I have always been a person that loves to make their home look nice, inside and out. The spring of 2020 presented me with the unique opportunity to spend three months at home working on my house, and in that time I learned about the amazing usage of PVC for home exteriors.
I didn’t know much about home exteriors before doing my own so I decided to do some research. In the process, I came across an overwhelming amount of people talking about using PVC instead of wood on the exterior of their house. At first, I did not know what to think, I thought PVC was only used for pipes and whatnot, I was wrong. In recent years, PVC rafter tails, columns, brackets, ceilings, etc. have become increasingly popular.
What I learned about PVC Rafter tails
Here are a few things I learned while researching the use of PVC for exteriors. PVC building products last longer and is easier to maintain than traditional wood, which has made it a popular choice. Many people have been switching to the use of PVC for many exterior pieces. I decided to start with rafter tails on my house. The use of PVC rafter tails is the perfect way to emulate traditional timber frame construction, without many of the required tools. In timber-framed construction, the rafter is a series of parallel beams used to support the sheathing or roof decking. The rafter tail is the exposed end that creates the perimeter overhang of a home or building. The life cycle of PVC rafter tails can be a lifetime, but they will require proper installation, maintenance, and care. As long as they are installed correctly, used as a structural element, and painted or finished correctly they will have this awesome, low maintenance, very durable, and long-lasting life cycle.
I decided after reading all of this to give some PVC parts a try. I started with a few rafter tails before going totally headfirst into the idea. I decided to go with HB Elements to get my PVC parts as they were the easiest to talk to and seemed to be most knowledgeable on the subject. The installation looked almost too easy, it took almost no time at all to get my rafter tails installed. After enjoying the experience with the rafter tails, I decided to replace all of them with HB Elements PVC rafter tails. The process of getting them installed was seamless, with no stress on my end at all. They have maintained their look over the first few months and look brand new still.
If anyone is questioning how to go about some exterior home renovations, I would encourage them to check out the Ultimate Guide to Rafter Tails. From the cost, to installation, to look, the PVC rafter tails were definitely the right move for me.