Rigid vinyl can be considered as a highly versatile thermoplastic, finding its way into many different applications. Vinyl's capacity for innovation is virtually limitless, thanks in part to advances in formulation additives, which have enlarged vinyl's processing and end-use performance capabilities. The importance of formulating is particularly evident in rigid cellular PVC, which can be extruded into a variety of shapes, such as profile, pipe, and sheet, all made with less PVC than their solid counterparts. The sheet application can be especially challenging, and it has been made the subject of this paper. The various types of extrusion processes, formulations, and uses for rigid cellular PVC sheet that are found in North America and Europe are compared. The effect of certain types of formulation ingredients on sheet density, surface, and impact strength is described. Reference is made to coextrusion of solid/cellular PVC layers as an economically feasible approach to handling industrial regrind PVC.

Vinyl siding, particularly in darker colors, has to be durable and be able to retain most of its original color when exposed outdoors. As the color palette for vinyl siding has been expanding and more and more colors are being offered to the homeowner, the need exists to improve color hold. A new acrylic capstock polymer, based on core‐shell technology, which can be coextruded onto vinyl siding, has been shown to provide excellent color retention, with good processability, impact and impact retention, and suitable gloss. The properties of this new capstock polymer are compared to other choices for capping vinyl siding. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 13:26–30, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.

Rigid vinyl foam can currently be found in applications such as profile, sheet, and foam core pipe, but it is still a curiosity in house siding and other wood replacement applications. This paper looks at the potential for vinyl foam as an alternative for wood, comparing its end‐use capabilities. In addition, the various types of extrusion processes, and formulations, are compared, and the effect of certain types of formulation ingredients on density, surface quality, and other physical properties are described.

The Canadian development of vinyl windows is described. The comparison of competitive window construction materials is made. Canadian standards and test methods are reported. A large increase in the market for PVC windows is projected for Canada. The availability of dark color windows by the capstock process, both from PVC‐wood and PVC‐aluminum composites, will stimulate this market.