires little-to-no maintenance yet often fails to produce the aesthetic that homeowners seek today. Polymer-based products, on the other hand, offer the appearance of real wood and provide superior moisture management to prevent damage.

The decking industry encountered a similar obstacle years ago, when people became fed up with splinters and called for alternative options. Cellular PVC and composite products filled that void and continue to gain market share today. Although polymer shakes and shingles represent only 2 percent of the siding market, according to Principia, the category is growing at roughly 5 percent annually.

The more exposure that remodelers as well as homeowners have with polymer siding, the more comfortable they will become with specifying and installing these materials. The following products give contractors an opportunity to educate their clients and recommend an appropriate siding solution.

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