PVC-Coated Fabrics Suited for Your Building Project

Most structure fabric materials are durable and able to work for many types of buildings when manufactured, inspected and installed correctly. At a glance, polyethylene products have many similarities to PVC products, but PVC fabrics offer some key advantages.

  PVC Coated Fabrics Polyethylene Fabrics
Tensile Strip
 Superior Poor
Tensile Tear Superior Poor
Tensile Trap Superior Poor
Tensile Burst Superior Poor
Flammability Inherently Flame
Resistant		 Flammable Unless
Treated
Cold Crack Resistant Beyond
-40C (-40F)		 Up to -40C (-40F)
Color Availability All Colors Available Limited to Large
Scale Only
Fold Resistance Multiple Folds
/ Deployment		 Single Deployment
Only
Repairability Multiple; Easily
Repaired		 Single; Difficult to
Repair
Base Fabric
Structures		 Both Woven
and Knitted 		 Woven Only

Tedlar & Non-Tedlar Surfaces

Cross-sectional Views of Tedlar vs. Non Tedlar Architectural Fabrics.

Tedlar Film Coated Shelter-Rite Fabric Structure Lacquer Coated Non Shelter-Rite Fabric Structure
Tedlar Film Coated Shelter-rite Fabric Surface Lacquer Coated Non Shelter-Rite Fabric Surface
  • Tedlar film will not have pinhole and be a uniform thickness
  • Tedlar only contains polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) resin.
  • No other resins which can cause property deterioration are used in film manufacturing
  • Uniform consistency throughout the film thickness
  • No plasticizers to exude out of the film
  • No environmental chemical will cause significant change to film
  • Will not absorb ultraviolet light
  • Non-film surface will have less thickness
  • Non-film surface will have pinholes and will be less uniform in thickness
  • "Lacquer" contains no PVF resin, making it much less durable
  • "Lacquer" is non-uniform in consistency throughout the application thickness
  • Plasticizers will exude out of the layer during the life of the fabric
  • Fabric will absorb ultraviolet light and deteriorate throughout life