Chase Creighton serves as Business Director, Vinyl & Composite Cladding, for Associated Materials, which comprises building product brands that include Alside. Established in 1947, Alside offers vinyl windows, vinyl and composite siding and accessories, and metal building products. Alside also has more than 100 company-operated supply centers across the United States and provides installation services, serving as a true partner to contractors, remodelers, builders and architects for building products and services.

For more information, or to locate your local Alside supply center, visit Alside.com.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Baldwin Hardware

Baldwin Hardware

A new kind of decking and siding from Millboard

For more information about the latest in decking and cladding head to https://www.millboard.com/

[00:00:05] Eric Goranson: and it's, there's some misconceptions out there that people would go out and buy the least expensive stuff and then five to 10 years later, it's getting all chalky and it's looking bad. Your technology has come so far with composites of what you guys are doing. I just want to make sure that we make that clear to

[00:00:23] Chase Creighton: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and we're, you know, we, we do everything in our power when we're thinking about and speaking to this product internally or externally, right? That this is a, this is a category unto itself, right? This is composite. We don't call it composite vinyl. Si. This is composite col cladding because it is not vinyl si.

[00:00:55] Eric Goranson: Welcome to Around the House Show. This is where we talk everything about your home every single week.

[00:01:05] Chase Creighton: something that I don't really know that much about, which I love.

[00:01:16] Eric Goranson: Things like that. These guys have been around since 1947. Welcome brother to Around the House.

[00:01:28] Eric Goranson: had like Murphy on my side here trying to get this working and I appreciate your patience with us here in the show today.

[00:01:37] Chase Creighton: so, Thanks again. Yeah. Had to Yeah. Yeah. Had to make it, had to make it worth it. . So, uh, all the challenges. Absolutely all the challenges made it worthwhile.

[00:01:58] Eric Goranson: I'm gonna use the [00:02:00] air quotes, vinyl sighting back in the day. But I was also not a fan. Composite decking back in the day at the same time. And the world has come a long way since then, and I'll be the first to admit it. Let's talk about what you guys are doing right now,

[00:02:25] Chase Creighton: Yep. Right. I, I think for, uh, several decades it was kind of, uh, , maybe some new colors, some new profiles, but overall it was, uh, you know, kind of steady as she goes, right? Mm-hmm. . Um, and then, you know, in the last, uh, 20 years or so, um, you know, fiber cement or, uh, you know, engineered wood Yep. Has really, uh, you know, been introduced to the market and, um, done a, done a pretty spectacular job of grabbing up a lot of share.

[00:03:12] Chase Creighton: So as, as that, uh, you know, that space in the industry evolved, I think it was identified as a, you know, a blank space area, right. To, to have the. The look and performance of, you know, some of these higher end and higher price point, frankly, uh, products that are in the, the fiber cement or engineered wood space, but, you know, have the, have the cost effectiveness and the economics closer to, you know, the traditional vinyl siding.

[00:03:54] Chase Creighton: With the, uh, you know, cost effectiveness and, um, you know, optionality on, on that side [00:04:00] of, of the vinyl side. So it's really fill, fill in a blank space that, uh, you know, has been unfilled for quite some time. And, and kind of, you know, s straddling the best of both worlds. And I think it's also, uh, you know, important to point out from, from our customer base, which is the, you know, the contractor, the builder, not the, not the end user, the homeowner.

[00:04:35] Chase Creighton: So, um, that's another area that, uh, uh, you know, the composite cladding, uh, solves for mm-hmm. , which is. Less labor intensive, less, less need for, you know, very skilled trade, um, because it hangs and installs just like vinyl siding. So from a, you know, um, labor perspective to our customer based and then a, you know, optionality look aesthetic standpoint, uh, to the, you know, the end customer, the homeowner, [00:05:00] um, it, uh, you know, it, it solves a lot, um, that, that that blank space had,

[00:05:07] Eric Goranson: I mean, especially, you know, right now with anything, whether it's eggs, Milk to gasoline. There's nothing getting cheaper out there. And then you look at what labor is in construction, and I don't know if anybody's had any, uh, sighting for com, you know, the, you know, fiber, cement, wood, anything else out there.

[00:05:44] Chase Creighton: Right, right. And, you know, and I think, uh, especially, you know, from a geographic standpoint, right?

[00:06:22] Chase Creighton: And, um, you know, a adding up, you know, another. Another product into the space, um, that really, you know, just adds more, you know, selection and, and, and competition frankly, in those, in those areas. And that's always a good thing for the market and a good thing for the consumer. Absolutely.

[00:06:43] Eric Goranson: Cuz you know, there's other players in the space, but you guys are definitely one of the big ones out there.

[00:07:00] Chase Creighton: Sure. I think what, uh, you know, what sets us apart right now is, is a. Um, you know, where we're at in the process of, of getting it out in the market and launching. And then also b you know, the ins, it's an insulated panel, so it is a, you know, it's got, uh, insulated back. It hits the R value you need to, um, you know, it's got, uh, a lot of the, the ratings you're gonna wanna see from a performance standpoint.

[00:07:47] Chase Creighton: Yeah, absolutely.

[00:08:07] Eric Goranson: Right? And again, it's just like anything out there, every product that comes. It has to go through this process of, of trial and error. The stuff hits the market and it doesn't matter if it's decking. I mean, I was talking a few weeks ago on the, on the show about my parents put in a, uh, Trex I think, and I'll use air quotes cause I think that's what it was.

[00:08:49] Eric Goranson: cheap products, poor installation, and the Yeah, it was just early. Yeah, it was just early. And you had people knocking on the doors in the neighborhoods going, Hey, I'm in the neighborhood, I'm gonna put it [00:09:00] on. And that world is a long time ago. Right. But there's still that little bit of a stigma in some areas that it's like, oh wow.

[00:09:14] Chase Creighton: Yeah. Yeah. And I think, um, you know, to to, to your point, I, you know, lended itself to my point earlier, it, it. You know, it's, it's such a mature vinyl siding. I'm, I'm speaking to yeah. Such a mature space, such a mature industry that it, you know, in a lot of ways it, it, it hit a ceiling a while back in terms of what you can do to, to optimize the value.

[00:09:54] Chase Creighton: Yeah, sometimes, you know, just the, the, the, the, [00:10:00] uh, The quality of the product. Right. Which, which has ebb and flowed across all manufacturers and all, uh, all product lines. So, uh, yeah. I mean, we're very, very excited about it. I think, uh, you know, the industry is very excited about this blank space being filled.

[00:10:28] Eric Goranson: it. And there's, I'm gonna get into a soapbox for a second and this lens to what you guys are doing out there.

[00:10:53] Eric Goranson: I mean, this is Yes. Painting. You're taking a product that was never intended to be painted. And I know there's products out there [00:11:00] that made paint companies say that you can do. . The problems I've seen on social media is that people get out there and they go, oh, I, I've got a white House. I'm gonna make it dark gray.

[00:11:29] Eric Goranson: You know, 1500 bucks on materials to go paint it. Or even worse, pay somebody seven to 10,000 to paint it when they could go back in there and put a brand new product on and have a brand new looking house, uh, for really not that much more. And you're starting a warranty

[00:11:49] Chase Creighton: I, I think, um, you know, we we're, we're conscious of, uh, you know, where things are at today from the remodel space, which is, we're coming on a time where, uh, a huge wave of homes [00:12:00] built 20, 30 years ago. Mm-hmm. , right? Or hitting that, that timeline of needs a new roof, needs new siding, whether it's a, you know, uh, aesthetic choice, um, by the homeowner or just.

[00:12:29] Chase Creighton: We're gonna hit a wave of a lot of opportunity. And a lot of people, especially, uh, you know, in the current macroeconomic economic environment, really thinking hard and long about, you know, what actions they're gonna take and what investments, um, you know, when it comes to their home. And so there's gonna be a, uh, a lot of people in that situation mm-hmm.

[00:13:03] Chase Creighton: Um, and just be conscious of the, the options that are out there and, and you know, what the, what the broad view is when you're making those decisions and then making these investments. And I think, uh, you know, I think for a lot of people, uh, really exploring this product is the right, right thing to

[00:13:16] Eric Goranson: Yeah. I, I always take that as saying, okay, you're gonna take. You know, 1992 Chevy truck with 400,000 miles on it. Maybe it's not the smartest option to go pay $7,000 for a paint job on it. It might be better just to go get another truck. . Yeah, let's start over on that. Well, color trends are huge right now, and I think that's one of the great things that you can do with.

[00:13:55] Eric Goranson: What are you seeing out

[00:14:20] Chase Creighton: And those two things, um, you know, aligned with each other. And that was that the white off, white lighter color, uh, as, as a base, you know, base choice for the home, um, is. been increasing in popularity over the last few years and looks to continue that through 2023. So we see, you know, white off white and cream.

[00:14:58] Chase Creighton: Um, which is [00:15:00] the lighter color on the base and, and, and some darker trim and, and accent colors. And then also what I think is gonna even, you know, compound that is the, the macro macroeconomic environment we're in. And everybody's gonna be conscious and focused on cost. And in the, in the cladding world, right?

[00:15:37] Chase Creighton: So I think it's a natural trend that that is, that has happened. And I think it's gonna continue, at least for the short term, um, for a variety of reasons. One of them being the cost effectiveness of, you know, choosing a lighter color palette, um, being a driver. Yeah. So it's, uh, it's interesting to see. It's, it's interesting to see, you know, how, how close and lockstep the, the survey feedback and our internal, you know, what we're seeing is selling out in the market, um, you know, [00:16:00] align with each other.

[00:16:07] Eric Goranson: interesting. And, and what are you seeing out there? You know, I think one of the biggest questions that, uh, you know, my listeners have is, okay, if I've got a, a standard house out there, you know, this isn't some 10,000 square foot thing, let's call it the regular 2200 square foot ranch or whatever.

[00:16:29] Chase Creighton: you seeing on install time for something like that? Yeah, I mean, I, I think it depends right on, on, uh, you know, the contractor using the, the, the remodeling firm you're using. So that's obviously dependent on their own.

[00:17:02] Chase Creighton: If, if, you know, the, uh, the, the trade, the skilled trade is there to. , so do it. Um, it's the same, same timeframe in terms of, uh, completing a project as vinyl siding, which is, which is huge, right? Yeah. There's, you know, fiber cement in that engineered wood. That is not the case. It is a, it is a longer timeline.

[00:17:39] Chase Creighton: Yeah. Uh, sooner. Sooner

[00:17:58] Chase Creighton: that?[00:18:00]

[00:18:26] Chase Creighton: Um, right in line with any of those, uh, fiber cement or engineered wood products. See, um, and in a lot of ways, and in several categories, this is a, you know, A less maintenance oriented product. Fiber cement engineer. What you're gonna need to paint that. Oh yeah. Five, 10 years time. Um, this, you know, with the fade warranty and the, and the performance specs there, um, you, you, you're never gonna need to paint this product.

[00:19:05] Chase Creighton: Yeah. See

[00:19:30] Eric Goranson: Right? Right. And it's, there's some misconceptions out there that people would go out and buy the least expensive stuff and then five to 10 years later, it's getting all chalky and it's looking bad. , your technology has come so far with composites of what you guys are doing. I just wanna make sure that we make that clear to everybody out there, that the world is a different place from what we saw in the nineties compared to now.

[00:20:14] Chase Creighton: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and we're, you know, we, we do everything in our power when we're. Thinking about and speaking to this product internally or externally. Right. That this is a, this is a category unto itself. Correct. This is composite. We don't call it composite vinyl. Si. This is composite. Composite cladding because it is not vinyl cycle.

[00:20:54] Chase Creighton: um, yeah. It was, it was product that was lacking in a lot of ways. Right, right. But even in that vinyl space, I think it's [00:21:00] important for your audience. Right. And anybody, I would say to really. really go do the due diligence and understand what's out there in today's market. Um, and, and if you are at a, you know, in a situation where, you know, composite or the engineer would, isn't an option and you need to go the vinyl siding route, uh, I think there's been lots of strides there.

[00:21:36] Chase Creighton: I think it's, you know, , anybody today, um, going down the path of, of doing one of these projects on their home and making this kind of investment, um, it is certainly worth, uh, you know, the due diligence and time and energy to, to really understand what's out there, do the homework, um, and, and make sure you're, you know, what you want as you go into this, uh, you know, this activity for yourself.

[00:21:57] Eric Goranson: for your home. Well, our, our audience here around the [00:22:00] house is a great mix. We've got about, uh, you know, 60% homeowner, 40% contractor, so we kind of got the mix here. , I know there's a lot of contractors out there going, Hmm, do I want to get into the space? Do I want to go out and start taking on, you know, composite cladding out there?

[00:22:28] Chase Creighton: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we have our, you know, we have company owned distribution in 106 locations currently. I think by the end of this year we're, we're planning on being at 108, so a pretty broad network of, uh, you know, our own distribution that has a inside, uh, team, you know, that is, that is tasked and educated on being able to, uh, you know, talk through and, and, and tell the story both.

[00:23:12] Chase Creighton: The entire story is told and we're, you know, actively working in a lot of avenues to, to even build that out further and develop, you know, uh, a variety of programs focused on that. So I would encourage anybody, um, you know, uh, on the contractor in the trade right. Um, all side.com. Uh, there you can go and see all the locations nationwide, get contact information.

[00:24:03] Chase Creighton: Yeah. And you know, why we believe that, uh, you know, ascend is a, is an absolutely, uh, great, great choice to, to at. You know, exhaust all, all efforts of understanding and

[00:24:18] Chase Creighton: myself. Not currently.

[00:24:36] Chase Creighton: So we, we deal directly with the, uh, you know, the contractor and builder base. Yep. Um, but I would encourage them still to, to reach out to the branch. You know, we, our, our branch is, well engage with homeowners for sure. Sure. Answer questions, um, you know, uh, make sure they have a, they have an understanding, all their questions are answered.

[00:24:56] Eric Goranson: Well, it's great because, you know, that's, that is the one thing about having [00:25:00] a product like this, that. What I'd call fairly install friendly. You know, that as far as having a contractor come out and do the work, right?

[00:25:25] Eric Goranson: You know, I can't tell you even how many times I've walked up to. Let's say it's a, um, fiber cement job and the, the caulking is falling off the side where they tried to caulk the butt seams together and it's like, like a worm down the side of the house where it's all pushed out and that kind of stuff.

[00:25:58] Chase Creighton: practices with it.

[00:26:28] Chase Creighton: Because whether it's siding, whether it's our siding, anybody's product, you know, from a warranty perspective and a performance perspective, the installation and the correct installation of it is kind of paramount to all of that. So that's, that's definitely a. Key thing to,

[00:26:44] Eric Goranson: You really need to know somebody out there doing a remodel. When you've got siding, existing siding, whether you're removing it, where you're going over the top, how to deal with the trim, how to deal with waterproofing underneath it. This is a very complex [00:27:00] situation where every single house is completely different than the last one, and it's not a one size fits all.

[00:27:26] Eric Goranson: Having that and having the knowledge of a professional out there to say, okay, we have to go this direction. Because you just can't get an information packet and go, okay, this is what it is. You gotta have that years of experience to know how to do it, because you can create, by putting in two vapor barriers, do all these different things.

[00:27:50] Chase Creighton: Yeah. Yeah. I think, you know, I think you've illustrated it, uh, perfectly, which is. You know, you can, you can have the manual right. And the install guide. But when it comes to, especially a [00:28:00] remodel e each project is, is unto itself. Yeah. Right. And then there's only that, uh, experience and expertise, um, that, that really has to be leveraged there because there's.

[00:28:20] Eric Goranson: those. So, and that's not even touching on local building codes, cuz that's different everywhere. Right, right, right,

[00:28:25] Chase Creighton: Then there's the permits and the building codes and, and all of that. So it's, uh, it's definitely in my opinion, um, you know, I mean, a shed in the backyard is one thing. Right. But if you're, if you're recladding your home, um, that is, that is something that's, you know, Worth investing in a professional to do the work just because it is a, uh, yeah, it's very much a lot, lot of moving parts to account for.

[00:28:48] Eric Goranson: guys have all that, uh, compliment of trims as well that come with the product that, uh, to fit most of the situations.

[00:29:06] Chase Creighton: That come with it. Yeah. So the caulk and the nails, um, the blocks and vents, uh, you know, J blocks, light blocks. Um, all really a, anything and everything, um, needed to round out. Uh, you know, an exterior remodeling project. Um, the majority of our, our distribution centers, uh, you know, of those 106 are gonna have 90 to a hundred percent of, you know, the partisan pieces you're gonna need to get that job done.

[00:29:32] Eric Goranson: Oh, you, you mentioned windows. You guys also have a, if I remember right, an east coast, west coast branded window as well. .

[00:29:55] Chase Creighton: Um, but yeah, I mean, it's a, uh, you know, uh, a full offering when it comes [00:30:00] to, Uh, you know, uh, exterior remodeling. Yeah. Um, we also fabricate, uh, manufacture metal products. So your trim coil, um, your gutter, uh, the rainwear, you know, downspouts, all of that. I mean, it is, I would check, uh, you know, the local, um, your, you.

[00:30:35] Chase Creighton: I was gonna

[00:30:42] Chase Creighton: Yep. So windows vinyl, uh, composite obviously. And then, uh, you know, we also source for the situations where, you know, our manufactured product, uh, is just a, is a non-starter. In those unfortunate times, we also, uh, distribute, you know, we, we really look at ourselves as a distributor.

[00:31:16] Eric Goranson: for our customer base.

[00:31:21] Chase Creighton: frankly, I didn't notice. Yeah, it's, uh, uh, I, I would say, I've mentioned All side.com. Yep. You can ascend.com as well, correct? Correct. That was North. Say there was, there's the other side of that. Yep. You can see the details.

[00:31:51] Chase Creighton: So from a warranty per. Very competitive and, and matches the industry. See, that's great.

[00:32:06] Chase Creighton: Correct? Yeah. You're not, uh, you're not sacrificing that. And you're not only, you're not sacrificing that.

[00:32:23] Eric Goranson: absolutely. Oh yeah. Guarantee it. Guarantee it.

[00:32:26] Chase Creighton: is. Right, right, right. So that's really that, you know, again, that blank space and the, the. Cons that it solves for, I think the main ones being, uh, you know, the maintenance, um, and the install and the skilled trade and labor that are needed that's more focused on our customer base than maybe the homeowner, but it impacts the homeowner as well.

[00:32:59] Eric Goranson: The other thing I like [00:33:00] too, that's kind of handy when you're, when you're doing, um, let's say you're doing a remodel this time of year and we'll call it early spring, just because that's kind of what it is, getting outta winter into spring, somebody comes in, they gotta do the, um, let's call it the fiber cement route.

[00:33:24] Chase Creighton: good point. It's a very good point. And that's a, that's a, that's a reality, right? I mean, that's just is you're in certain parts of the country, that's a hundred percent, uh, how that would go.

[00:33:54] Chase Creighton: Absolutely,

[00:34:08] Chase Creighton: No, I mean, I think we've, I think we've covered pretty well. I mean, I would encourage, again, everybody, um, you know, to, to check out all side.com.

[00:34:37] Chase Creighton: Um, there is a lot more, you know, even than what I've rattled off here in terms of maybe services and, and, um, you know, what you can leverage from our distribution centers outside of just the products we offer. Um, and then from the ascend front, you know, check out that warranty, check out the color offering, check out, uh, you know, some photos of that product on the home.

[00:35:14] Chase Creighton: I'll get it right one more time. . Um, and, and, you know, make sure you know what the options are and what the, you know, the pros and cons are each, cuz we, we do very much feel that, uh, uh, you know, ascend. checks a lot, a lot of boxes. And, and is

[00:35:36] Chase Creighton: Um, or at least dealers? Yeah. Yeah. I think right now, um, you know, we're, it's something we've really been focused on. Mm-hmm. is how to, you know, uh, funnel and, and, and. Model that lead generation. Yeah. Um, right now you can go to, uh, you know, all side.com and there is, uh, you know, some partners there and some information there, um, to, [00:36:00] to do just that.

[00:36:08] Eric Goranson: Yeah, I really, I really encourage people out there. Find the right contractors out there that are trained and know your product. Right. You know, that's the key.

[00:36:39] Chase Creighton: Yeah, a hundred percent.

[00:36:58] Chase Creighton: You know, right. For that [00:37:00] job. Absolutely.

[00:37:06] Chase Creighton: Uh, well, thank you again. Uh, appreciate, uh, you know, you, you having me on. Really enjoyed the conversation. And again, um, all side.com, uh, that's our.

[00:37:28] Eric Goranson: for coming on. I'm Eric G and you've been listening to Around the House.