"fake" wood on the exterior

[JJM]

Well. after 17 years, it has come time to replace the brick moulding and the rest of the trim around the front door and garage. I was in the Depot and saw what they were selling as solid 3/4" "vinyl" to be used in place of pine for the exterior. Expensive at about $18 for a

10' length that is 8" wide but if I never have to worry about rot, etc. perhaps it may be worth it.

As expected, no one there could answer my questions so here goes...

I need to paint it to match the house. Does it need to be primed or just put on the finish coat?

Fasten with finish nails or construction adhesive?

Thanks in advance.

[B a r r y]

Great stuff!

I used wide headed, galvanized roofing / siding nails, some of the trim included instructions stating to use them. Finish nails go right through the shell into the foam center and don't hold well.

Any good exterior latex should work fine right on the plastic. A local paint store recommended no primer, and my trim and plastic shutters have held paint well. I'll never go back to painted wood exterior trim. The PVC stuff is awesome.

Barry

[Phil at small (vs at large)]

Don't know about the vinyl-- How about using hardy trim? I think it comes in various thicknesses & widths & is concrete based-- Use nails or screws-- prime with concrete primer & paint as usual-- also I think a lot less expensive than vinyl Phil jus my 2 c

[Patriarch]

JJM wrote in news:uplb51haglulptkqg3j41otuv65i5136r2 @4ax.com:

You ought to be able to get instructions from the manufacturer's web site.

While you are at it, you might want to check with a builders' supply yard in the area, for their recommendation on a competing product. They _may_ have more information/selection for you.

There was a recent review of such materials in Fine Homebuilding, which included suitability, fastening and finishing recommendations on 7 or 8 products.

And "This Old House" used similar materials on their latest project. Their website has resource guides to the products they used.

Good luck. Save the wood for the places it's most appropriate.

Patriarch

[Jim]

I have no experience painting it, but I would try to find out how much it moves. I know vinyl siding moves an amazing amount - pieces can vary by inches depending on the temperature. I don't think the plastic moves nearly as much, about the same as wood (guess) but I'd still go with a high quality latex, no primer.

I have used the trim in only a couple of places so far, both bathrooms. I have a window in the center of my tub, so even with a shower curtain over the window, I needed to replace the funky wood moulding when I remodeled. (Should have done it sooner. ) It has held up well for the year or so it's been in place. The caulk is holding tight. Ditto for the basement bathroom floor molding - no caulk there, though.

I used long, aluminium white siding trim nails to hold it in place. They have some head to them & the moulding is white so... It worked out well. I did start the holes with an awl, but they drove fine after that.

Any voids behind the trim & the stuff cracked much easier than wood, so you want to watch for that. I certainly would use it rather than wood outside.

Jim