I need to install a (curved) deck railing on a house near the ocean. I’ve heard conflicting pros and cons about both anodized aluminum and (316) stainless steel.
Which material is going to give the bigger bang for the buck over the long term, say 20 years?
Thanks
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Replies
Salt air is tough on aluminum. After a few years it will get chalky. It will still be structurally sound but it will lose that pretty mill finish.There may be some kind of sealer you can put on it
316 will stay pretty and you can always polish it out again Normal hand rubbing seems to do a great job where people actually grab the rail.
There are a zillion anodized aluminum sailboat masts in the world that have looked good for more than 20 years. And there is a lot of 316 ss looking equally sharp. I think either will fulfill your (short) 20 year life cycle with ease. The bigger question is what the materials can offer in terms of strength and subsequent design possibilities. Steel's much higher tensile strength lends itself to small sections while aluminum must remain rather robust. What do you want to look at?
Pdate - Anodized Aluminum or Stainless Steel
I'm seriously considering Atlantis Rail Systems' product Spectrum System. This a local (Plymouth, Massachusetts) company.
The facia-mounted posts are clear coated 1-1/2" square 316L stainless steel with pre-drilled (cable) infill holes 3" on-center. The cable is 1/8" stainless steel as are the fittings. The cable and fittings are electro-polished.
Now I just have to fabricate a top rail...
That sounds like the ticket.
Clear coating, or any other sort of coating, is actually counterproductive to the stainless part of 316 stainless steel. The material needs to be in contact with oxygen/air to maintain the thin oxide that it forms for protection. That a company is relying on clear coating makes me suspicious of the material they purport to be using.