At Duramax we take the safety and health of our employees and our customers very seriously. As a business operating in Southern California, our owners, managers, and employees live and work in the community where we make our products. We have always protected the health of our associates and the environment, not because of any law or award, or recognition, but because it is the right thing to do.

Proposition 65, officially named the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, was passed into law in 1986 by the state of California with the original intent of protecting drinking water sources from chemical contamination. However, since 1986 the scope of the law has grown to include such common substances as Nickel, Wood dust,  PVC, Titanium Dioxide. There are officially over 900 ingredients and chemicals on the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) list of carcinogen or reproductive toxicants. Many of the 900+ chemicals and substances are common ingredients and materials found in a variety of household goods such as lotions, jewelry, lamps, lead crystal glasses, automobiles, and furniture.

The Proposition 65 Warning Label is required by law on all products that may contain any of these ingredients and materials. You will find the Proposition 65 label on such everyday items as balsamic vinegar, boots and shoes, and prepackaged firewood.

Some of the substances found on the Prop 65 list of potentially harmful materials include wood dust, Nickel. PVC, Titanium Dioxide. As there is always a chance of these or other substances listed on Proposition 65 being present in our products, we are forced to include Proposition 65 warnings on all of our products. Under California law, there is a risk of large fines for not warning consumers and therefore, the specified warning label is placed on all products Duramax sells. Further, the exact wording on the label is mandated by California law to read, “This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm.”

While the warning label is only required for items sold to California, Duramax manufactures and stores many items without knowing where these items may be shipped. Many of our larger customers also store products in central warehouses and ship into California. For this reason, it is also important for our dealers to leave these warning labels on when shipping to customers in California. Corporately we have decided to list every product we make with the California Proposition 65 warning regardless of its destination.

All Duramax products are constantly tested for chemical content that could be harmful. All our products meet or exceed every relevant, industry-accepted safety standard including all applicable federal laws and industry standards

Duramax is unaware of any case of any person contracting any form of cancer or reproductive harm of any kind by simply handling or touching our products for their intended use.

California law mandates that consumers need to be made aware of these risks and because of this mandate Duramax has added the Prop 65 warning language to assist consumers in making these informed decisions

When DuraMax first entered the exterior vinyl building products market, we saw a huge deficiency in how consumers were being serviced in the western US. The only exterior vinyl building products available to the residents of the western US had to be shipped in from the mid-west and east-coast where all other building product extruders are located. These extruders had to ship their products great distances in order to serve the market in the west. Their fence dealers and fabricators faced shipping and inventory problems and, therefore, higher operating costs and longer lead times, which were transferred to consumers.
In addition to unnecessary shipping cost being charged to consumers, extensive research showed that the vinyl formulation used for the mid-west and the east coast was not the most effective formulation for the southwestern states. Here’s why: there are three standard test climates representing the extremes encountered in the continental United States:
1. Hot and dry, average 300 days of sun per year.
2. Hot and moist with exposure to salty air.
3. Temperature extremes, from fairly hot and moist in summer to below zero and moist in winter.
The Southwestern states receive significantly more sunlight than any other region. UV rays from the sun are the main cause of yellowing in vinyl.

DuraMax Is The Most Durable Vinyl Fence Money Can Buy

DuraMax was designed for and is manufactured in the Southwest. We’ve been manufacturing vinyl products in the Southwest since 1983 and have perfected our vinyl products to meet the demanding weather conditions of the region. Here’s how: Proprietary DuraResin Material Our proprietary DuraResin vinyl is designed for the hot Southwestern sun and has been used in many of our outdoor products since 1987. DuraResin contains over 12 parts per hundred titanium dioxide (an effective sunscreen) and highly perfected UV inhibitors and modifiers, so you can be sure you’re getting the highest quality vinyl designed to give you a permanent and durable solution for all your fencing needs. “Route and Lock” Construction All DuraMax vinyl fencing is built by routing and interlocking the different parts together. Routed and interlocked members will never pull apart or fail. When you buy DuraMax, you truly get a maintenance-free fence. No Nails, Visible Screws or Glues Screws and nails corrode and rip out. Glues that are used to hold fencing members together dry and crack after years in the sun. We never use these non-durable materials. With our “Route and Lock” construction you can be sure your beautiful investment will last forever. We Don’t Mix Regrind In Our Materials We only use the highest quality virgin vinyl materials in our residential fencing…never any regrinds or runoffs from other vinyl products. That’s how we guarantee a durable fence that won’t warp, bow, crack or deteriorate for the life of your fence. Thick Walls For Strength And Durability The walls of all DuraMax vinyl fence materials are thick for strength and durability. Thicker walled materials eliminate problems like cracking, sagging and warping over the life of the product and guarantee a truly maintenance-free fence.
Additionally, our vinyl is co-extruded to maximize strength and durability. As you will see from the diagram below, our vinyl is actually comprised of 2 “layers”. The top surface layer (cap stock) is specially formulated with the best UV resistance properties to resist yellowing. And the inner layer (substrate) is built for high rigidity, which means that our vinyl is the strongest available and will not warp.
In case you are wondering, “Is co-extrusion really necessary? Why can’t there just be one layer?” One single layer cannot have both the UV Protection needed against the intense Southwestern sun, along with maximum strength and rigidity. The chemical composition to achieve those 2 results are different.

Well, here’s a definition, courtesy of Wikipedia: TiO2 Defined: Wikipedia Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO2. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6, or CI 77891. It is noteworthy for its wide range of applications, from paint to sunscreen to food coloring.

APPLICATIONS

As a pigment of high refringence, titanium dioxide is the most widely used white pigment because of its brightness and very high refractive index (n=2.4), in which it is surpassed only by a few other materials… This pigment is used extensively in plastics and other applications for its UV resistant properties where it acts as a UV reflector. … In almost every sunscreen with a physical blocker, titanium dioxide is found both because of its refractive index and its resistance to discoloration under ultraviolet light. This advantage enhances its stability and ability to protect the skin from ultraviolet light. Sunscreens designed for infants or people with sensitive skin are often based on titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide, as these mineral UV blockers are less likely to cause skin irritation than chemical UV absorber ingredients, such as avobenzone.

Absolutely.

Yes. Depending on circumstances and local building codes, high vinyl fencing may require reinforcement of the posts, but this is equally true for other materials.

No problem. Your local dealer/contractor knows how to use our standard vinyl components to fabricate gates.

Our standard components come in a large variety of shapes and sizes. This provides a tremendous selection of “building blocks” and permits virtually unlimited customization of your fencing. Almost any style you’ve seen in wood, metal or vinyl fencing—as well as many you’ve never seen—can be created with DuraMax.

Installation requirements are no different than for wood fence posts. If you live in an area where concrete is normally used, you would use it for vinyl as well. If concrete is not usually used for wood posts in your area, you would not use it for vinyl posts either.

Lawn equipment such as power mowers, trimmers and weed eaters can damage any fence posts—vinyl included. But since vinyl fencing consists of standardized components that are easily replaced, the damage is less of a problem than with alternative fencing materials that are variable and need to be carefully matched, or that need to be sanded, primed and painted. While all fencing is vulnerable to graffiti, vinyl is very easy to clean. In most cases, a little paint thinner does the job. In extreme cases, a pressure washer or some sandpaper may be required.

A once-a-year washing will keep your fencing looking new indefinitely. The fact that this is the ONLY maintenance needed is one of the main reasons why vinyl has been gaining in popularity. Other fencing materials require an ongoing commitment to a costly and time-consuming program of maintenance.

Under certain conditions, mold and mildew can settle on the surface of vinyl fencing. But since it cannot penetrate the surface, it is easily wiped off with detergent and water.

Wind loads vary with location and with the placement and installation of the vertical posts and horizontal rails. When the fencing is installed according to specifications, wind is never a problem. As for weathering, vinyl does not rust, and it holds up better than any alternative fencing material on the market. All components are designed to allow for normal expansion and contraction with varying temperature, and the fencing will withstand even the most extreme weather conditions. It will not deform in the hottest weather, nor will it crack or break on the coldest night. CAUTION: If you live in the Southwest, where the sun tends to be stronger than in other parts of the country, weathering due to ultraviolet radiation can be a problem—UNLESS it’s DuraMax fencing. DuraMax fencing is the only vinyl fencing manufactured in the Southwest. Its vinyl is extruded from a specially formulated DuraResin 3 material that contains 12 parts per hundred titanium dioxide, which acts as an effective sunscreen. DuraResin 3 also contains special UV inhibitors and modifiers designed to withstand strong UV sun rays. Unlike DuraMax, other brands of fencing are manufactured in regions where the sun is less intense, and they are extruded from resins that are NOT formulated to withstand intense UV.

DuraMax fencing comes with a Lifetime Transferable Non-Prorated Limited Warranty. “Lifetime” and “Non-Prorated” are clues that when we say it lasts, we mean it. And “Transferable” is a clue that when we say it adds value to your property, we back that up as well.

Your vinyl fencing is designed to last a lifetime. But lasting long is not the whole story. Another question is how long it will continue to look good. On this issue, you are apt to envy your own fencing…because the fencing will stay young-looking indefinitely.

No. The initial investment for vinyl is much less than for custom ornamental iron fencing. Compared with decent quality wood and metal fencing, the initial cost of vinyl may seem to be a bit more, but when you consider that vinyl needs no sanding, priming or painting, the installed costs are about the same. However, the most meaningful comparison for most homeowners is the total cost over the lifetime of the product or over the years that the property is owned. In the long run, vinyl is by far the most economical type of fencing you can buy. Vinyl will never fade, rot, rust, peel or look old. It resists cracking and it never needs painting, so there’s no paint to chip off. That means it never needs repainting, either or replacing due to aging or weathering.

“Vinyl ” is short for Polyvinyl Chloride, also called PVC, a plastic material widely used for applications that demand high durability. The prefix “poly” refers to the fact that the molecules are chemically linked to one another in long chains, called polymers. Although PVC is the principal ingredient in vinyl fencing, other ingredients are added to give the fencing desirable properties. For example, special ingredients, called impact modifiers, are added to improve the impact resistance of fencing. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a white pigment that is added for long-term resistance to ultraviolet (UV) light, a component of sunlight that tends to discolor and embrittle most substances that are exposed to sunlight over long periods of time. DuraMax specially formulates its vinyl to withstand the sunlight typically experienced in the Southwestern states, which is harsher than any other part of the country. It does this by using a higher proportion of TiO2 as well as adding special UV inhibitors and modifiers. The resulting formula, called DuraResin, unique to DuraMax products, is the only one that has been engineered as the best product in the market today!