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Industry Reports
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Teaman Architectural
Newsletter, 1999,
“Solid vinyl windows are an inexpensive last resort. Give them
about 10 years and the vinyl will become faded and brittle from exposure to
sunlight and temperature.”
Interactive Building Resourses
1996,
“Vinyl windows exacerbate water intrusion in stucco walls. The thermal expansion
or vinyl (PVC) is 14 times that of wood. Shrinkage causes gaps around the edges
of windows allowing water to come in.”
Walls and Ceilings Sourcebook,
2000,
“The Popularity of vinyl windows has created some real challenges with water
penetration for our industry.”
Window Review, 1995,
“Pricing of windows from major manufacturers tends to be more connected to
quality. Whereas with vinyl, price is all over the board. Some homeowners are
under the impression that one brand of vinyl window is better or less prone to
performance problems than another. But PVC is PVC.
Would you feel safe flying in
a vinyl airplane or deep sea fishing in a vinyl boat?”
ASHREA Research Committee,
Michael McCabe, PHD, 1997,
“Vinyl is not a good material
for windows because it lacks strength.”
Brown University,
Environmental Studies Dept, Intro to windows, July 15, 1998,
“PVC (Vinyl) frames
require no maintenance but raise questions of durability, since they are
relatively new on the market and virtually untested.”
Canadian Dept. of Natural
Resources Consumer Guide,
“The disadvantage of vinyl
framing materials is that vinyl expands and contracts with temperature, opening
up cracks for air leakage.”
Bob Villa’s American Home, Top
10 Home Improvement Scams, fall 1997,
“The hot item these days is
thermo plane windows. Invariably, the low priced versions are unsuitable for
your home.”
Nation’s Window’s Windows 101,
1999,
“PVC (vinyl) expands and contracts and can warp due to heat.”
Window Renewal Magazine, April
1999,
“Vinyl windows have negative features. They are susceptible to temperature
fluctuations, expanding and contracting with changes in heat and cold. This
causes wear in two ways. First, the joints, even if welded, are subject to
stress. Second, the seals in glass are out under pressure and can eventually
lead to seal failure.”
Fenestration Magazine, Vol. 6,
No. 5,
“UV or IR (infrared) wavelength of sunlight Affects PVC (vinyl). UV affects the
impact strength and color retention of the window.
The more critical factor is
that heat build up from IR can cause distortion of PVC framing.”
Fenestration Magazine,
May/June 1993,
“What happens to PVC (vinyl) in warmer regions of the US? Will
heat turn the framing into soft, melted material? Will the windows change color
from white to yellow or brown to beige? If it’s hit with an object, will a
piece break off? Rigid PVC is brittle and discolors under UV light. Other
concerns are wind-loads.”
Aluminum Extruders Council,
1997, “A
“60” long PVC (vinyl) frame member at 120 degrees will stretch over ¼” from
expansion and contraction. Movement between components such as glass and frame
over time can lead to distortion and seal failure, air and water leakage.”
Boston Globe, November 16,
1995,
“Be aware of replacement windows. I’ve seen entire buildings full of replacement
windows with manufacturers who have gone out of business. This happened commonly
during the boom of the 80’s. Now these windows are starting to fail. These are
usually the low-end vinyl replacements which are sold by hundreds of companies
each year.”
This Old House Press Release
“Worrisome Windows”,
“Consumers are inundated with ads from regional window companies
that promise miracles. Maintenance free windows made of sturdy vinyl will not
rot, pit, rust or wear out. Such claims have helped make replacement windows a
$3 billion industry. Many of those windows will not last as long as the ones
they replaced. There are fewer than 10 major window manufacturers in the US but
more than 3000 companies making windows. If you and I wanted, we could do it in
our garage.”
This Old House Press Release
“Worrisome Windows”,
“Vinyl softens at 165˚, A Temperature easily achievable in the space between
drapes and the windows on a sunny day. Vinyl expands and contracts 7 times more
than glass. This action can pop seals between frames and glass. Vinyl is simply
not suitable on its own as a window material. Says Mike Compleu of Anderson
Window Corp who has never made an all vinyl window.”
TREMCO Insulated Glass product
Newsletter, 1999,
“The typical house changes hands every 7 or 8 years. Some
manufacturers produce low quality windows and offer warranties too good to be
true. Because the homeowner is likely to move before the windows fail, you can
offer 20, 30, or 50 year warranties if they’re nontransferable.”
Canadian Centre for Energy
Technology, 1996 Study, Long Term Performance of Operating Windows,
“Air leakage in
vinyl windows increased 136%, significantly more than aluminum or wood.
Un-reinforced PVC profiles have a lack of rigidity and a high coefficient of
expansion. PVC profiles are subject to distortion.”
Environmental Building
Sciences, June 1999
“For builders and architects, our recommendation is to choose
non-PVC (vinyl) applications when it is affordable and a clearly superior
product exists”.
AAMA Window Fact Sheet, 1998
“Windows
in building technology expect to see the most changes over the next ten years,
particularly with the role of vinyl’s environmental record”.
Energy Efficient Building
Assoc. August 12, 1997
“The inherent problem with the material vinyl is thermal
expansion and contraction”.
General Motors Corp. January
28, 1999
“Announced plans to eliminate PVC (vinyl) on all its vehicles
worldwide. PVC’s lack of durability, cracks, warps and fades too quickly. The
leaching of PVC’s plasticizers sited as reasons.”
City of Oakland, California,
February 1999
“Passed a resolution to reduce and phase out the use of PVC
(vinyl) recommends non-PVC alternatives”.
Dutch EPA Hearings, 1997
“PVC
windows are not regarded as a favorable material for windows under sustainable
construction programs”.
Ireland 1998
“Passed an initiative
to eliminate the use of all PVC (vinyl) windows and doors.”
OEAKF Austria 1997, The
Standardization of PVC Window Frame Recycling
“60 tons of PVC (vinyl) window
frames are collected each year. PVC (vinyl) window frames are taken back for
free if the customer buys wood windows to replace them. The cost of recycling is
paid by the manufacturer”.
PVC (VINYL) IN WINDOWS
Grolier Encyclopedia 1993,
“PVC
(vinyl) softens and warps at 158˚ F.”
Window Review 1995
“Careful
consideration is necessary when choosing replacement windows.”
Builder Magazine, June 1998,
“Windows
and doors are the #1 source of dissatisfaction among new homeowners.”
Consumer Reports, October
1993,
“Vinyl sash tracks became distorted during durability tests. Parts of the frame
and sash bowed during durability tests. We experienced glass seal failure during
durability tests.”
Popular Science, June 1995,
“Although vinyl is more energy efficient than aluminum, vinyl, can warp and
fade.”
Reader’s digest New Do It
Yourself Manual,
“All vinyl becomes brittle in extreme cold. It expands and
softens in heat.”
Washington Post, April 21,
1996,
“Vinyl frames are not strong. Vinyl frames get soft and warp. They are
dimensionally unstable causing warping, cracks, air leaks which cause thermal
failure and glass fogging.”
US Dept. of Energy-National
Renewable Energy Lab, October 1994,
“Vinyl material tested warped,
shrunk and twisted. Vinyl cannot withstand extreme temperature fluctuations.”
US Dept. of Energy-NREL,
August 30, 1996,
“Vinyl frames are not strong or rigid, which limits the weight of
glass that can be used. In addition, vinyl frames can warp, soften twist and
bow.”
Environmental Building News,
1999,
“We evaluated all the framing material used in windows and advised to avoid 100%
vinyl window frames because of their durability problems. Vinyl windows have
only been on the market in the US for 15 or 20 years. Many of these products
won’t even last a decade.”
THE DECLINE OF VINYL
WINDOW
SALES FOR THE
REPLACEMENT MARKET
The Home improvement
Institute estimates the nearly 5% of the country’s 73 million owner-occupied
households purchased windows in 2001. As homeowners replace windows at a record
pace, vinyl continues to decline (since 1999) as the product of choice.
With research and
experience mounting, the public is turning towards composites as an alternative
to hollow vinyl framed windows.
The decline in vinyl
replacement sales is mirroring what occurred in the late 1980’s with
replacements.
Consumers abandoned their
willingness to purchase aluminum framed windows just as consumers are now
turning away from vinyl as their choice of units.
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