Four Eco-Friendly Reasons to Choose Vinyl Cladding

A new facade on your home can provide a nice facelift. Cladding is needed for more than just appearances, though, since it also protects your home against the elements. If the environment is at the forefront of your priorities, then consider vinyl cladding.

1. Low Manufacturing Footprint

Unlike wood cladding and shingling, there is no need to cut down trees to create vinyl cladding. The manufacturing process also requires minimal energy during production compared to other cladding options, such as brick, stone, and mortar. Very little is taken from the environment and no mining nor quarries are needed to produce vinyl. Add this to the fact that vinyl weighs much less, which leads to less fuel use and lower emissions during the transportation process of moving the cladding from the factory to your home.

2. Better Insulation Options

Good wall insulation decreases home energy use, which is good for the environment. With solid cladding like brick or wood, the inherent insulation qualities of the material are all you get. It's simply not possible to add further insulation to these materials, so the only way to increase insulation is to add it to the sometimes limited interior wall cavities. Vinyl cladding is thin with a hollow underside. This creates the perfect opportunity to increase the insulation with foam insulation boards. Many types of vinyl cladding are available that already have these insulation boards pre-installed.

3. Minimum Maintenance Impact

Maintenance doesn't just cost you money and time, it can also have a deleterious effect on the environment. Frequent painting can introduce volatile chemicals and compounds into the environment, tainting soil, water, and air quality. Fancy cleaners can do the same. Vinyl cladding never needs to be painted because the colour is mixed right into the vinyl itself. The material is fade and damage resistant, which means it is less likely to need repairs that will see much of the material ending up in a landfill. Further, cleaning can usually be accomplished with little more than a sharp spray of water to rinse off the dust and any mould growth. 

4. Fully Recyclable

One issue with cladding options is that once a replacement is necessary, the old cladding ends up being landfilled. Vinyl has the benefit of being fully recyclable. Both the minimal amount of scraps and offcuts from installation, as well as the cladding at the end of its working life, can be recycled and turned into new vinyl products with very little waste.

Contact a vinyl cladding expert to learn more about your options. 

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