Vinyl Siding – Solid Core
Several months ago, I was contacted by a public relations firm about a new vinyl siding product. At first, I simply couldn't get too interested in the product. After all, vinyl siding is vinyl siding, right? Chris, the account manager at the firm continued to make timely and patient calls to see if I had reviewed the sample board and the printed materials. My answer was always the same, "I am going to do it soon!"
The Invitation
One month ago, I got a call from Chris and he invited me to tour the vinyl siding manufacturing plant and meet face to face with the team of people who made this revolutionary product. I needed a break from the office, the plant was only a two hour drive so I said, "Yes."
Little did I know that I was about to uncover a very intriguing building material. In fact, it turns out that the product is so unique it has caused an overwhelming response for this Builder Bulletin. Every now and then, I stumble across a product that really hits the hot spot with consumers. This is one.
Guaranteed Winner
One of the new betting games is to bet on the loser of a game. When I visited the siding plant four weeks ago and toured several model homes that had this new siding product, I knew instantly that the company had a guaranteed winner.
This revolutionary vinyl siding solved several problems that traditional vinyl could not seem to escape from. First, the solid core siding is surprisingly realistic. It simply looks like wood siding. The company achieved this by removing the characteristic bow or curl you often see in vinyl siding. They also increased the depth of the product so the shadow line of the overlaps look deeper.
The solid core nature of the product also solves the flimsy or rattle problem. Touch or push against any other hollow vinyl siding and you think of the little pig who built with straw in the Three Little Pigs fable.
The solid foam core, by default, solved the energy issue. No other vinyl siding could ever say it saved energy. This new product, with its integral foam core, has an R-value of 4.0. It is indeed in a class all by itself.
Quit Teasing Me Tim!
Okay, so now I have you all hot and bothered and you are tired of waiting to see who makes it. Would it be a surprise if I told you that the company that makes this siding was the original manufacturer of vinyl siding? It is made by Crane Plastics Inc. based in Columbus, Ohio. They have renamed the product and have removed the word vinyl from its name. They prefer to call it: CraneBoard.
An interesting fact is that for many years the folks at Crane made siding for other companies. They were a jobber in my opinion. They just cranked out siding and pretty much kept to themselves. As soon as they had the idea for this product, someone in the company figured out that they better keep this to themselves and sell it exclusively. It was a brilliant decision.
Not Far Behind
This new product hit the market in the spring of 2001. It didn't take long for other competitors to see what the Crane folks had seen 18 months before when they developed it. The other vinyl siding manufacturers are scrambling to bring a knock off product to the market. This is good! Why? Because it will cause all of the players to further refine the product. The first company that has produced a knock off is Norandex. They call their new siding Polar Wall Plus.
Related Column: The Next Generation Of Vinyl Siding - Solid Core
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