Originally Posted By: J Rowlands This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Have any of you heard of heat deflection from a window causing vinyl siding to melt or warp? Just curious because I received a call from a builder in Missouri who claims that this is happening to one of their homes. Just wondering if any of you have dealt with or seen an issue like this before.
Originally Posted By: rhinck This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Yes I sure have. I built a home that had a vinyl sided f-place chase with a casement window on each side. The windows were on the east side of the home. When the southern most window was open as a certain angle it caused the reflected sunlight to distort the vinyl on the side of the chase. These windows were triple glazed with Low-E coated glass. As you probably know that in the simmer the heat is reflected to the warm side of the glass.
Originally Posted By: rhinck This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Yes I sure have. I built a home that had a vinyl sided f-place chase with a casement window on each side. The windows were on the east side of the home. When the southern most window was open as a certain angle it caused the reflected sunlight to distort the vinyl on the side of the chase. These windows were triple glazed with Low-E coated glass. As you probably know that in the summer the heat is reflected to the warm side of the glass.
Originally Posted By: bgentry This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Richard,
At least the outbuilding/garage is still structurally sound. Don't they call that kind of roof design a "swayback." 
Originally Posted By: oliver prock This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I’ve read many company’s warranties and they seem to exclude warping due to reflected light from their repair policies. My question then is if warping occurs due to reflected light, does it indicate a defective product or an influence beyond the manufacturer’s control?
Originally Posted By: Mark Dudley This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
oliver prock wrote:
My question then is if warping occurs due to reflected light, does it indicate a defective product or an influence beyond the manufacturer's control?
Are you suggesting that reflected light is something the manufacturer can control??
Vinyl siding, for all it's worth, is still just a plastic, plastic melts when it gets too hot. Even some plastic bowls will melt if left in your car.
Direct sunlight won't hurt it, light concentrated on it like a magnifying glass will. Hey, works for ants.. 
Originally Posted By: oliver prock This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I’m not, but I wonder what sort of tolerance to expect. Do they use vinyl siding in Arizona? Light reflected off a window is not concentrated like a magnifying glass. I have no idea how to calculate the actual heat it might generate but doesn’t it need to be above ambient temperature, say 130? or does it buckle at lower temps?
Originally Posted By: ecrofutt This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Yes, it happens. Search this board or Inspection News. Can’t remember which, but pictures were also provided of the siding warping in the same pattern as the light from the reflected window and showing the individual stiles of the window.
If I remember right, it was last summer some time.
There's a reason manufacturers exclude that from their warranty.
Originally Posted By: Tony O. This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Mr. R,
Did you ever figure out how the vinyl siding melted? I was curious, because I am seeing this same issue on another person’s building. We think it is because of the type of window that was installed throughout this complex. We are seeing actual siding melting throughout this complex. I have been trying to research more on this issue and came across the NACHI web sight only by mistake. We have heard that certain gas type windows, can create such a heat build up when sunlight is reflected at the right angle on to the siding that it will cause the siding to buckle and or actually melt within days.
Have you had anyone comment back with any technical data that would substantiate this to be true?
Sincerely,
Tony O.
