PVC or Composite? Exterior Window Sills
ArchiMark
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I have an entire house to trim and side. While the siding will be typical pre-finished cement board I am wondering what the best trim option would be? Particularly for the window sills. PVC? Composite?
I will be pre-fabricating the window trim in a traditional style and fastening the sill, sides and head with a Kreg jig and screws.
Why do so many builders insist on simple picture frame trim? It looks awful. I sit on our local design review board and we constantly have to point it out and or reject it.
Any input is much appreciated.
Mark in Madison
Replies
i have mira tec on my house. i think it's a whole lot better than pine,but after 5 years i have one pc starting to go bad at the end on a dormer. so i don't think it's going to prove out to be the "50 year miracle product either"
i just did a bunch of replacement sills in pvc. now i find that it's not suppose to be painted dark brown...........
but if it will hold paint well [10,15,20 yrs] i think it may be a really good trim product.time will tell. would be easy to pre fab with kreg screws and pvc glue.
the older i get ,
the more people tick me off
Just pulled a ton of 5/4 X 12 Miratec off a house on Sanibel. What a mess. Even where it hadn't reverted to wood flour the joints were all swollen and looked terrible. 12 year old house.
We replaced it all with Trex Trim PVC which is what I'd use to make sills.
did you ever notice how todays miracle product ,down the road a few years is just like all the other?wasn't mira tec suppose to be a 50 year deal? they displayed it in a bucket of water,must of been ok since it wasn't getting air to it.
i keep waiting for the hardi board shoe to drop. can you imagine if they come up with it's a hazardous product like asbestos siding?the older i get ,
the more people tick me off
Exactly. I think Hardi is different since it has been in use in Australia for at least 25 years so we know it will last that long. nasty stuff to work with though.
Re: bad MiratecHad the ends been primed prior to install?If yes, did it fail because of 1) bad install or 2) bad product?********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I'd say both. I've never installed it because I was never able to believe that a product made from wood flour could possibly last. When I first started working here in south Florida 35 years ago we were putting up Upson Board (cardboard), the latest and greatest, soffit and fascia. I know of one house that still has it because the owner inspects it constantly and paints it annually. We were told it was going to revolutionize trim. My problem is with any product that needs carpenters do something extra to make it work. Trim work down here is a specialty trade. The more time you take the less money you make. That guarantees that it won't be installed correctly so in my mind it's a poor choice.I think the only trim I've installed in the last 35 years that has actually lasted was clear redwood which we can't even get anymore. I have great hopes for solid PVC trim but I'm smart enough to be skeptical.
Edited 9/18/2009 3:22 pm ET by florida
Here, if I provide the actual window dims or the window oprder sheet, I can have Azec ext trims made up at factory to apply as a unit - not that I have done it yet. But for instance if I list four windows that are all Andersen C235, they will look up the size details and make four trim frames and ship in a cardboard box.
Not sure who the assembly company is, perhaps Brosco. One of my lumberyards has been pushing this idea.
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Why do so many builders insist on simple picture frame trim? It looks awful. I sit on our local design review board and we constantly have to point it out and or reject it.
Man this hit a sore spot of mine. Design review boards and their power granted from "god"
Isn't that kinda of a basic nonqualifying statement? I have seen many homes that it suits the design of the home. Maybe not on a French Normandie. Not everything has to be over the top.
I sit on our local design review board and we constantly have to point it out and or reject it.
Can you explain your boards rejection process?
I'm building on 6 1/2 acres in a rural area. The home is a contemporary ranch with a Japanese flavor. It will look like nothing around me and I would hate to think review board would reject my design because it is "ugly" to them.
My BIL sets on the planning and zoning board in our county. He is a technology instructor at the high school and retired from the coast guard, with no experience in design or building anything. Yet, he is on the design review committee.
Does becoming a beauracrate automatically confure some special knowledge on people that other wise couldn't identify half the tools in on my truck, or design a dog house?