While living in Europe, I had the great honor of contributing a little sweat equity to the upkeep of one of my friends’ summer homes. Located in a beautiful area known for its rough winters, this home was mainly used between May and September, and was left alone for the rest of the year. The home had plenty of deck space, but its owner didn’t have a lot of time, so the house needed a deck that could last for years without much maintenance work. In my opinion, if a deck can go without regular pressure washing, sanding, and sealing, while also keeping its color and staying free of mold and splinters, then it’ll make ideal decking for a summer house. (No matter your location!) The trick is to avoid traditional wood and go with something engineered to be easy. Fully capped composite decking works exceptionally well for a summer house, as it’s durable and extremely low maintenance.

What to Look for in Decking for a Summer House

There are a few main qualities that make some decking materials optimal for a summer house. Apart from being beautiful and sturdy, the most important qualities are ones that reduce the maintenance load and bring peace of mind while the homeowner isn’t around.

• Easy to clean: Having decking surfaces that are easy to clean is the first step in easy maintenance. It also indicates that many of the moisture-based problems common with decking boards tend to be minimal. A coated, non-porous surface is the easiest kind of surface to keep clean.
• Doesn’t mold or mildew: When a surface is exposed to a lot of moisture, mold and mildew will begin to proliferate. If left to their own devices, they will work their way ever more deeply into the board. And while you can fight these with regular power washing and chemical treatment, that type of upkeep isn’t ideal for a home that’s only used part of the year. It may be easier to simply invest in a decking material like composite that doesn’t mold or mildew.
• Doesn’t require regular sealing, staining, or sanding: In order to be protected from the elements, most decking boards require regular application of a stain and sealer-- generally every other year or so. This is needed more often in tough environments like very cold areas or beachside locations where salt, sand, and sun can weather the wood quickly. This means regular, annual maintenance that can cut into the enjoyment of a seasonal home.

Wooden Decking Maintenance

Keeping a summer home’s wooden deck in good shape generally takes work in the spring and again in the fall. For owners who don’t plan to occupy the property during those shoulder seasons, this likely means hiring contractors to do the work – and those costs can quickly add up. Even for owners with lengthier stays, the idea of spending their limited time in this second home on sanding, power washing or sealing may seem super appealing. For these reasons, a traditional wooden deck may not be ideal.

Low Maintenance Composite Decking

I’ve become a fan of composite decking for summer houses, as high-quality, fully capped composite decking has a non-porous surface that is easy to clean, doesn’t provide a home to mold and mildew, and never requires an ounce of sealer or stain over its long lifespan. What makes this possible is the rubbery, enhanced resin capping material that encases the composite board. When you choose a good quality composite, the capping ensures that there is no chance for mold, sun damage, or water absorption to take place. That means that the only real maintenance on composite decking is a light cleaning, using just water and dish soap. All of this makes composite decking the perfect decking material for beach houses, mountain cabins, or even hot and humid areas.                  

The Aesthetic Benefits of Composite Decking

Despite its low maintenance benefits, one of the primary objections to earlier versions of composite decking was that it wasn’t much to look at. Over time, it would lose its coloring and often appeared fake or plasticky. Luckily, that’s changed pretty dramatically over the years.

• Color-fast: While early generations had a problem with color fading, the best new lines of composite decking have solved that problem and provide boards that can sit in full sun for years while looking like new.
• Warmth & Look of Wood: Manufacturers of composite are paying much more attention nowadays to creating boards with a subtle and realistic wood grain patterns. Some even produce boards that come with a hardwood grain on one side of the board and a distressed wood pattern on the opposite side. They’re also careful to avoid creating boards with the shiny, plastic look that so many early composites had. Today, some lines of composite decking look just like tropical hardwoods in color, grain, and even tactile feel.
• Wide choice of colors: Having a variety of colors to choose from makes it simple to find the right look for your home, yard, and environment, and composite boards don’t require any staining or painting to get them looking that way (or staying that way).

Near the end of my time in Europe, I worked on a couple summer homes in Finland, and while up there it is considered almost a crime to use something other than wood, the pragmatic homeowners instead opted for composite decking, which to date has only required some gentle sweeping and mopping when the summer season opens up in May.

A line of composite decking that fills out all the above low maintenance requirements is Infinity® I-Series composite decking, produced by Fortress Building Products. It’s unique in the composite decking world, being made of bamboo and plastic, instead of sawdust and plastic. This makes it extra moisture resistant and strong. This type of decking is also fully capped, and Fortress® uses a capping that’s slightly ‘grabby’, making it easy on the feet, harder to slip on, and much more natural looking than most composites. All these plusses mean that this decking is at the top of my short list when it comes to composite decking boards. And since I usually do larger projects, where my needs extend beyond decking, I also recommend Fortress’ full line of building materials for whatever needs doing on a project. They’ve got ultra-tough fencing, railing, and ornamental hardware for use on almost any property, including vacation homes.