CleverDeck wood plastic composite decking and EnviroSlat cladding from Futurewood were specified for the Metropolitan Caloundra Surf Life Saving Club during a refurbishment project to revive the tired-looking building.

Established in 1933, the Metropolitan Caloundra Surf Life Saving Club, like most Surf Life Saving Clubs (SLSC), is a key component of the beach community. The main fundraising arm of the SLSC is the supporters club, now known as Mets on Kings, which offers a restaurant, bar and other facilities and is located in a building at one end of the beautiful Kings Beach. Desperately in need of a renovation and having only limited funds in hand, the club sought value for money when selecting materials for the building project. It was important for the club to source materials that were not only cost-effective but could also withstand the harsh oceanfront conditions.

Former president of the supporters club Craig Spender who was given this task, contacted Futurewood after using Futurewood CleverDeck wood plastic composite decking at his own home. Though he was very happy with the Futurewood product that he had used on his own project, he gathered various product samples from many different suppliers and put them through a weather test on his own deck. Having determined that Futurewood’s wood plastic composite decking and cladding were the best of the bunch, Craig recommended them for the decorative cladding component of the refurbishment as well as the proposed deck.

After all the stakeholders had signed off on the project, work began in 2015 on Stage 1 of the refurbishment. Stage 1, which involved cladding using Futurewood’s EnviroSlat 70mm x 15mm slats and 40mm x 30mm slats finished in Saltbush colour, was completed in October 2015. The chosen Futurewood cladding material is low maintenance and will not require the additional time and valuable club funds to support the annual recoating demanded by the previous timber facade.

Stage 2 of the renovation project involving the decking of the club was crowdfunded through the ‘Buy a Board’ campaign where the public was encouraged to buy up to four decking boards and have an ‘honour plaque’ fixed to the decking boards as recognition for their donation along with a 10-year membership of the club.

The club is very excited about the new ‘Members Deck’ as it promises to be a very popular addition to the club. The deck is being constructed using the Futurewood composite decking comprising of 138mm x 23mm x 5.4m solid decking boards in Saltbush colour to match the facade. According to Craig, the Futurewood composite decking was very easy to work with and the fixing using concealed fix clips was a breeze plus the use of the breaker boards enhanced the overall deck design.

Swept up in the community effort, Futurewood also made a significant contribution towards the cost of the Members Deck as part of their commitment to the project.

Image: Mets on Kings featuring Futurewood’s EnviroSlat 70mm x 15mm slats and 40mm x 30mm slats finished in Saltbush colour