It can be cut, drilled, nailed and routed, using conventional tools. It is light to handle, easy to fix and does not require any painting or treatment after installation. PVC is also weather and fire resistant, thermally efficient and will not support bacterial or fungal growth.

 

A key additional feature of Swish Cellular PVC is that it will not suffer from 'pinking' discolouration.

 

 

Swish cellular PVC represents an environmentally responsible use of plastics. As recommended by the EEC and UK Governments and the PVC industry's Vinyl 2010 initiative, Swish cellular PVC does not contain lead. In addition it does not contain CFCs, or cadmium, which are also considered harmful to the environment. It has a very long life span and when eventually replaced, can be easily identified within the waste stream and fully recycled.

The density of Swish Cellular PVC is on average 550 kg/m3.

Swish Cellular PVC profiles are sufficiently rigid to facilitate storage and erection but are still sufficiently flexible to withstand normal site handling.

Swish Cellular PVC profiles have been tested for hard and soft body impact resistance in accordance with BS 7619: 1993. They exceed the minimum requirements laid down in the standard and can therefore be expected to perform well during on-site and in-use service.

 

 

 

All Swish Jumbo boards have been tested by the British Board of Agrément and found suitable to support all eaves tiles in common usage in the UK (up to 10kg. load per 1 metre length of fascia) at all roof pitches. This is subject to the boards being fixed to rafter ends at a maximum of 600mm centres with Swish 65mm Capped Screws (C073) or 65mm Trimtop Nails (C083.)

Note:  The assessment does not cover the fixing of eaves tiles to fascia boards, which may be necessary in certain geographical locations to resist wind uplift forces.

When fitted as recommended by Swish, gutter brackets can be fixed directly to Jumbo boards. Tested in accordance with BS 4576: Part 1: 1989, using various third party brackets fixed to Jumbo board, no failure occurred at the specified test weight of 330 N. When tested to failure, in all cases the brackets failed before the fixing into the board.

Swish Roofline profiles have adequate resistance to wind loading at the recommended fixing centres, up to five storeys.

 

Swish Cellular PVC conforms to the following requirements:

 BS 476: Part 7:1987. Surface spread of flame test: Class 1.

 BS 2782: Part 1 (method 140E) 1982 (1988).

 Alcohol cup test: Very low flammability.

 ASTM D2862-77: Critical oxygen index test: 48%.

 DIN 4102 Part 1: Fire behaviour of building materials and building components:Class B2.

 

The lambda value of Swish Cellular PVC is 0.06 W/mK. This gives a thermal resistance in excess of six times that of timber.

The coefficient of linear expansion under test conditions is 5 x 10^-5 per ^oC. Swish Cellular PVC profiles will perform satisfactorily in most northern European climates. However, they should not be installed where ambient temperatures are likely to exceed 50^oC, as for example in proximity to boiler flues or tropical climates.

Avoid fixing in temperatures greater than 30^oC or less than 0^oC.  When installed as recommended, the fixing system will largely accommodate thermal expansion and minimise the need for expansion gaps.

 

 

The impermeable skin of Swish Cellular PVC is unaffected by moisture. Cut ends are non-absorbent due to the closed cell structure of the material.

Chemical stability.

Swish Cellular PVC is not affected by liquids in common use. It is resistant to most acids and alkalis, but can be damaged by ketones, esters and solvents. Swish Cellular PVC is not prone to adverse reaction when used in conjunction with established building materials.

Swish Cellular PVC will not support bacterial or fungal growth. It is resistant to attack by woodworm and termites but should be protected against vermin.

 

 

Swish Roofline profiles have a high stiffness to weight ratio and the dense outer skin ensures a surface of high durability.

Weathering resistance is tested with equipment complying with BS 2782: Part 5: Method 540B.

Colour fastness assessed in accordance with BS 1006 shows that white Swish Cellular PVC achieves a rating of 7-8 (8 being the test maximum) and that therefore no significant fading or change in whiteness can be expected for a minimum of 20 years.

Swish White Cellular PVC demonstrates excellent performance in tests designed to predict discolouration (pinking). When exposed to the Suntest samples do not reach a Delta L* of -2 even after 500 hours. In the ACT test, samples exhibit low Delta PI in both ACT 1 & ACT 2.

Swish white cellular profiles do not suffer from the discolouration problems claimed to be associated with some lead stabilized formulations.  They are lead free.