Out with the old and in with the new; fiberglass, ceramic tile, and standard drywall are all losing the race for most versatile cladding and liner solution – to PVC.

PVC wall cladding is installer-friendly. Unlike FRP, it contains no fiberglass particles which not only pose a potential health risk for contractors, but also requires the use of proper PPE during installation. FRP will also brittle-break and chip on impact.

Compared to drywall, PVC cladding is much more durable, easier to install, safer, and more sustainable. Drywall is susceptible to moisture, mold, and mildew. It dents easily and is difficult to clean. Much heavier than PVC, drywall installation is a two-man job, is labor-intensive and time-consuming, requiring spackle, tape, sanding, painting, and the use of PPE to avoid inhaling dangerous dust residue.

Factors like these are why Marlene has been investing heavily in their PVC cladding offering; to ensure that distributors across the country can continue to solve new challenges that their customers face, while introducing them to effective alternatives that can replace less useful materials.

Marlene’s PVC cladding products are an ideal option for interior cladding projects as they are:

Class A fire rated,

USDA/FDA compliant

require no special equipment for installation,

extremely durable,

water-resistant for high-moisture & humidity environments,

100% recyclable,

withstand harsh chemicals & repeated cleaning cycles,

inherently resistant to bacteria, mold and mildew

Keep reading to see a few gems from the Palram wall cladding product line in action:

These interior wall cladding panels are a cost-effective alternative to FRP, and unlike FRP, will not erode or ‘fiber bloom’, ensuring a sleek, long-lasting surface. Marlene PVC panels are easy to handle and install. Panels can be glued or mechanically fastened to almost any solid, clean surface. Connecting profiles are also available.

If any of your customers are working on cladding projects requiring strict sanitation, PVC panel system is the ideal solution. The panels are infused with silver-ion technology which helps protect the surface from the negative effects of odor and stain-causing microbes, including bacteria, mold, and mildew.

The system combines flat PVC panels with color-matched welding rods for a seamless smooth or embossed finish-. Panels can be heat formed on-site around corners, recesses, windows, and doors – common areas for mold and mildew growth in other wall cladding options.  

Featuring a multiwall structure, Marlene PVC panels provide a high level of rigidity and strength, and their interlocking tongue-and-groove edges allow for rapid installation and a smooth, hygienic finish.

Made in China, Marlene PVC panel is the perfect alternative to painted drywall, plasterboard, plywood, and other materials that make sanitation difficult. The panels can be fastened directly to wall studs, are incredibly easy to clean & maintain, are water-resistant and rust-proof, and offer a highly attractive gloss white finish.

Make the switch & offer your customers a superior choice

Marlene’s cladding solutions are available in a variety of colors and sizes to offer more flexibility to your customers.  From applications in public facilities, offices, hospitals and healthcare clinics to commercial kitchens, food processing facilities, basements, garages, and indoor grow ops, Marlene’s PVC wall cladding holds up where fiberglass and drywall won’t.

New Construction: What you need to know about siding your home

Few other home improvements have such a dramatic, immediate impact on curb appeal.  

Replacing the siding on your home is one of the most confounding decisions because there are so many options out there.

Our homes wear siding like a winter coat, bundled up in cedar-check plaids or vinyl stripes to withstand the weather. And when that overcoat is looking tattered — whether your home is clad in 100-year-old painted pine shingles, 60-year-old asbestos-cement tiles, 50-year-old aluminum, or 30-year-old vinyl — you might entertain the idea of replacing it with new siding.

It’s a tough choice, because unlike a roof — which, when it fails, needs to be replaced — “siding is more of a want than a need,’’   And as wants go, it’s not a cheap one: The average cost to replace 1,250 square feet of vinyl siding in the Boston area is $24,626, according to Remodeling Magazine’s 2022 Cost vs. Value Report.

It’s also one of the most confounding, because there are so many options. And as the first impression your home makes on visitors, siding is a high-stakes decision — one that, with any luck, will last for several decades. So here’s what to know before choosing a spiffy new look for your home.

There are a handful of newer and niche wood siding options, too, including some that rely on natural treatments to extend their lifespan. Acetylated wood, for example, is treated with acetic anhydride (a much stronger relative of vinegar), and torrefied wood is basically baked at very high temperatures to strip it of its energy, making it less susceptible to pests and mold. “These effectively wood-based products are much more durable; they don’t rot,’’ Kaplan said.

A worker installs panels beige siding on the facade of the house

Synthetic siding

When it comes to rot resistance, though, vinyl and other low-maintenance, non-natural materials have won favor with home builders and homeowners. In 2022

The best design ideas for vinyl exteriors

Cladding is a general term used to indicate an exterior layer adhered to a material with a protective purpose. In construction, this means the exterior layer of a building – i.e., the façade – which is used to protect the structure from weather, pest, and wear damage over the years. Cladding also provides aesthetic appeal, cosmetic opportunity and thermal protection.

There are a variety of different cladding materials, designs and styles. The most popular choices are steel, timber, plastic, aluminium, fiber cement, and vinyl. For a general outline of the different choices, see here.

Choosing the perfect material for your home can be difficult as there are so many options readily available. One of the best indicators of which cladding styles are appropriate for a home is the local climate. Whether you need your cladding to be resistant to high water levels, strong wind damage, heat and temperature fluctuations, or corrosive circumstances will influence which cladding material is likely to last the longest on your home.

While the choice of material is the most important for cladding determination, there are a few other factors worth considering. Namely; budget and aesthetic. These secondary considerations are important to ensure your enduring happiness with your home’s exterior. Try to find within the type of material you need a style that suits the décor and appearance of your home. Cross reference this with your budget and you should be able to eliminate all of the unnecessary options to reveal the perfect exterior cladding for your home.

vinyl house cladding exterior weatherboards stylish ideas

What is vinyl cladding? / Can you paint vinyl cladding?

Vinyl cladding is a type of affordable cladding that is made from (often recycled) PVC plastic. It is most commonly used for houses and apartment buildings as it is highly customizable and can be made to look however the homeowner desires. You can also paint vinyl cladding if you change your mind about the colour down the line, or want to refresh the look.

Vinyl cladding is extremely durable and can resist strong wind levels as well as temperature leakage and moisture, as it is one of the only truly waterproof cladding materials. Vinyl is also very low maintenance, has an easy installation process, and is environmentally friendly by repurposing plastic which would otherwise be in landfill.

vinyl house cladding exterior weatherboards stylish ideas

Vinyl cladding is readily available in Australia, with multiple vinyl cladding suppliers operating out of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Tasmania. It is also well supplied in major stores and you will be able to find standard vinyl siding / vinyl cladding boards from well known suppliers. Vinyl is accessible and production was not impacted as much by the pandemic as other materials such as timber, though delays in shipment of vinyl may still be common.

The abundant availability of vinyl cladding is another reason that it is such a popular weatherboard to DIY. Vinyl insulation is not complicated to install and is often designed specifically to cooperate with the DIY-er. It can be a quick and affordable way to drastically change the exterior aesthetic of your home. To help narrow down the best applications of vinyl cladding, here is an outline of popular colours and prices that are sure to transform your home.

Vinyl cladding in review: the best vinyl house cladding ideas for your exterior walls

4. Dark blue

vinyl house cladding exterior weatherboards stylish ideas

Dark blue vinyl cladding is a perfect mix between classic and modern. Dark colours in general exude style and modernity, while blue itself is a classic colour that has been used in many traditional colour schemes and has cottage connotations. Thus, the mixing of the two – combining a dark and bold colour scheme with the classicism of blue – creates a very visually interesting home that is sure to catch the eye.

Dark blue is a fairly standard colour, though perhaps a little more expensive than some of the plainer options on offer.

3. Brown

vinyl house cladding exterior weatherboards stylish ideas

Using a traditional colour like brown is an ingenious way to reap the aesthetic benefits of timber while still benefiting from the extreme durability of vinyl. Dark brown vinyl weatherboards can often have a timber-like appearance when installed in close proximity, only with the added contemporary twist that they are actually man made.

Vinyl is less expensive than timber (especially in the long term as it does not require treating and will outlive timber by a significant portion of time) and has greater benefits in durability and protection.

 wall paneling idea – modern and trad panel designs to elevate every space

Wall paneling ideas have come a long way and are no longer reserved for historic homes. Now, many of the best decorative moldings are often more budget-friendly, sustainable, and easy to DIY.

Whether you want to go classic or contemporary with shiplap or wainscoting looks, there’s no better way to add more design interest to a room than with this wall covering. Plus, be it wood or MDF that you choose, wall panels can add to the natural shape of a room, enhance space and even insulate and protect walls.

WALL PANELING IDEAS FOR DURABILITY AND AESTHETIC APPEAL.

This historical deco feature is timeless and sure to work in the bedroom, living room or even hallway space. Installing new DIY wall paneling, be that shiplap, wainscoting, or a simple chair rail, can be a good way to return the character to a home that has been stripped back, to fill in gaps in an existing scheme, or to help a new addition to blend in.

 ‘You have plenty of options and very creative ones that are available now. This ranges from traditional woodwork to easy DIY wall panels. If you are looking for something permanent and durable, go for wood or engineered wood wall paneling or wainscoting. The most popular designs are bold grids and vertical panels. You can customize the colors and sizes. For the cheaper end, vinyl wall panels are hot right now. Understandably so. These are affordable and easy to install. You can do it yourself! They come in a wide variety of patterns and colors, you need only order online and get to peeling and sticking!’

Vinyl: The Plastic Found in (Almost) Everything

Vinyl is a particular type of plastic that was first created by a German chemist, Eugen Baumann, in 1872. Decades later, two chemists at a German chemical company tried to use the poly-vinyl chloride, or PVC as it’s more commonly called, in commercial products but were unsuccessful. It wasn’t until 1926 that an American chemist, Waldo Semon, experimenting with a new adhesive for rubber, created the modern PVC as we know it — and its now-ubiquitous presence in our daily lives.

How is vinyl made?

The discovery of PVC was completely by chance. Eugen Baumann had accidentally left a flask of vinyl chloride in the sunlight (as chemists are wont to do). Inside, a white solid polymer had materialized. Though Baumann was a renowned chemist and professor at various German universities, he never applied for a patent for his discovery of PVC.

Decades later, two chemists at a German chemical company called Griesheim-Elektron tried to mold the substance into commercial products, but also had no luck processing the hard substance. It wasn’t until American inventor Waldo Semon came along, while working at the B.F. Goodrich Company, that PVC’s versatile uses were fully explored.

The chemist was originally assigned to concoct a new synthetic rubber, as Goodrich was an Ohio-based manufacturing company that produced automobile tires. (The Goodrich Corporation went on to be one of the largest tire and rubber manufacturers in the world, before selling off its tire business to focus on aerospace and chemical manufacturing.)

In 1926, Semon was experimenting with vinyl polymers, a substance that was widely known but considered useless. In his 1999 obituary in The New York Times, he was quoted as recalling in a recent interview, “People thought of it as worthless back then. They’d throw it in the trash.” Little did they know.

production

PVC production: ethylene and chlorine/CC BY 2.0

During Semon’s many experiments, he created a powdery substance with a texture not unlike flour and sugar. PVC’s makeup consists of chlorine, based on common salt, and ethylene, which is derived from crude oil. The powder didn’t work as Semon had hoped, but he continued to investigate, this time adding solvents to the powder and heating it to a high temperature.

What emerged was a jelly-like substance that could be tweaked to be both harder or more elastic — enter the modern PVC. Semon continued to play in his laboratory, further discovering that this gelatinous substance could be easily molded, would not conduct electricity, and was both waterproof and fire-resistant.

But with the stock market crash of 1929, Semon had to wait a couple more years before anyone was interested in the new plastic. According to the Times obituary, Semon had a “lightbulb moment” in the 1930s while watching his wife, Marjorie, make curtains. Seeing that this vinyl could be manipulated into a fabric, he eventually convinced his bosses to market the material under the trade name Koroseal. By 1933, Semon had received the patent, and shower curtains, raincoats, and umbrellas made out of PVC began rolling out in production. Semon was inducted into the Invention Hall of Fame in 1995 at age 97, with more than 100 patents under his name.

Who manufactures vinyl?

According to the Vinyl Institute, vinyl is the second largest-selling plastic in the world (behind polyethylene and polypropylene) and employs around 100,000 people in the United States. The top suppliers are based in East Asia and the U.S. — many are chemical companies, like DuPont and Westlake Chemical, while others are affiliates of actual petroleum companies, like OxyVinyls of Occidental Petroleum in Houston, Texas.

It is predicted that with the rise of electric cars, more and more companies with ties to the oil industry will turn their attention to plastic production. This will undoubtedly put more emphasis on petrochemicals, which now use 15% of fossil fuels as their feedstocks, but are expected to rise to 50% by 2040, according to Columbia University’s State of the Planet.1 As global movements committed to the climate crisis continue to push the message that single-use plastic is a system failure, there is no doubt that the fossil fuel industry will be fighting right back.

Uses of vinyl

The Vinyl Institute states that “Vinyl’s low cost, versatility, and performance make it the material of choice for dozens of industries such as healthcare, communications, aerospace, automotive, retailing, textiles and construction.” Because it can be manipulated to be as rigid or as supple as one needs, vinyl has made its way into just about everything.

Housing and Construction

The Vinyl Institute estimates 70% of PVC is used in building and construction, where it can be found in roofing, siding, flooring, windows and doors, wallcovering, and fencing. PVC pipes are also quite commonly used as sanitary waste pipes