Exterior trim molding is a small but critical design element for your home or business. Essentially, trim and molding are two words that are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference between the two. Trim is an umbrella term for any material used to cover openings in your building. These moldings include baseboards and wainscoting or, for interior and exterior uses, door and window casings. On the other hand, molding is a form of trim that has a more elaborate and decorative profile. While exterior molding has no structural support purpose, it gives your home a distinctive style.
Functions of Exterior Trim Molding
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Exterior trim molding covers the space between two connecting surfaces around doors, windows, or any other seams on your building’s exterior. By covering the openings, exterior trim molding helps protect your home against pests, wind, and moisture, increasing your home’s durability. However, exterior trim molding is not just about function, but also about style. Exterior trim and molding give your home a more finished look and help define your exterior’s architectural style. Using intricately detailed trim molding can give a home or business an elegant look, while straight edges and lines lend themselves to a classic presence, all while maintaining functionality.
A great example is soffits, which are found under your home’s eaves and protect the lower roof from wind and rain while guarding the attic against pests. Additionally, drip caps on doors and windows have a defined edge that makes water drip off by reducing its surface tension. Similarly, rain gutters can also consist of plastic trim and direct water away from a building and its foundation.
Exterior trim molding was previously only available in wood, but advancements in construction technology have introduced synthetic materials that produce exterior vinyl window trim molding, PVC exterior trim, and PVC window trim, among others.
Benefits of PVC Exterior Trim
Builders used wood for a long time as the preferred material for exterior trim molding. However, there is an increase in demand for better materials. The biggest drawback of wood trim is that it is not moisture-proof, which means it can get wet and mold, rot, or warp when exposed to constant water. Splitting is another concern with wood, as are insects, which can damage wood trim as well. In general, wood trim is very expensive, both for the material itself and in maintenance or replacement costs.
PVC window trim and exterior vinyl window trim molding are among the newer types of trims manufactured to address the drawbacks of wood. The plastic profile molding process, which came about in 1820, is the technology behind PVC trim. To create PVC exterior trim, raw thermoplastic feeds into an extrusion barrel using a top-mounted hopper. The molten plastic then pushes through a 2D die opening to help the plastic keep its shape during cooling.
As compared to wood trim, PVC trim is:
- Cost-effective
- Customizable
- Easy to shape and install
- Lightweight
- Long-lasting
- Lower maintenance
- Stain and chip resistant
- Weather-resistant
PVC trim also has the benefit of pliability along with its strength, lending it to applications in home and business architecture. Also, during the plastic profile molding process, we can utilize UV inhibitors, colorants, and other additives to increase the functionality and aesthetic appeal of the plastic.
PVC Trim Molding From BD Custom Manufacturing, Inc.
As construction technology advances, cheaper, more durable materials are replacing wood trim. Exterior vinyl window trim molding and PVC exterior trim are becoming the preferred materials for trims. BD Custom Manufacturing has been producing high-quality molded PVC and polyethylene since 1993. We are ISO 9001:2015 certified, and BD Custom aims to fill a void in the extruded plastics market for small-scale customers through small production runs, quick lead times, and quality control.
BD Custom is renowned for custom-designed tooling and custom plastic extrusion that encompasses plastic trim molding, PVC edge trim, custom plastic tubing and piping, and more. Visit our website today to request a quote, or contact us to talk to any of our representatives for further clarification on PVC exterior trim molding.