PVC is a kind of plastic. You meet it as water pipes under the sink, as white window frames, as shiny coats that look a bit like leather, as wipe-clean tablecloths, as the skin on electric wire. Chemists call it polyvinyl chloride, but almost nobody in a shop says that; they say the three letters, P-V-C. It is cheap, tough, and does not mind water, which is why builders like it. It can be made hard (pipes, frames) or soft (clothes, inflatable things). Though actually, when people say vinyl — vinyl records, vinyl floors — they are often talking about this same plastic, just using the middle of the long name. It is not a fancy word. You see it stamped on packets and on building signs.