ACRE Building Trim, Siding & Decking Product Review

District: Various

Owner: Modern-Mill, Inc.

HDLC Staff: Dennis Murphy

Rating: New Construction

Applicant: Zane Swanepoel (Modern Mill, Inc.)

Description: Review of ACRE composite building trim, siding, and decking products for consideration of Staff-level approval at new construction projects.

Does not require special tools or blades to cleanly cut or route material.
Similar to Miratec, does not have a finished exterior layer.
Dimensions and thicknesses similar to Hardie building trim, siding, and tongue-and-groove decking.
Appears to resists water/moisture deterioration well as per informal bucket test.
Appears to be appropriate for new construction and new additions where comparable Hardie elements would otherwise be approvable, such as shiplap or board-and-batten siding and at limited locations such as door and window trim, corner boards, etc., but not for larger areas such as fascia or beam and column wraps.

Unclear how material will tolerate local climate conditions over longer periods of time in terms of bending, warping, dimensional and material stability.
Product literature includes a "Heat Warning" indicating that sunlight or exposure to high heat and heat sources (such as window reflections) can change the physical properties of the material and may accelerate its deterioration by causing it to warp, sag, melt, discolor, expand and contract. It also notes that specialty paints, primers and stains are required to mitigate these heat-related effects.