Source: REPLACEMENT CONTRACTOR Magazine
Publication date: July 1, 2005
By Jay Holtzman
Vinyl remains a small part of the $2.5 billion decking market, only 2%, according to research by Principia Partners, Exton, Pa., a business consultancy focused on building products. Principia lists vinyl's share of the $1.8 billion railing market slightly higher — about 6%. According to Ed Repak, director of construction and drafting for Archadeck, the biggest franchise operation in the deck-building industry, the number of Archadeck dealers who are installing vinyl is “pretty minimal.”
However, “a fair amount of railing and pergolas use vinyl because people want no maintenance,” Repak points out.
Original DrawbacksThe original vinyl decking materials came up short with consumers in several ways. They were expensive. Vinyl decks tended to be noisy — they often squeaked. The material was perceived as vulnerable to wear and damage from UV rays. And vinyl just didn't look like wood, which is what consumers want in non-wood decking.
While retaining their original strengths — a non-porous and therefore highly stain-resistant surface, color fastness, and virtually no maintenance requirements — vinyl decking materials have evolved significantly, manufacturers say. “We listened very hard to our customer base that said the product needed to be more like wood,” says Deron Manwaring.
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