FORMUFIT PVC Blog

So What is Furniture Grade PVC?

So what exactly qualifies something as ‘Furniture Grade PVC’?

We get this question a lot, and we actually prefer the term High Definition PVC (HD-PVC, you’ll start to see us referring products as that soon), because not everyone is building furniture with our products.

Nonetheless, Furniture Grade is a classification of PVC that meets the following criteria:

• Impact Proof – It should withstand a hard hit, or drop from a negligible height and be able to survive, without cracks or breakage.  It also must be able to withstand significant load (weight) applied to it
• Attractive Appearance – Has a glossy or textured surface, ideal for display items such as furniture, shelves, pool products, etc., where appearance is important
• Ultraviolet Protection – Has an additive introduced in the injection molding or extrusion process that inhibits the impact of sunlight (or even fluorescent lighting) on the molecular structure of the PVC.  Without this, the PVC would yellow, crack or just plain break
• Tapered or Domed Edges – Has tapered edges along the points of interconnect, that will not cause clothing to snag or scratches to an individuals skin.  In addition it adds to the appearance of the product by making a tapered transition from fitting to pipe
• Non-Toxic – Must be ‘pure PVC’ and not made with any noxious or poisonous chemicals that may leech or transfer to an individual or connecting element (wood decking, pool water, etc.)

Some other areas that FORMUFIT includes in our qualification of Furniture Grade PVC (or HD-PVC) are longer fitting ports for increased structural integrity for our PVC fittings, and solid core walls for our PVC pipe to increase rigidity and reduce flexibility under load.  Obviously, Furniture Grade PVC is also available in a multitude of configurations that you just wont find at your hardware store or home center.

Furniture Grade PVC is far superior to what you find on the shelves of your local Home Depot or Lowes in quality, build and functionality.  Those items are termed ‘Plumbing Grade’, which obviously means they are utilized for in-home and business plumbing use, which limits them to what they can do.

For example, a Soccer Goal built from Plumbing Grade fittings would be an annual activity.  Exposure to the sun and day-to-day use would require you to build it every single year, whereas with Furniture Grade fittings it would last your entire child’s soccer career.