- Agree on vinyl—had it on a rental once, looked rough after a few summers. Sun just cooked it, got brittle and faded.
- Tried aluminum with powder coat at my place, about two blocks from the beach. No major corrosion after 5 years, but I do rinse them down every couple months. Not perfect, but better than the old wood frames I had before (those were a nightmare).
- Salt air just gets into everything... Haven’t found a real “set it and forget it” option yet.
- One thing that helped: silicone spray in the tracks—keeps things sliding and seems to slow down the pitting.
- If you’re up for maintenance, aluminum’s not bad. Still, nothing’s totally maintenance-free this close to the ocean. Just comes with the territory, I guess.
That bit about silicone spray in the tracks—never tried that, but it makes sense.
That’s been my experience, too. Even stainless hardware starts to pit after a while. I’ve wondered if those fiberglass frames hold up any better near the coast? A neighbor swears by them, but I’m skeptical. Anyone had luck with fiberglass, or is it just another maintenance cycle in disguise?“Salt air just gets into everything... Haven’t found a real ‘set it and forget it’ option yet.”