Do You Know What Vinyl Fencing is Made of?

To put it simply, vinyl is what happens when you mix ethanol with sodium (like mixing corn syrup with table salt). In fact that’s putting it too simply, it’s nothing like that all. Vinyl is the most versatile of all the plastics known to man. Depending on the mix, it can be coaxed from a flowing liquid into a weather proof, heat resistant, durable domestic barrier.

Vinyl fences are a dressed up version of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), because no one would build a fence from brittle ugly old PVC pipe. Fortunately, with the right chemical alterations, it can withstand heat from the deserts of the Southwest, to the cold blizzards of the North.

How do You Know if the Fence You’re Looking at is Up to Par?

Vinyl has been around long enough now that the various types of production have become standardized. For vinyl fencing, that standard is ASTM F964. This is the lowest quality mix that can still be made into fences, patios, arbors and the like. At this minimum level, vinyl has enough rigidity to hold its form, resist acceptable impacts and is resistant enough to temperature that it won’t crack or shatter in cold weather or warp in hot weather.

Bringing ASTM F964 Home to Meet Your Family…

Knowing that ASTM F964 is looking out for you probably helps you sleep a little better at night. Knowing what you know now about vinyl being able to weather general heat and cold without melting, shattering or giving way every time a 3 year old on a tricycle bumps into it, you can probably search out the cheapest DIY vinyl kit online and get started, right?

  • Well, what temperatures? At what point will it sag or shatter?
  • For that matter, what is a reasonable impact and how large is the object?

Unfortunately, ASTM F964 is a minimum standard, and even google struggles to make sense of the real world application of this standard.

The Homestead Fence Difference

We at Homestead Fence weren’t satisfied with minimum quality, many of our clients live in inclement regions, while others live in burning deserts and we aren’t willing to roll the dice on our reputation.

Desert dwellers are able to spot a poor quality vinyl fence on sight, because the relentless sun turns them yellow, the color change also acts as an indication of danger, because the sun is also making the fence brittle and potentially vulnerable to catastrophic failure. How can our cold weather customers trust that kind of fence when they see trees dropping limbs or snapping in the cold? No, the minimum standard isn’t good enough for us and it shouldn’t be good enough for you either.

That’s why all of our vinyl includes 12 parts of TiO2 (that’s a whole lot of Titanium Dioxide; it’s bordering on excessive, even in extreme climates). TiO2 helps protect our fences from UV damage, preventing discoloration and heat damage. That’s why, even in the Arizona desert when its 125 degrees in the shade, our vinyl fences are cool and smooth to the touch.

The walls of our products are thicker than common vinyl fencing, this makes them more rigid, durable and resistant to temperature.

Our vinyl was meticulously formulated to exceed each of the ASTM F964 standards, which is why our fences are the best on the market.

We did not set the standard and we’re proud of that, because we set the bar instead. Which would you rather invest in for your home, a product steps over the standard and walks under the bar or the one that takes its efforts seriously and goes the distance?

 

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