Vinyl Siding Fire

As vinyl siding ages it continues to release low levels of the same harmful chemicals that were produced during the manufacturing process.

Vinyl siding fire.

Fire safety characteristics of vinyl siding. It also tends to last for many years and will look beautiful on just about any home. In this case the radiant fire exposure was from a neighbor s home approximately 50 ft away that ignited and burned to the ground. The reason for this is that it s the most abundant type and usually the most affordable.

Vinyl siding won t sustain combustion once the other combustible materials have been consumed. Vinyl siding is plastic exterior siding for houses and small apartment buildings used for decoration and weatherproofing imitating wood clapboard board and batten or shakes and used instead of other materials such as aluminum or fiber cement siding it is an engineered product manufactured primarily from polyvinyl chloride pvc resin. Vinyl is the most popular type of siding for residential homes in the united states. Vinyl siding is more difficult than many other building materials to ignite because it is composed mainly of pvc which is inherently flame retardant due to its chlorine base.

Performance of vinyl clad exterior walls will largely depend on the performance of the underlying sheathing if present. Vinyl also known as pvc or polyvinyl chloride starts with two simple building blocks. An alternative to vinyl siding fiber cement a mixture of cement sand and wood fibers manages to achieve very high fire resistance without sacrificing convenience and durability. The downside though is that it s one of the least fire resistant.

Aluminum siding t 111 plywood and vinyl siding. Siding with safety understanding the fire performance benefits of vinyl siding. Fiber cement siding won t ignite burn or melt when exposed to either heat or flames. Facts about vinyl siding according to fire rescue.

However if your house catches fire the siding will release high levels of lethal chemical vapors. Vinyl siding is fire resistant harder to ignite and easier to extinguish. Plus vinyl siding is approved for use in all types of construct1 including ion non combustible rated structures up to 40 feet tall one hour fire rated assemblies wild fire zones and other fire resistive construction. Pvc has one of the lowest flame spread.

Chlorine 57 from common salt and ethylene 43 from natural. A report published by fire engineering pointed to a national institute of standards and technology nist study by dan madryzkowski which compared the combustibility of three siding materials. The difference though is how the product holds up to heat. In the uk and new zealand a similar material is known.

Many homeowners looking for a fire resistant house siding may consider products such as vinyl which are technically non flammable as well.