National Building Code of Canada Promoted into VSI Product Certification Program

In our recent blog about the VSI Product Certification Program’s 27th Anniversary, Sara Krompholz, PEPA’s Senior Director, Technical and Certification, emphasized the need to celebrate random milestones because both her team and its members strive to keep building a program that continues to be evergreen.

This year is no exception.

This addition to the program has three significant benefits:

1. It opens the door to the Canadian market.
2. It allows PEPA to evolve its product certification offerings continuously – remember “always evergreen.”
3. It carves a new path for the polymeric exterior industry, making it seamless for new products and new PEPA member categories — especially polymeric roofing — to gain future acceptance. PERs (Product Evaluation Reports) are another program deliverable that can be generated for recognition to the Canadian code and, in the future, they could include backed vinyl siding profiles.

To position PEPA members for success through the NBC, Sara and the PEPA team have revised the Certification Scheme and program documents – including updated PCL and PER templates to include NBC recognition – and all the information has been disseminated to the members so that they can prepare to submit to the certifying body for approval. (There is one remaining step with registering the VSI certification mark. It’s in the process of being registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office [CIPO], but it doesn’t hinder PEPA members from pursuing NBC certification).

What You Need to Know

There are two testing differences between the U.S. and Canada that are important for PEPA members to know:

• Wind load is calculated in kPa (kPa - kilopascals) and American PSF (pounds per square foot)
• Flame spread. The U.S. uses the test method ASTM E84 for fire testing, while Canada’s standard is the CAN/ULC S102.2. Both utilize the Steiner Tunnel test method, but the American ASTM E84 requires testing in the ceiling position. In contrast, the CAN/ULC S102.2 adapts the apparatus to test certain products in the floor position.

These are subtle differences, Sara notes, but it is helpful to have both sets of information in the product deliverables. As she attests, “sweating the small stuff” has always been the priority for the VSI Product Certification Program and has fueled its enormous progress over the last quarter century.

“Our recognition with the NBC was predicated on code work that PEPA did many years ago,” Sara explained. “We’re seeing the fruits of our labor from the CDWG (Code Development Work Group). Projects that started more than a decade ago have come to fruition.”

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) projected (in 2022) that 5.8 million new homes were needed by 2030 to make housing prices more affordable.[i] PEPA members can now provide a solution with products that are durable, affordable and highly sustainable, and work is in process to include backed vinyl siding and polymeric roofing materials into the NBC.

For more information on the NBC and/or PEPA’s VSI Product Certification Program, contact Sara at skrompholz@polymericexteriors.org.

^[i] “Can real estate development IPOs help solve Canada’s housing supply shortages?” CIBC, June 10, 2025

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Don Browne is a writer, entrepreneur and local legislator who believes that the power of words can change the world. He provides unique writing services for clients in the construction, health care, IT and hospitality sectors. He has a passion for small business and start-ups, as well as writing about Irish history, family and corporate biographies. As a homeowner and father of four who is passionate about community development, Don looks forward to writing more about the exciting possibilities of creating traditional neighborhoods and more sustainable communities using modern materials.