"Outdoor furniture though...still searching for that unicorn."
Haha, I feel you on the furniture struggle. But honestly, I'm still a bit skeptical about composite decking. My neighbor installed it a few years back, and while it looks decent overall, he's had some fading issues from constant sun exposure. Maybe it's brand-specific or something? Curious if anyone else has noticed similar fading or if he's just unlucky. For railings though, aluminum sounds promising—might have to look into that myself.
"he's had some fading issues from constant sun exposure"
Yeah, my folks have composite decking at their lake place, and I've noticed some fading too—especially in areas with full sun. Seems like darker colors fade more noticeably? Aluminum railings do hold up great though...
Seems like darker colors fade more noticeably? Aluminum railings do hold up great though...
Yeah, composite decking definitely fades, especially the darker shades. We had a beach rental with this gorgeous deep walnut color—two summers later it looked more like driftwood. Aluminum railings though... those things are practically immortal, even in salty air.
Haha, yeah, aluminum railings are like the cockroaches of beach house renovations—they'll survive anything. We had composite decking too (dark espresso color, looked amazing at first), but after a couple seasons it turned into this weird washed-out grayish-brown. Not exactly the vibe we were going for.
Honestly though, budgeting for beach house renos can be tricky because of stuff like that. You think you're saving money with certain materials, and then two years later you're repainting or replacing everything again. Learned that lesson the hard way... twice. I'd say whatever you think you'll spend, add another 20% for surprises—like fading decks or rusted fixtures you thought were "marine grade."
Totally feel your pain on the composite decking—we had something similar happen. Here's what worked for us: first, we made a list of all the stuff we'd need to replace or upgrade (decking, railings, fixtures, paint), then priced out each item individually. Once we had that total, we added about 25% as a buffer...because beach houses always have surprises. Honestly, it's better to budget a little extra upfront than scramble later. Learned that one the hard way too, haha.