When I first started working as a co-extrusion cladding supplier five years ago, I’d sit in on site meetings where general contractors would say things like, “Cladding is cladding—what’s the big difference?” I’d nod politely, pass over sample boards, and explain that the process I provide isn’t just a new way to put a finish on a building; it’s a fundamental shift in how material performance is engineered. Last month, I was at a 12-story mixed-use project in the Pacific Northwest where the client went from specifying traditional cladding to switching to our co-extrusion system mid-design, and the turnkey team told us it cut their on-site installation time by 18% and reduced material waste by nearly a quarter. That’s not just a sales win—that’s the kind of real, measurable value that makes me glad I didn’t give up trying to explain co-extrusion properly. Today, I want to break down how co-extrusion cladding stacks up against the traditional methods most contractors and architects have relied on for decades, straight from the perspective of someone who designs, manufactures, and supplies co-extrusion systems every single day. CO-Extrusion Cladding
Let’s start with what each method actually is, because that’s where most of the confusion comes from. Traditional cladding, for anyone who’s not deep in construction materials, is pretty straightforward: it’s a process where you attach a single material (or occasionally two separate materials) to a building’s exterior to provide weather resistance, insulation, aesthetics, and structural support. The most common types you’ll see on residential homes and commercial buildings alike are stick-built metal cladding (think aluminum or steel panels that you weld, bolt, or screw to the frame), pressure-formed vinyl cladding, and composite cladding like solid PVC or fiber cement that’s cut to size on-site or prefabricated in a shop. The key here is that with traditional cladding, you’re working with one material (or two that are processed separately) that you assemble after the fact—each component has to be cut, fitted, and joined, and the materials themselves are often limited by their base chemical or physical properties.
Co-extrusion cladding, on the other hand, is a continuous manufacturing process where two or more materials are melted, mixed, and forced through a single custom die at the exact same time, bonding them permanently at the molecular level before the final profile is cooled and shaped. For our products, we almost always use a rigid core material (usually a UV-resistant, high-density polymer, sometimes with recycled content, for structural stability) and a thin, durable cap layer that can be formulated for specific needs: scratch resistance, fade resistance, slip resistance for walkable facades, or even antimicrobial properties for healthcare buildings. The result is a single, seamless profile that combines the best attributes of multiple materials without any messy adhesives, fasteners, or weak joints between dissimilar materials.
Where this first starts to matter is in material performance, and this is the area where I’ve seen co-extrusion completely outperform traditional methods in almost every category that contractors and building owners actually care about. Take weathering, for example. Traditional vinyl cladding, one of the most common residential cladding options, has a single material that’s inherently prone to fading, cracking, and brittleness when exposed to constant UV radiation, extreme temperature swings, and heavy rain. We’ve had clients test traditional vinyl vs. our co-extrusion panels in a Florida coastal climate for three years straight—where salt spray and 100+ degree heat are non-negotiable—and the co-extrusion panels retained 98% of their color, while the traditional vinyl had faded 15% and developed microcracks that allowed water to seep through. Metal cladding, another traditional staple, rusts at the joints if the sealant breaks, and even pre-painted metal will show chipping and peeling after a decade or so, especially in areas with heavy snow or high humidity. Our co-extrusion panels, because the cap layer is bonded permanently to the rigid core, don’t have those weak joint points—there’s no seam where two different materials meet that can leak or degrade over time. We also formulate our cap layers with UV stabilizers, heat stabilizers, and sometimes even anti-graffiti additives, which means the cladding stays looking like new for 20+ years, whereas traditional cladding often needs full replacement or major repairs every 10 to 15 years.
Waste reduction is another huge win that people don’t always talk about. Traditional cladding, when it’s stick-built, requires on-site cutting of panels to fit around windows, doors, corners, and architectural details. That means a lot of offcuts—even with prefabricated traditional cladding, you still have to trim pieces to size, and there’s often extra material ordered to account for mistakes. At our manufacturing facility, co-extrusion profiles are extruded in continuous lengths that can be cut to exact, custom lengths on-site or pre-cut in our shop to within 1/16 of an inch, so there’s almost no offcut waste. A commercial general contractor I worked with in Texas did a side-by-side test last year: they used traditional aluminum cladding for one wing of a 5-story office building, and co-extrusion for the other. The traditional wing generated 12% of its material budget as construction waste, while the co-extrusion wing generated just 2.7%. That’s not just good for the environment—it’s good for the bottom line, because you’re not paying for material you just throw away. Installation time is another big one, especially for large projects. Traditional cladding has lots of individual parts that need to be fastened: screws, bolts, sealant, trim pieces, corner caps. Each of these is a potential point of error, and installing them takes time because you have to line everything up perfectly. Co-extrusion cladding profiles are designed to be interlocking, so you can snap them together in a system that only requires a few specialized fasteners (or even no fasteners at all, depending on the application) along the hidden edge. That’s why that Pacific Northwest project I mentioned earlier cut their installation time by 18%—the installers could hang 10 linear feet of co-extrusion cladding in half the time it took to hang the same amount of traditional metal cladding. I’ve even worked on a residential development where the builders were able to finish 12 homes two weeks ahead of schedule, just because the cladding went up so much faster.
But co-extrusion isn’t perfect, and I don’t want to pretend it is—because the best way to be a reliable supplier is to be honest about the tradeoffs, not just hype the product. The biggest downside right now is upfront material cost. Traditional cladding, especially vinyl and basic aluminum, has a lower initial price per square foot than co-extrusion. That’s because co-extrusion uses two materials in a precise manufacturing process, with custom dies tailored to each project, so the setup cost per order is higher. For small residential projects, that extra upfront cost might be a barrier, especially for homeowners who are focused on the initial budget rather than long-term costs. Traditional cladding also has a longer track record in some cases—if an architect is working on a project that requires a long history of material performance (like a historic renovation that needs to adhere to strict building codes), they might be more comfortable going with a traditional method that’s been tested for 50+ years, whereas co-extrusion is still a relatively new player in the cladding space, even though it’s been used for other products like window frames for decades.
Another tradeoff is design flexibility, at least in the way most people think about it. Traditional cladding comes in a huge range of colors, finishes, and profile shapes—you can get a custom metal trim piece for almost any architectural detail, right now. With co-extrusion, you can get custom profiles too, but the tooling for the die is specific to each unique shape, so if you have a very custom, one-off architectural detail, the upfront tooling cost can add up. That’s why co-extrusion is most cost-effective for projects with repeating profiles, like residential developments, mid-rise apartment buildings, or commercial office complexes with consistent facade lines. For a small, custom home with a super unique, irregular facade, traditional cladding might be the more practical choice, at least from a cost perspective.
So who should be choosing co-extrusion cladding vs. traditional methods? Based on what I’ve seen in the field, co-extrusion is the better option for any project where long-term performance, low maintenance, and reduced installation time are priorities. Mid to large-scale commercial projects, multi-family residential buildings, coastal construction (where salt spray is a big issue), and any project in extreme climates—hot, cold, high rain, heavy snow—all benefit a lot from co-extrusion’s durability. The upfront cost is higher, but when you factor in reduced material waste, lower installation labor costs, and less maintenance over the life of the building, the total cost of ownership is almost always lower than traditional cladding. For small residential projects or historic renovations that need to match an exact, old material, traditional cladding might still make more sense, especially if upfront budget is the main constraint.
Over the years, I’ve had architects and contractors ask me, “Why would I switch from something I know works to something new?” My answer is always that co-extrusion isn’t about being new—it’s about being better, in the ways that matter most. I’ve seen traditional cladding jobs where the paint peels after 10 years, where the joints leak and cause water damage inside the building, where offcuts waste thousands of dollars in material. I’ve seen co-extrusion jobs that have been up for five years with zero maintenance, zero leaks, and no fading. At the end of the day, cladding is supposed to do two things: protect the building, and look good while doing it. Co-extrusion does both better than most traditional methods, and while it’s not right for every project, it’s worth taking the time to really understand how it works, instead of writing it off as just another “new construction trend.”
If you’re a general contractor, architect, or building owner looking to explore cladding options for your next project, I’m here to walk you through the details—whether you have questions about upfront costs, custom profiles, performance testing, or installation support. We can share sample boards, provide case studies from similar projects, or work with your engineering team to figure out if co-extrusion cladding is the right fit for your needs. There’s no obligation, just a conversation about what will work best for your building, your timeline, and your budget.
Co-extrusion WPC Decking References
- Construction Specifier Magazine. (2022). Co-extrusion cladding: The next evolution in exterior building materials. Retrieved from industry technical reports
- National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). (2021). Exterior cladding performance and long-term cost analysis for residential construction. NAHB Research Center Technical Note
- International Code Council (ICC). (2023). Evaluation report for co-extruded polymer cladding systems for low and mid-rise buildings. ICC ES Report 4122
- Coastal Construction Magazine. (2022). Cladding performance in salt spray environments: A 5-year comparative study. Coastal Construction Industry Research Database
Zhejiang Timber Biology New Material Co., Ltd.
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