unfinished.one

Uniformat B2020

Window, vinyl frame

Also called vinyl window, PVC window

  • Confidence B
  • Version 0.2.0 (permanent link)
  • Reviewed 2026-10-22

This is version 0.2.0. The latest is 0.3.0.

Service life

30 yearsmedian of the stated lives · sources say 25–30 years
051015202530352530

Years in service. The band runs from the shortest to the longest life the sources state, so it shows how much they disagree, not how long 80% of units last. The line is the median of the stated lives.

Basis

  • 30 years · CNA e-Tool Estimated Useful Life Table, p8 · HUD CNA 3.3.3.2.4 “Vinyl” — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (planning life)
    Same life for family and elderly properties. US multifamily housing.
  • 25 years · Design standards: employer's requirements – Technical Manual (ER-DFE-XX-XX-T-X-0201, revision A-C01), p97 · 2.6.4 “External windows and doors (including glazed/louvred components): 25 years” — Department for Education (England) (design life)
    Printed page 97. External windows and doors, material not stated. Minimum life expectancy (design requirement) for DfE-funded school buildings. Minimum design requirements placed on contractors for school buildings, not observed replacement ages. Section 5.1.4 (sanitaryware) refers to CIBSE Guide M Appendix 12.A1 'in general'.
  • 30 years · Future Buildings Standard: final stage impact assessment (RPC-MHCLG-25104-IA), 24 March 2026, p77 · Appendix B “"external windows which was assigned an asset life of thirty years"” — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (UK) (planning life)
    Printed page 77. External windows, frame material not stated. Assumption for new non-domestic buildings in England; the IA says the lifetimes are in line with BS EN 15459 (Annex/Appendix E), but they are stated as the department's own modelling assumptions, not a reproduced table. Round-number economic-appraisal assumptions, not observed lives. Same values as the January 2021 Future Buildings Standard consultation IA (separate file), so the two are not independent.

How sources are chosen and recorded: sourcing policy.

Municipal lives for exterior enclosure (B20)

23 municipalities in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta state a life for exterior enclosure as a whole, in 18 distinct tables: 10–85 years, median 30. 33 rows come from capital asset policies (accounting lives, used for amortization) and 6 from asset management plans (planning lives, used to forecast replacement). They describe the system rather than this component, and none is a measured life.

Median 30 yearsTrent Lakes: Exterior Shell - Wood Finishing maintenance, 10 yearsTelkwa: Exterior Envelope, 20 yearsAmherstburg: Exterior Envelops - Roof, Windows, Doors, Concrete, 20 yearsHuron: Patrol Yards - Building Exterior, 20 yearsHuron: Property Services - Building Exterior, 20 yearsHuron: Housing - Building Exterior, 20 yearsHuron: Homes for the Aged - Exterior, 20 yearsLondon: Building Components - Shell (siding, windows, roofing), 20 yearsMeaford: Exterior Closure - Overhead Doors, 20 yearsSimcoe: Envelope, 20 yearsTrent Lakes: Exterior Shell - Windows, 20 yearsGrey Highlands: Windows & Doors, 25 yearsMeaford: Exterior Closure - Windows, 25 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Windows and Doors, 25 yearsTrent Lakes: Exterior Shell - Vinyl, 25 yearsParksville: Metal Cladding, 30 yearsLondon: Building Components - Interiors (partitions, doors), 30 yearsMeaford: Exterior Closure - Vinyl Siding, 30 yearsMeaford: Exterior Closure - Standard Doors, 30 yearsMeaford: Exterior Closure - Wood Cladding, 40 yearsTrent Lakes: Exterior Shell - Brick / Masonry/Steel, 40 yearsCanmore: Envelope, 50 yearsParksville: Exterior Wall, 50 yearsChapple: Building Improvements - Exterior Envelope, 50 yearsKenora: Buildings - Exterior Components, 50 yearsMeaford: Exterior Closure - Concrete Block, 50 yearsMeaford: Exterior Closure - Metal Cladding, 50 yearsRainy River: Building Improvements - Exterior Envelope, 50 yearsRainy River: Building Improvements - Exterior Envelope, 50 yearsHuron: Homes for the Aged - Building Envelope, 60 yearsFort St. James, Revelstoke and 3 more: Exterior Envelope, 30–40 yearsOkanagan-Similkameen: Exterior Envelope, 30–40 yearsSalmo: Exterior Envelope, 30–40 yearsGreater Madawaska and Quinte West: Shell - Other, 55–85 years020406080100

Years. Each dot is one stated life and each bar a stated range; equal values stack. Hollow marks are planning lives from asset management plans; filled marks are accounting lives from policies. The dashed line is the median. Policies that copy the same table count once.

All 34 stated lives
MunicipalityAs writtenYearsKindSource
Trent LakesExterior Shell - Wood Finishing maintenance10accountingp10 · 2009
TelkwaExterior Envelope20accountingp8
AmherstburgExterior Envelops - Roof, Windows, Doors, Concrete20accountingp8 · 2026
HuronPatrol Yards - Building Exterior20planningp42 · 2025
HuronProperty Services - Building Exterior20planningp57 · 2025
HuronHousing - Building Exterior20planningp68 · 2025
HuronHomes for the Aged - Exterior20planningp77 · 2025
LondonBuilding Components - Shell (siding, windows, roofing)20accountingp2 · 2023
MeafordExterior Closure - Overhead Doors20accountingp17 · 2020
SimcoeEnvelope20accountingp19 · 2025
Trent LakesExterior Shell - Windows20accountingp10 · 2009
Grey HighlandsWindows & Doors25accountingp11 · 2026
MeafordExterior Closure - Windows25accountingp17 · 2020
The Blue MountainsWindows and Doors25accountingp11 · 2019
Trent LakesExterior Shell - Vinyl25accountingp10 · 2009
ParksvilleMetal Cladding30accountingp9 · 2023
LondonBuilding Components - Interiors (partitions, doors)30accountingp2 · 2023
MeafordExterior Closure - Vinyl Siding30accountingp17 · 2020
MeafordExterior Closure - Standard Doors30accountingp17 · 2020
Fort St. James, Revelstoke, Rossland, Sicamous, Tumbler Ridge · same tableExterior Envelope30–40accountingp5, p9, p7, p9, p5 · 2010
Okanagan-SimilkameenExterior Envelope30–40accountingp11 · 2023
SalmoExterior Envelope30–40accountingp6 · 2016
MeafordExterior Closure - Wood Cladding40accountingp17 · 2020
Trent LakesExterior Shell - Brick / Masonry/Steel40accountingp10 · 2009
CanmoreEnvelope50accountingp10 · 2025
ParksvilleExterior Wall50accountingp9 · 2023
ChappleBuilding Improvements - Exterior Envelope50accountingp1
KenoraBuildings - Exterior Components50accountingp15 · 2026
MeafordExterior Closure - Concrete Block50accountingp17 · 2020
MeafordExterior Closure - Metal Cladding50accountingp17 · 2020
Rainy RiverBuilding Improvements - Exterior Envelope50accountingp11 · 2010
Rainy RiverBuilding Improvements - Exterior Envelope50planningp17 · 2026
Greater Madawaska, Quinte West · same tableShell - Other55–85accountingp17, p38 · 2025
HuronHomes for the Aged - Building Envelope60planningp77 · 2025

Of 39 rows, 2 were compared with an image of their page; 37 were matched to their page automatically (the label and number appear in the page text). Follow the page link before relying on an automatically matched row. About the policies · All approved rows as JSON

Preventive maintenance

No maintenance tasks are sourced for this component yet.

Open questions

  • Every source here is a published planning, design or accounting life. None is observed replacement data.
  • No preventive maintenance tasks are sourced yet.

Know the answer? Send it with a source to [email protected].

Cite this

Citation

unfinished.one (2026). Window, vinyl frame, v0.2.0. https://unfinished.one/c/window-vinyl/v/0.2.0

BibTeX

@misc{unfinished_window_vinyl_0_2_0,
  title = {Window, vinyl frame},
  author = {{unfinished.one}},
  year = {2026},
  version = {0.2.0},
  url = {https://unfinished.one/c/window-vinyl/v/0.2.0},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}

Licence CC BY 4.0 · How to cite · JSON · Versions: 0.3.0, 0.2.0, 0.1.0