Hany Nasr knows exactly how to compete in a red-hot suburban northern Virginia home construction and remodeling market: you outflank competitors with talent and building innovations they can’t match.
Nasr owns and operates NCD Group of Arlington, Va., keeping two crews busy working on gut-rehab projects and pop-top home additions. He works hard to differentiate NCD Group in a hyper-tough market. Uncompromising building standards help. The real edge may be his commitment to innovative, let’s-see-you-top-this construction applications that win projects and referrals.
Curved Sensation
Take a tiny three-bedroom cottage he bought in partnership with another local remodeler, Ryan Rodger, owner, and CEO of Orion of Virginia, as a teardown. Nasr’s team built a new 3,830 SF, 5-bedroom/4.5-bathroom neighborhood showcase. The killer exterior feature is a pair of eye-catching, gently-curving trim applications.
“Ryan Rodger came up with the idea, a look he borrowed from his mom’s house. Our installer wanted to use sheet goods to piece the curve together,” Nasr recalls. “That would have left multiple seams. Thomas suggested a reduced seam heat-bending method using AZEK PVC trim.”
Thomas is Thomas Hartman, an area sales rep for AZEK, a leading trim and molding manufacturer. He suggested heat forming the trim in lengthy sections to minimize seams.
Heat Forming 101
The team set-up “… on a very cold winter’s day in the home’s garage,” Hartman says. The key to the process is a heat forming kit:
- 2 heat blankets (available in various widths and lengths)
- 2 cement boards or rolled insulation (specifically during cold weather)
- 1 infrared surface thermometer
- 2 clamps
- 1 form/jig that will shape the PVC
The process itself is straightforward, though an experienced trainer is recommended the first time:
- Create a wooden jig or template conforming exactly to the desired curve.
- Use the two heat blankets to soften a length of AZEK trim to about 300° F for seven to 10 minutes. The trim will have the consistency of cooked spaghetti.
- Gently place the softened trim in the wooden template.
- Clampdown. Let cool. The curved trim will hold its shape indefinitely.
One Day, $1.47 Million
“The curved trim helped me sell the home in a single day for $1.47 million. The owner and I will never have to worry about the trim,” Nasr explains. “We glued it and screwed it. A hurricane would blow the roof off before that trim would move. And, the owner absolutely loves the look.”
Nasr also credits another small but critical feature: the peel-off protective film. “Ryan Rodger and I are very, very fussy about the way material arrives at the jobsite. Trim must be perfect. The AZEK film guarantees that and stays on right through nail eraser. The price difference isn’t much. Why wouldn’t you use it?”
The easy peel-off protective layer ensures the usual shipping and jobsite panel scratches, nicks, dirtying, and touch-ups are eliminated. It’s a simple thing. But it’s exactly the kind of quality touch and differentiator Nasr likes to point out at closing time.
Nasr’s latest home project is a front exterior makeover. “I still have to add the curved front trim,” Nasr says. After all, what better way to stay two steps ahead of the competition?
View or follow the trim heat-forming process for yourself. Learn more about AZEK trim.
