Melting Vinyl Siding

[Mark Haupt]

Okay gang...here's one for the books.

The back of my house is sided in vinyl. The remainder of the house is brick.

The chimney sticks out about 3 feet from the back of the house. There is a window just to the left of the chimney.

Well, the vinyl on the chimney that is level with the window is melting.

My first thought was heat leakage from the fireplace.

Well, that's not the case because the area in question is bone cold with the fireplace running at full bore.

This past weekend I was outside at high noon, EST. It was a bright and sunny day.

What I saw was the sun reflecting off the window putting a line of high heat sunlight about 1 inch wide and about 3 feet long...the length of the melted siding. I could put a fingure on the siding and hold it there for less than 5 seconds...it was that hot. The window is somehow acting as a magnifying glass. The other oddity is this only happens in the winter. I'm guessing due to the seasonal changes in the position of Sun.

You would have to see it to believe it. Everyone I've talked with has never heard of this before.

I need to replace the vinyl but I don't know what to do with the window to prevent damage to the new vinyl.

Any insight is welcome.

[Joseph Meehan]

Yea, it is possible. I have a sort of new home For years I have had a section of lawn in the back yard that would turn brown every summer. About three feet by three inches. I figured it was a piece of wood left there by the builder. The area also had a lot of underground wiring there so I left it alone.

Last summer I was mowing the grass and realized that there was a reflection on that spot. What do you know, one of my windows was reflecting and focusing the light and as the sun moved it followed the dead grass line.

Easy fix for me. I took the sash out and traded it for one from another window. The new flatter glass does not cause a problem.

[DT]

My dining room window does something similar in the winter. The glass is slightly dished and reflects a perfect "X" onto the separate garage about 40 feet away. Looks like a skull and crossbones at first glance.

DT

[m Ransley]

If it gets that hot it may ignite.

[Anonymous]

-- I AM NOT PARANOID .. .. .. but EVERYONE thinks I am !! !! !!

[Steve]

I'd get rid of the vinyl and keep the window..

Seriously, vinyl siding is crap.. So are vinyl windows.. Neither last long enough to be worthy of the salesmen's claims..

I was at a friends house on the patio and we were doing a BBG.. The unit was clear out to the extreme edge of the covered patio and the heat (no flames) was rising, following the patio cover to the highest point, next to the house.. A distance of 16 ft from the BBG..

You guessed it.. The siding began melting up along the point where the patio cover joined the house..

We tried to duplicate the situation for the insurance adjuster and the siding was melting at about 180 degrees. The temp of your hot water system (unless you have small children).

[Larry Davick]

Moving to a southern climate would help...

[Joseph Meehan]

You are welcome to your opinions, but millions of people have and like vinyl siding. It is very low maintenance and generally looks good. Like all products some is better than others and poor installation can mess up the best product. It is one of many good choices.

As for 180º water, that is a bad idea. For domestic hot water it is a danger at that setting, and also tends to reduce the life of the water heater. The only excuse for using it is an undersized water heater or a dishwasher/detergent combination that can't operate at standard water temperatures.

Yes vinyl has some down sides, as does every form of siding. Everyone who owns it or is considering it should be made aware of its sensitivity to heat. However I find it difficult to believe that 16 foot from a barbeque would damage the siding. That sounds like a little stretching of the truth.

[Goedjn]

You missed the significance of the many-feet up, under the overhang. The problem wasn't the radiated heat from the barbeque, it was exhaust gasses getting trapped under the eave.

[Carney]

Must've been one hell of a BBQ for the heat to travel 16ft and retain that temperature especially if open aired patio. I take it this was not only a covered patio but also an enclosed area? BTW, vinyl will distort at 160-165 degrees.

[Carney]

Excellent solution

[Mark]

Ahhh. Someone else who's never owned it.

You keep painting every 3-5 years while I enjoy my life for the next 20 or so until I have to deal with my "crap vinyl".