Cladding and Profile Applications of Polymers in Housing Construction

2 Cladding and Profile Applications of Polymers in Housing Construction 

Larger claddings are usually prepared from polyester based GFRP. There is also a trend for the use of cladding panels made of phenolics as their excellent flame resistances are considered, in particular for public structures (like railway - airport terminals, hospitals, and schools). 

Use of plastics materials in profiles in construction, mainly in fenestration applications such as windows and doors, which replaces the use of aluminium, wood or steel, gives rise to better energy efficiency, aesthetics, low maintenance and design flexibility, in addition to the economy. Introduction of new extrusion techniques in plastics processing have also helped to promote the use of plastics in profile applications. In the USA, demand for plastic windows and doors are expected to grow by more than 7% through 2007 (currently 2% of all window and door demand in USA in plastic) to give a market share of 6.2 billion US in the USA [25]. 

PVC-U has been in use for many years for the manufacture of window frames, particularly, for double glazed windows. There are substitutes, such as PP and styrenics (ABS with acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA) capstock) and wood composite alternatives, however, PVC is still the strongest and alternatives seem to complement it. 

Several advantages of using plastics window frames are  

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