Vinyl Siding Yes/No

[Highbeam]

Lot's of drinking water comes through a PVC pipe too, and even more sewer runs through PVC. If you have a plasticphobia then you might as well climb into a cave. Oh my goodness, this keyboard is plastic, the mouse, ack I need to hold my breath.

 

[Skerby]

I haven't read ALL the replies, so I may be repeating. But from what I understand the PVC is not a problem as it doesn't get into your system as vinyl siding right? I know i ran CPVC (expensive pvc for drinking water) under my paver bricks so i could drink water from it if i wanted to, or water for the pet. You don't use PCV (pipe) for drinking water as i gather some may free up from erosion and you'll consume it. I used to work at Congoleum Corporation.. I used to watch people dump 50lb bags of PVC dust into the 'mix' machines (cancer warnings on the pvc bags).. with a silly little dust mask, probably not osha compliant these days.. Yes it causes cancer, but thats only in the state of california, right?

 

[schmism]

Yes it causes cancer, but thats only in the state of california, right?

ya but only if you feed the rat twice its body weight in PVC dust a day for a year.

as for my experience with vinyl sideing

its ok if its installed right. if not expect problems with it getting blown off the house, warping etc.

 

[MossRoad]

NUKE THE WHALES!!!

Just kidding. There are plenty of things to worry about in this world. Burning plastic is not tops on my priority list, while me burning up in my house is. Good smoke detectors and a practiced emergency plan will probably keep "death by plastic" from happening. Everything is made from something else, like cement from rocks, boards from trees and plastics from all kinds of stuff. There really is no "green" way to build a home, as some part of the environment suffers, no matter what you do. You can, however, build your home with a minimum effect on the environment through the materials you use and the insulation you put in it to cut down on energy costs.

We have an 80 year old house with a 50 year old addition. It had cedar shake siding that required paint every couple of years. What was the best thing for me to do? 25 gallons of paint every 2-3 years over the life of the house? Even every 5 years that would be 500 gallons of paint over a hundred years. What's the environmental impact of paint production? Where did all that paint go? Now look at the environmental impact of the vinyl siding. I sided the house 10 years ago. It still looks like new. I expect it to look like new in 10 more years. I expect it to last 40-50 years at least. That probably saved 250 gallons of paint, chips, cleanup fluids, etc...

 

[MossRoad]

But the strange thing is that there are 4 houses on the same block with vinyl siding. The siding on 2 is over 45 years old and were the first houses in the area to have vinyl siding and have never mildewed. The other 2 are only a few years old and mildew bad every year. They face the same direction, have the same vegetation around them and should get equal amounts of moisture and sunlight. What I was wondering is, if the 45 year old vinyl had been treated with something to keep it from mildewing and if this treatment had been taken off the market for environmental reasons.

My guess is there is not good ventilation behind the siding, so behind the siding there is also probably mold.

 

[SLOBuds]

We have an 80 year old house with a 50 year old addition. It had cedar shake siding that required paint every couple of years. What was the best thing for me to do? 25 gallons of paint every 2-3 years over the life of the house? Even every 5 years that would be 500 gallons of paint over a hundred years. What's the environmental impact of paint production? Where did all that paint go? Now look at the environmental impact of the vinyl siding. I sided the house 10 years ago. It still looks like new. I expect it to look like new in 10 more years. I expect it to last 40-50 years at least. That probably saved 250 gallons of paint, chips, cleanup fluids, etc...

A compelling argument, MossRoad. And your 'saved parts list', above, doesn't include the largest part which is labor - including the energy devices we use to apply those parts.

 

[BobRip]

Here is background information about the published issues.

I'm sorry to post a link which is so clearly 'green-biased,' but many other more neutral sites - except the vinyl manufacturers - also refer to the safety issues discussed here. Though not in such extreme.

Vinyl Exam: Eliminating PVC in Your Home — Washington Toxics Coaltion

The issues have to do with off-gassing during manufacture of the vinyl material, and off-gassing through the life of the product itself, and toxicity of gasses from the material when it burns.

I have found nothing from the manufactures which out-and-out deny these statements. Or even to diminsh them. But on the other hand, if the material were so toxic, the government would have it banned.

So that's why I am asking. Vinyl is significantly less expensive and more durable than many other materials. I just want to know opinions from other folks.

Thanks.

I could ask the question "Has anyone decided to use vinyl siding instead of painting because of the outgassing of painting and the many times you have to paint which spikes up the outgassing at each painting?". I think the best determination of environmental impact is life cycle cost. The lower this is the fewer materials and thus the less the environmental impact. If the painter has to drive to your house this generates pollution. If this does not reflect true cost then it is probably because the government is subsidizing something. Look for lowest life cycle cost and do yourself and the environment a favor.

 

[2nstonge]

What was the best thing for me to do? 25 gallons of paint every 2-3 years over the life of the house? Even every 5 years that would be 500 gallons of paint over a hundred years. What's the environmental impact of paint production? Where did all that paint go? Now look at the environmental impact of the vinyl siding. I sided the house 10 years ago. It still looks like new. I expect it to look like new in 10 more years. I expect it to last 40-50 years at least. That probably saved 250 gallons of paint, chips, cleanup fluids, etc...

There's nothing wrong with your logic, it just may not be as pure as you think.
As I said in an earlier post - I do a few jobs each summer painting old vinyl siding for customers. Because the vinyl expands and contracts more the paint doesn't last as long as it does on wood (or hardi). So, I have to paint vinyl houses more often. Maybe with newer technology todays vinyl will hold its original finish longer, maybe not. Time will tell.

-Norm

 

[MossRoad]

There's nothing wrong with your logic, it just may not be as pure as you think.
As I said in an earlier post - I do a few jobs each summer painting old vinyl siding for customers. Because the vinyl expands and contracts more the paint doesn't last as long as it does on wood (or hardi). So, I have to paint vinyl houses more often. Maybe with newer technology todays vinyl will hold its original finish longer, maybe not. Time will tell.

-Norm

My siding is the same color all the way through. Never needs painting. Of course, I better enjoy that color for a looooong time!

I also know about the rapid expansion and contraction of vinyl siding. On warm, sunny mornings I can hear it moving. Many times siding is not installed properly. They nail it tight to the backing, rather than loosely. That's why it has slots, not holes, to nail through. Lots of folks don't know about that when they install it.

 

[Kubotasrking]

Most of the items in your house will be toxic if you burn them. The bottles that your soda (pop/tonic) is also toxic if you burn it. Your monitor of your computer contains a lot of lead, and your computer itself has lots of harmful things inside of it if you burn it. Tell me what isn't toxic today in one form or another? Dusty

Some forms of hazardous materials are okay for the "green" folks, but only if they use them.