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.
Pete Mulder, owner of Mulder Exteriors in Kalamazoo, Mich., says his company crafts window surrounds, sunbursts, corbels, radiuses, and crown moldings from CertainTeed’s Restoration Millwork cellular PVC trim for a custom look—even in historic renovations. “We can go into historic districts with it and duplicate historical styles,”he says.
Builder Keefe says that beyond columns and gingerbread trim, the ability to create radiuses and curves with the trimboard is one of the most popular trends. “We can actually heat this product, go around the radius, and you don’t have joints,”he says. “That is just awesome to me.” -- BUILDING PRODUCTS
Plastic and composite trims aren’t the only alternative to all-wood products. Made of wood fiber, cement, sand, and water, fiber-cement trim is a durable, low-maintenance option, according to Chris Clark, trim business manager for James Hardie. Here is a sampling of fiber-cement trim options:
 |  |  |
| Masisa. Primed on six sides, Plycem fiber-cement exterior trim comes with a choice of a smooth or a reversible smooth-and-textured surface. Machined square edges ensure a clean look and smooth finish, the maker says. The product installs with the same tools traditionally used for building with wood products, the company adds. 770-405-2600. www.plycemtrim.com. | Nichiha. Available smooth or with cedar texture, NichiTrim fiber-cement boards are factory primed and sealed for a long-lasting appearance, according to the manufacturer. The boards are moisture-resistant, rot-resistant, and termite-resistant, the maker adds. They come in 1- and 1 ¼-inch thicknesses and six profiles: 3 ½-inch, 5 ½-inch, 7 ¼-inch, 7 ½-inch, 11 ¼-inch, and 11 ½-inch. 866-424-4421. www.nichiha.com. | James Hardie. HardieTrim fiber-cement trimboards are pre-primed with PrimePlus sealer and primer. This process ensures uniform coverage of sealer and primer, providing an excellent surface for paints, according to the manufacturer. The boards are available in lengths of 10 feet or 12 feet and thicknesses of 7/16, ¾, 1, or 1 ½ inches. The planks are available smooth or with a rustic grain texture. 888-542-7343. www.jameshardie.com. |
| Koma. The Allure collection of extruded moldings, produced with the same celuka technology as the company’s trimboards, features nine types of standard moldings and four specialized versions. The moldings are meant to complement the manufacturer’s trim products, the firm adds, and feature profiles that eliminate the time and labor involved in routing plain boards for a given project. 800-330-2239. www.koma trimboards.com. |  |
 | Berger Building Products. The manufacturer’s trimboards are flat, rigid boards cut from extruded solid foamed PVC sheets. The boards can be used for applications such as fascias, rake boards, frieze boards, decorative columns, and casings. They will not rot, swell, or split, the maker says. The boards are available in smooth and wood-grain finishes in a variety of dimensions. 800-523-8852. www.bergerbros.com. |
| CMI. Combining the performance characteristics of composite materials with the workability and appearance of wood, MiraTec treated exterior composite trim is produced using a sealed press, steam-injected method that creates a trimboard that is one solid piece. During manufacturing, wood fibers and other ingredients are bonded under heat and pressure and combined with phenolic resins for moisture resistance. 800-255-0785. www.cmicompany.com. |  |
 | Fypon. The Southwest collection features 140 styles of decorative urethane millwork products. Created to complement stucco finishes and the design styles of the Southwest, the pieces have a deep wood-grain texture to impart a rich Southwestern appearance, according to the manufacturer. Products include shutters, decorative millwork, and faux beams. Pieces come factory-primed and ready to be painted or stained. 800-446-3040. www.fypon.com. |
| Universal Forest Products. TechTrim primed exterior polymer trimboard is as light as pine yet is durable enough to stand up to the elements, the manufacturer says. The product needs only one round of quality exterior latex paint with no additional prepping. The line features new one-piece corner trim with an embossed wood-grain texture. 888-270-0746. www.techtrimproducts.com. |  |
 | CertainTeed. The TrueTexture finish for Restoration Millwork exterior one-piece corners and trimboards provides a realistic wood-grain look molded from real rough-sawn cedar boards for a natural appearance, according to the maker. The finish provides greater design flexibility for Restoration Millwork, which is a solid finish trim made from cellular PVC, the manufacturer says. 800-233-8990. www.certainteed.com. |
| Azek. The company’s Mouldings line has a white matte finish to match the aesthetic of its trimboards, according to the manufacturer. The cellular PVC line features 15 profiles that replicate traditional molding styles. The moldings eliminate milling costs and do not require painting, although they can be painted. 877-275-2935. www.azek.com. |  |
 | Kleer Lumber. Fusion, a free-foam cellular PVC trim, is laminated in thicknesses up to 4 inches, widths up to 2 feet, and lengths up to 20 feet. The thickness helps eliminate time-consuming jobsite lamination and costly callbacks due to adhesive failures, according to the manufacturer. Millwork items created from the product look and feel like wood, the maker adds. 866-553-3770. www.kleerlumber.com. |
| Versatex. Extruded, not cut, 16 new molding profiles have a sleek, satin finish that requires paint only when a custom color is desired, the maker says. The series includes five crown molding profiles, four casing profiles, four cove profiles, and four utility profiles. 724-266-7928. www.versatex.com. |  |
 | Royal Mouldings.Royal Colors Trim Board highlights a home’s key features because the trim is wider, and specialized corner treatments are available for enhanced visual appeal, the manufacturer says. The product is offered in antique linen, Carolina sand (pictured), weather oak, and bright white. The trimboard is a durable, high-density extrusion from cellular PVC. 800-368-3117. www.royalmouldings.com. |
| Royal Wood.The Wrap N’ Snap column wrap turns a treated wood post into a finished column in minutes for added beauty and long life, according to the maker. The cellular PVC material eliminates the peeling, painting, rotting, or denting associated with wood posts, the manufacturer adds. The product’s Wrap N’ Snap lock allows for one-person installation and ensures the right fit with no exposed fasteners, the company says. 866-899-3320. www.royalwood.com. |  |
 | HB&G.Flex Trim resin molding’s traditional crown molding shapes will bend to an exact fit, according to the manufacturer, making it easy to install on true radius wall curvatures with a radius of 96 inches or greater. The moldings are not affected by salt, moisture, heat, or cold, the maker says. They are available in both paint-grade and stain-grade styles. 800-353-9874. www.flextrim.com. |