Pros Turn to Low-Maintenance Trim for Added Curb AppealOrnamental Value

Many of Mayville, N.Y.’s 200-year-old homes are finished with old-fashioned, hard-to-find exterior beadboard trim. So when local custom builder Chris Keefe discovered that Versatex’s 1-inch-by-4-inch cellular PVC beadboard was both low-maintenance and proportionally correct, he was thrilled.

“It holds paint better [than wood] and it’s low-maintenance,”says the owner of Chris Keefe Builders. “When it’s painted, you aren’t going to [be able to] tell the difference whether it’s wood or Versatex on the home. When I find a product that mimics what the old-style beadboard used to be, I’m grinning.”

Even better, he isn’t getting callbacks. “When somebody calls you five years later and their paint isn’t holding or moisture is a problem? You don’t see that,”he says.

Indeed, as with decking, windows, and other building product categories, many pros are turning to low-maintenance materials for exterior trim. “Everyone’s looking for an alternative to wood,”says Rick Brinton, business manager for CertainTeed’s Restoration Millwork, a cellular PVC trim. Synthetic trim “looks like wood, it acts like wood, it cuts like wood, it fastens like wood,”he says, but it doesn’t absorb moisture, and insects don’t eat it.

Tracking Trim
Even in this housing slump, demand for alternative trim is growing strong, with manufacturers reporting double-digit growth. In its “Residential Siding and Exterior Trim 2006”study in the United States and Canada, consulting firm Principia Partners found the market for cellular PVC, fiber-cement, composite, and polystyrene trim, as well as urethane moldings, at around $500 million in factory-gate terms. The firm predicts cellular PVC trim to lead the way in growth through 2010, with about 13 percent compound annual growth, but builders and remodelers are turning to other synthetic materials as well.

Regardless of material, American homes are sporting more trim than ever before. The McMansion craze has led to palatial dwellings with a staggering number of windows and doors around which more trim is needed, says Peggie Bolan, director of marketing for CMI, maker of MiraTec treated exterior composite trim. Bigger homes also have extra porches and columns where trim can add to the curb appeal.

Shifting architectural trends also lend to detailed trimwork. “Architectural styles are now going back to a new urbanism or traditional look, where people are looking to put more trim and more ornate trim on their homes,”says Ralph Bruno, president of Azek.

Pricey Profiles
The question remains, however: How much is a homeowner willing to spend for a spruced-up home? Manufacturers agree that man-made products usually cost more than wood trim, but Keefe argues that with costs for cedar rising, alternative trim is becoming more competitive.

Plus, pros want to offer a complete low-maintenance exterior, says Julie Wanstedt, product manager for Fypon. “If a builder can put added value on the home, they may pay a little more up front,”but, she says, the lowered maintenance costs are worth it.

As homeowners become comfortable with alternative materials and realize that they last longer without repainting or maintenance, they’re willing to add more elaborate ornamentation, manufacturers say. “Now they can really go to town and know that the paint is going to hold for a long time,”says Patrick Shabal, national sales and marketing manager for Koma.

Trim Trends
To support the growing desire for ornamentation, more cellular PVC trim manufacturers are launching molding lines with decorative profiles made from the same material as their trimboards. Some millwork shops even specialize in creating custom profiles, and manufacturers are offering thicker board options to accommodate elaborate profiles.

And with realistic wood-grains all the rage, especially in the West, almost every manufacturer also offers a wood-look option.