My Neighbors Windows Melted the Side of My House
High quality vinyl siding can stand up to rain, sleet, and snow, it won't lose its color even after years of direct sunshine, and it stands up to power washing and scrubbing. But vinyl siding can't resist extreme heat without melting and buckling, and once damage, siding really can't be repaired, it has to be replaced. And that can be a major issue even only one or two panels of your vinyl siding are damaged, as unless the replacement pieces match perfectly, the whole look of the property will suffer -- so damage to just one little portion of the walls of your home may end up requiring an entire wall replaced to maintain good looks.
And if sunlight reflecting off a neighbors windows caused the vinyl siding damage, it looks like you're headed for one seriously unpleasant exchange. But how can sunlight reflections melt a durable material like vinyl, anyway?
Melted Vinyl Siding Caused by Reflected Sunlight
When the sunshine hits off normal windows, a good portion of it passes through into the residence. Energy efficient windows have a highly reflective optical coating that rejects much more solar energy than typical glass panes, and all that reflected light has to go somewhere. If the somewhere it goes is vinyl siding sunlight reflections can melt the material be creating concentrated beams of light that slowly heat up and then ruin vinyl. The best way to stop the damage isn't to rip out the windows -- or to ask your neighbor to rip out their windows, that is -- but to recommend an easy, affordable solution that can leave everyone happy.