Designing a structure that is resilient requires a strong understanding of material and building science. This course discusses the composition, performance, and application of engineered polymer siding and trim and capped polymer cladding to illustrate the benefits to home and building owners when construction materials are selected with resilience and sustainability in mind. The course will also examine the relationship between a building’s resilience and the safety of the occupants as well as material selection considerations to ensure a structure maintains livable conditions in the event of a destructive weather event.

This course encourages participants to think outside the box and consider using polymer cladding as a material to create aesthetic, enduring, and moisture resistant rainscreens that will better protect buildings and its occupants. We will discuss other more commonly used products and the issues faced with each. We will also consider life cycle costs of various cladding options, including polymer. Finally, participants will leave with a thorough understanding of how to install polymer extrusions as cladding. We will explore doing so on different substrates, detailing around openings, transitions between differing cladding materials and how to handle joints between cladding components with the goal of using polymer as a resource to promote health, safety, and welfare of both people and the environment.

Resilience has become a central idea for assessing how our social, economic, technical, constructed, engineered, and ecological systems can withstand and bounce back from a man-made or weather- and climate-related disaster. Globally, wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, high winds, hail, coastal and valley flooding, sea level rise, heat waves, seismic activity, extreme cold, ice storms, and snow melt have destroyed ecosystems, caused loss of life, damaged property, disrupted healthcare and financial networks, and in some cases, brought essential services to a halt. During this presentation, we’ll discuss the composition, performance, and application of engineered polymer siding and trim and capped polymer cladding to illustrate the benefits to home and building owners when construction materials are selected with resilience and sustainability in mind.