tcianci
Well-known member
Over the past few seasons, there has been an increase in the number of customers who are asking for Azek or other PVC trim on their projects. Just like any other new material, there is a learning curve so I thought I would pass on a few things that I have learned and hopefully you guys will chime in and tell us what you have learned about using the stuff. So here they are in no particular order.
Wear a mask, not only will this scare the neighbors but it will protect your lungs.
Cut on a hard surface or if you work on the lawn, set out a tarp. The sawdust doesn't just rot into the ground like wood, so you need to make it easy to scoop up.
Plan your job well, it's too expensive to waste.
Remember that you or your customer may not want to paint the stuff so work clean: don't walk all over it on the job site, be careful with your layout, if you lay out your cuts from the back side, there are no pencil marks to clean up after. Speaking of pencil marks, the stuff is soft so leaning on it with a pencil will emboss the surface.
I have found that typical jobsite grime that gets on it will come off beautifully with one of those Mr. Clean magic erasers and the nastier stuff, like pencil marks comes off with a damp rag and SoftScrub.
The product glues beautifully with PVC cement but again, if you are not going to paint it, work clean...tape both sides of any glued joint with masking tape that you can peel off after the cement is set.
Gaffes can be filled with Bond N Fill product, it is specially formulated for PVC.
One of the details that can be a pain is rake trim. Typically you **** two plumb cuts together at the peak of your rake trim. With PVC, you are better off to let one cut "run by" the other, that is to say run one piece up and cut it off at the angle of the adjacent roof plane. Then, run the other piece up and into the first one, cutting the appropriate angle on that piece as well. Because the first piece runs by the 2nd one, you minimumize the change in gap between the 2 boards. This stuff can creep an eigth of an inch or more in temperature shifts. Times that by 2 boards and you can go from no gap to a good quarter inch on a joint as it goes from shade to sun. The run by tecnique generally cuts the gapping by about half since almost all of the expansion and contraction is along the long dimension of the board. Then run your 1x2 "bead" with the joints running the opposite way, don't nail the bead to the opposite rake at the peak, The 1x2 covers the shifting in length of the rake board on the adjacent roof plane, just let the rake slide under it as it moves. It's a good idea not to make these joints too tight to begin with and plan for using the appropriate bonding caulk which is designed for PVC expansion joints. In the past I have actually milled little "T" moulding pieces to attach to one side of a rake trim **** joint so that the joint stays covered when it moves. Now it is a standard PVC accessory but with this tecnique you don't need to go there at all.
Lastly, save your cut offs, you can glue the stuff up into many useful things, most notably Plinth blocks that you can use when you cut off rotted exterior door casings to do repairs.
Lets hear what you have learned!!
Wear a mask, not only will this scare the neighbors but it will protect your lungs.
Cut on a hard surface or if you work on the lawn, set out a tarp. The sawdust doesn't just rot into the ground like wood, so you need to make it easy to scoop up.
Plan your job well, it's too expensive to waste.
Remember that you or your customer may not want to paint the stuff so work clean: don't walk all over it on the job site, be careful with your layout, if you lay out your cuts from the back side, there are no pencil marks to clean up after. Speaking of pencil marks, the stuff is soft so leaning on it with a pencil will emboss the surface.
I have found that typical jobsite grime that gets on it will come off beautifully with one of those Mr. Clean magic erasers and the nastier stuff, like pencil marks comes off with a damp rag and SoftScrub.
The product glues beautifully with PVC cement but again, if you are not going to paint it, work clean...tape both sides of any glued joint with masking tape that you can peel off after the cement is set.
Gaffes can be filled with Bond N Fill product, it is specially formulated for PVC.
One of the details that can be a pain is rake trim. Typically you **** two plumb cuts together at the peak of your rake trim. With PVC, you are better off to let one cut "run by" the other, that is to say run one piece up and cut it off at the angle of the adjacent roof plane. Then, run the other piece up and into the first one, cutting the appropriate angle on that piece as well. Because the first piece runs by the 2nd one, you minimumize the change in gap between the 2 boards. This stuff can creep an eigth of an inch or more in temperature shifts. Times that by 2 boards and you can go from no gap to a good quarter inch on a joint as it goes from shade to sun. The run by tecnique generally cuts the gapping by about half since almost all of the expansion and contraction is along the long dimension of the board. Then run your 1x2 "bead" with the joints running the opposite way, don't nail the bead to the opposite rake at the peak, The 1x2 covers the shifting in length of the rake board on the adjacent roof plane, just let the rake slide under it as it moves. It's a good idea not to make these joints too tight to begin with and plan for using the appropriate bonding caulk which is designed for PVC expansion joints. In the past I have actually milled little "T" moulding pieces to attach to one side of a rake trim **** joint so that the joint stays covered when it moves. Now it is a standard PVC accessory but with this tecnique you don't need to go there at all.
Lastly, save your cut offs, you can glue the stuff up into many useful things, most notably Plinth blocks that you can use when you cut off rotted exterior door casings to do repairs.
Lets hear what you have learned!!