PVC has been used extensively in a wide range of construction products and projects for over 50 years. PVC's characteristics make it ideal for a variety of diverse applications.

As noted by PVC Construct’s article on the benefits of PVC, this material is replacing traditional materials such as wood, metal, concrete and clay in numerous building applications.  It is used in drinking water and wastewater pipes, window frames, flooring and roofing foils, wall coverings, cables and many other applications as it provides a modern alternative to traditional materials such as wood, metal, rubber and glass. These products are often lighter, less expensive and offer many performance advantages.

PVC's abrasion resistance, lightweight, good mechanical strength and toughness are key technical advantages for its use in building and construction applications.

PVC can be cut, shaped, welded and joined easily in a variety of styles. Its lightweight reduces manual handling difficulties.

PVC is resistant to weathering, chemical rotting, corrosion, shock and abrasion. It is, therefore, the preferred choice for many different long-life and outdoor products. In fact, medium and long-term applications account for some 85 per cent of PVC production in the building and construction sector.

For example, it is estimated that more than 75 per cent of PVC pipes will have a lifetime in excess of 40 years with potential in-service lives of up to 100 years. In other applications such as window profiles and cable insulation, studies indicate that over 60 per cent of them will also have working lives of over 40 years.

PVC has been a popular material for construction applications for decades due to its physical and technical properties which provide excellent cost-performance advantages. As a material it is very competitive in terms of price, this value is also enhanced by the properties such as its durability, lifespan and low maintenance.

PVC is non-toxic. It is a safe material and is also the world's most researched and thoroughly tested plastic. It meets all international standards for safety and health for both the products and applications for which it is used.

PVC does not conduct electricity and is, therefore, an excellent material to use for electrical applications such as insulation sheathing for cables.

The physical properties of PVC allow designers a high degree of freedom when designing new products and developing solutions where PVC acts as a replacement or refurbishment material.

PVC has been the preferred material for scaffolding billboards, interior design articles, window frames, fresh and waste water systems, cable insulation and many more applications.

Like all other organic materials used in buildings, including other plastics, wood, textiles etc., PVC products will burn when exposed to a fire. PVC products, however, are self-extinguishing, i.e. if the ignition source is withdrawn they will stop burning. Because of its high chlorine content PVC products have fire safety characteristics, which are quite favourable as. they are difficult to ignite, heat production is comparatively low and they tend to char rather than generate flaming droplets.

But if there is a bigger fire in a building, PVC products will burn and will emit toxic substances like all other organic products.

The most important toxicant emitted during fires is carbon monoxide (CO), which is responsible for 90 to 95 % of deaths from fires. CO is a sneaky killer since we cannot smell it and most people die in fires while sleeping. And of course, CO is emitted by all organic materials, be it wood, textile or plastics.

PVC, as well as some other materials, also emit acids. These emissions can be smelled and are irritating, making people try to run away from the fire. A specific acid, hydrochloric acid (HCL), is connected with burning PVC. To the best of our knowledge, no fire victim has ever been proven scientifically to have suffered HCl poisoning.

Some years ago no big fire was discussed without dioxins playing a major role both in communication and measuring programmes. Today we know that dioxins emitted in fires do not have an impact on people following the results of several studies on fire exposed people: The dioxin levels measured were never elevated against background levels. This very important fact has been recognised by official reports and we know that many other carcinogens are emitted in all fires, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and fine particles, which present a much higher hazard than dioxins.

So there are very good reasons to use PVC products in buildings, since they perform well technically, have good environmental and very good economic properties, and compare well with other materials in terms of fire safety.

Southern Profiles (Pty) Ltd (Trading as SouthPro) has been operating in the uPVC industry since July 1999, with the head office located in New Germany, Durban, South Africa.

SouthPro’s superior PVC building products are distributed throughout South Africa and most African countries, and consists of the following ranges:

- Facia & Barge Boards
- SP Gutters & Fittings
- D-Shaped Gutters & Fittings
- SV & UG 110mm Plumbing Fittings & more

Agrinet & SouthPro collaborated on a retail-ready shelf concepts for their products, which is exclusively available to Agrinet clients;

For more information on the range, please contact Agrinet;

Samrand: T: 012 657 2222, E: enquiries@agrinet.co.za

Bellville: T: 021 959 5420, E: belbestel@agrinet.co.za

Or view the range online HERE.

Source: http://www.pvcconstruct.org/en/p/material

Source: https://www.iom3.org/pvc-building-and-construction