Darci Kunard - Sealing it Right: PVC Trim - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an live interview with Darci Kunard of Franklin International. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Speaker 1:
Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a long-term professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews, and exciting news in the roofing industry today.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Hello, and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips for RoofersCoffeeShop. This is Heidi Ellsworth, and I am here today with Darci Kunard with Franklin International. Darci and I have been friends for quite a while, and I love these podcasts because we get to talk about sealants and adhesives and all the great things that are going on. Darci, welcome to the show again.

Darci Kunard:
Thank you so much Heidi for having me. I love these as well because I love to share my knowledge and hopefully give some people things to think about.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I know, a lot of really great things to think about and kind of different, that's what I love is we go a lot of different directions and today we're going to talk about PVC trim, and then specifically, the sealants and adhesives that are needed to really make quality insulation with PVC trim. So before we get down on that Darci, I would love it if you would again, introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit about Franklin International.

Darci Kunard:
Absolutely. So, I have been in the sealant industry for about 11 years now. I came to Franklin International and manage a portfolio of water-based sealants. Now, I manage national accounts and obviously advise on sealants and adhesives. Part of what makes Franklin International unique is that we make all of our products in both Florida and Columbus, Ohio, and we make our own polymers and chemicals, so that makes us a very integrated company.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Awesome. Very important in this last little bit, right?

Darci Kunard:
Especially right now, right.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. With material shortages, the more integrated the better. Okay, and we've talked in the past right, we've talked about your metal roofing adhesives, we've talked about all your ... so many different things that you offer across the board. Just mention a little bit so everybody's where the Titebond brand, and WeatherMaster, all of your brands that you are working under out there.

Darci Kunard:
Absolutely. So, Titebond brand has been around since the probably, '70s, if I can remember my history correctly. We've been making wood glues, high glues, all types of glues since the '30s.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Wow.

Darci Kunard:
So, Franklin has been obviously a big force in the woodworking industry. We expanded that knowledge in the '90s to construction adhesives and then into sealants in 2000. So, we are one of the pioneers of the reactive or hybrid sealants, and those are the all-weather sealants. So, any type of application you can think of, we have a siding window door, we have the metal roofing, as you mentioned, we have a gutter and steam, we have a multipurpose, we have a concrete joint self-leveling, which is great for pitch pan application, just a whole myriad of applications.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Great. As I always have to mention, you can find all of that on the directory, on RoofersCoffeeShop because we have them all there.

Darci Kunard:
Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth:
But today we're going to be talking about PVC trim, adhesives, and sealants. But I want to start first with ... and we were talking about this the other day Darci, and I don't know why, these kind of things, I guess I nerd out a little bit, but I think it's interesting, but the growth of PVC trim, I mean, you were talking about how much that is growing in the construction. Talk a little bit about that.

Darci Kunard:
Absolutely. So obviously, a couple years ago we saw a massive spike in the price of lumber and that really was a springboard for the increase in demand for PVC trim. And this is for all types of applications. I don't think a lot of people are aware, but we're seeing PVC trim used around windows. We've seen it around expansion, contraction joints, soffits, the ceiling, the bead board, any type of fascia, column wraps, decking. I mean, I could go on and on, but what we're really seeing is that it used to be a real high-end product where people knew that they weren't going to have to stain it, sand it down, seal it again, all of the work that comes with lumber, [inaudible 00:04:27] that. PVC trim you don't need that and it's super easy to paint.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. When you think about the environmental, the cost of wood, what's going on, it makes sense. I mean, PVC is just having such a reemergence almost across the board, with people are realizing what a great product it is.

Darci Kunard:
Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth:
But you have to have the right sealant, you have to have the right adhesives. You got to make sure you're doing it the right way. So, let's talk a little bit about your Titebond PVC trim adhesive and sealant.

Darci Kunard:
Absolutely. So Franklin International, as you know, we do a lot of research and development. So, this was something that we saw a need for in the marketplace. We heard a lot of people saying, "Which of your construction adhesives can we use for this?" Then, "Which sealant do we need?" And so a little light bulb went off in our product manager's head that said, "Why don't we have one product that does both?" Both helps to adhere the PVC trim and you still do need mechanical fasteners, I don't want to take that piece away, you still do need that, but it's nice to have a long board just adhere there quickly while you can get your mechanical fasteners in place. Then once that's all fastened up, you need to seal it because if you get water or any type of intrusion behind that PVC trim, you're going to have problems. So, you need that one, two punch product.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah, and there's not other products out there like that, right?

Darci Kunard:
No, not at all. So, we are the first to market with this product. We released it a couple years ago and it has been flying off the shelves. We really had to step up watching where we were putting it because it was just so popular.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. I think that's cool. Now, just while we're talking about that, but you also have PVC trim, joint adhesive, right?

Darci Kunard:
We do, yes. And so we saw a need for the ability to quickly adhere miter joints. You can't use a fastener there. You don't really have the time to let an adhesive cure in between those two pieces. So, this is a very quick, you put it together and it's within 60 seconds, that's bonded and you don't need that much of it. So, it's just a great add-on product.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. For roofing contractors, as we're looking at this, I mean, they're using PVC trim around the roof, they're using it on dormers, on ... all over the place. So this is something that is really important for them to be aware of, especially with the price of wood, like we talked about. How are you seeing some of those applications that are more specifically on the roof?

Darci Kunard:
So we're seeing, like you mentioned, the dormers, we're seeing a lot of window-type implements, anything that's framing out some type of accent piece, just a lot of different components. The bead board that's going up in the ceilings of porches. We're seeing that a lot, wainscoting, we're seeing that. I mean, just all these little design elements that need the PVC trim.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah, that's cool. I love it. Okay, weatherability because obviously this is out there, it's getting hot, cold, freezing contraction, expansion, all those kind of things. How do the sealants and the sealant adhesives do with the weatherability?

Darci Kunard:
So, they do amazing. So it's based off our WeatherMaster technology, which as you know, you can apply in hot or cold weather, wet or dry. I mean, it does not matter. You don't have to wait for it to be 40 degrees outside in order to apply it. So, if you've got a project that you're doing in the dead of winter, no problem, this will handle it. And then you've got the long term durability of our product as well, because it has a class 50 rating, which means that it expands and contracts up to 50% of the joint size. So, that is a big deal when you're looking at not only the adhesive part of our product, you need that to expand and contract, otherwise it's going to crack, it's going to not weather as well. And then in the sealant part where the joints are meeting, you really need that to expand and contract with temperature changes.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Right, right. And what are you hearing back from your contractors on this?

Darci Kunard:
That this product is a lifesaver. They don't need two products. They don't need to climb up and down a ladder with two different products. They don't need to wait for an adhesive to dry, it's a very easy use.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. With everything that's going on as you and I know, I mean, so much has been going on with material shortages, labor shortages. I mean, obviously COVID, we don't even want to say that word anymore, but yes.

Darci Kunard:
No.

Heidi Ellsworth:
How are you seeing this kind of technology, this kind of sealant and adhesive technology really helping on the labor front?

Darci Kunard:
Well, it makes it a lot easier. So, if you're putting up a long run of PVC trim, it is very easy to adhere it and then go back and fasten it. You maybe only need one person for that job instead of two or three. there's a little bit of working time with that adhesive, so you can get that in the perfect location before you fasten it on there. So, that's a nice advantage. And then if you're not walking up and down the ladder constantly and changing out products and you have one product, you can easily adhere it and seal it in one step.

Heidi Ellsworth:
All in one step. And does it have any changes with the number of fasteners that are required?

Darci Kunard:
You do have to use less fasteners. Now, as I mentioned, you do still have to use fasteners. You can't just stick it up there and hope for the best. I mean, that's not the best idea. So yeah, you can use a lot less fasteners, but definitely adhere to whatever the manufacturer's recommendations are.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Right. And building codes, obviously.

Darci Kunard:
Absolutely building codes [inaudible 00:10:32].

Heidi Ellsworth:
But I tell you what, I mean, I had somebody the other day and they were saying fasteners are jewels, everybody's looking to get them and so the more you can ... even little bit of savings can make a huge difference for what people are dealing with, with material shortages. I know we've kind of talked about this before, but I always like to go back to it, your products, and I mean, when I think about this with the PVC trim that it applies to the roof, but it really applies to the whole exterior of the house, for contractors, making that move to add more exterior work to their offerings for their consumers, you really are making that easy with having your multi-use, the metal, but now the PVC trim. With your sealants and adhesives, people can start expanding a little bit pretty easily knowing they can trust the products.

Darci Kunard:
Absolutely. They're available where they shop already. If it's not there, we can ship it in, we can drop ship, there's no problem with that. Availability isn't a concern, since we do make the polymers that go into those products, that makes it a lot more easy. But you're absolutely right, if a roofer's looking to expand and do some more exterior construction projects, we try to make it as easy as possible and you know that we stand behind our products as well.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I am. We do, we do. So, what's next on the horizon? What else is happening out there, Darci?

Darci Kunard:
Oh well, we have several new products coming to market, released a couple of [inaudible 00:12:12] sealants in the fall, but those are water-based, entry level type price point products, but great for the market. We recently bought a facility in Florida, so that's helping our manufacturing, and I think I mentioned that earlier. But that's something that we're continuing to improve upon, expand our capacity. And of course, we're always looking for that next innovation.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yes and that's what I love. And that's why I love talking to you about it. I mean, some people might say, "Really, PVC trim?" But you know what? It's solving problems. That's what I love. And you're solving problems out there on so many different levels.

Darci Kunard:
Yep, and that's what we aim to do. We do have a tilt wall adhesive that came out, I want to say in the winter. So, that's been great for that tilt wall construction, or tilt up construction.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. Well, cool. Well, Darci, I love this. Thank you so much for sharing.

Darci Kunard:
Of course.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Sharing all of this with us and talking about the growth of PVC trim, the importance of the sealants that you provide and adhesives to make it all go together. I'm really excited to hear more about what you have coming because we keep doing these right?

Darci Kunard:
Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Every couple months, we check in and we want to make sure we have everything. So, thank you so much for being here today.

Darci Kunard:
Thank you for having me, Heidi. As always, totally enjoyed it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Ah, love it. Thank you all for listening. You learn all about all of the Franklin products on the directory on RoofersCoffeeShop. So, be sure to check your liner notes for that link and be sure to check out all of our podcasts under the read, listen watch navigation on RoofersCoffeeShop or on your favorite podcast channel. Be sure to subscribe and get your notifications, so you don't miss a single one. Thank you again, have a great day and we'll see you next time on Roofing Road Trips.

Speaker 1:
Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from the rooferscoffeeshop.com.