Coastal Surface Selector: the right material for your distance from the water
Seven inputs, one recommendation with its reasons, a base spec and a maintenance cycle.
How does the Coastal Surface Selector choose?
It applies the same order the estimate uses: use (barefoot, vehicle, cart, walk), then flood zone (VE pushes to rebuildable pavers), then pool chemistry (salt pushes away from unsealed limestone), then sun and budget, then the association's color list. The output names a surface, a base, a sealing cycle by distance from the water and the island rules that apply. It doesn't price the job.
Logic dated September 10, 2026. It encodes the reasoning on the comparison pages, not a measurement; when the surface temperature study is published, the heat step will use measured values.
What the inputs mean
- Distance from open water sets the sealing cycle: 18 to 24 months within half a mile, 2 years to two miles, 2 to 3 years inland.
- FEMA zone VE changes the construction to pavers on a rebuildable base with concrete curbs.
- Salt-chlorinated pools flake unsealed travertine and shellstone at the waterline; porcelain and dense pavers don't need annual coping sealing.
- Full sun makes color the dominant heat factor; shade makes it secondary.
- Association review adds the color-list step and the packet.
Last reviewed September 10, 2026 by the Sarasota Concrete editorial team (author name pending owner input).