fuzzy: Drape a cover over it to protect the case from water droplets from your misters. If you are really concerned, on some particularly cool evenings a few times during the summer, crank it up long enough to dry out any moisture that may have invaded the interior. The part you really need to protect is the inner workings, but waxing the exterior case will be as beneficial to protecting the finish on a GH heater as it is on a car, but I doubt the heaters have the same level of finish on them, so still believe that touching up any nicks that expose raw metal before they rust is a wise preventive maintenance practice. I use a fabric lined heavy vinyl window air conditioner cover to protect my GH heater in summer and even with a big fish tank just a few feet away from it and my constantly splashing water all over the place, after 3 years, so far, not a speck of rust.

sierraeast - The views are somewhat subjective. The city/ocean view is on the west side of the property. The east, south and north sides have OK views, but nothing dramatic. The units already have lanais on the living floor not to mention an accessible rooftop deck. In a condo setting where people have no access to exterior living areas, I agree... a lanai would be preferred so people have some place to be outside while in or around their home. But in this case, people have a couple options to enjoy a little outdoor living. Also, the traffic noise can be loud during some times of the day and evening so I wouldn't think people would want to stand outside the lanai, especially in a bedroom. Believe it or not, most condo owners in Hawaii have their lanais enclosed if the governing association allows it. I guess if people want to be outside, they just go down the street to the beach : ) lorraineal - yes, I thought about that. I would think that people would clean the area as they would any other interior plant collection. From a cleaning perspective, having this exterior planter is no different than having a few plants inside your home. You have to pick up the leaves every now and then but in an exterior setting, this can be done less frequently than if the plants were indoors. The plants will be mostly accessible from a sliding door (center sliding door, similar to a french door so 50% of the area is accessible directly from the edge. The area is not large - only 26" deep, so it should be fairly easy to reach/maintain. I was hoping to get a few thumbs up... so perhaps my idea is baked.

If I'm reading/understanding this correctly: you're not talking about surface mounting a box on the side of the house. You are indeed talking about flush/recess mounting an outlet box in the floor surface of the deck? I have never seen a box made/listed for that use. And a quick online search doesn't turn up much. A standard plastic plastic box isn't listed for that type of use, and the NEC requires all standard outdoor receptacles to be GFCI protected(yes, I know there's an exception or two)and that the cover completly enclose the cord end when a cord is plugged into the outlet.(art. 406.8b) That would leave a big plastic cover on the surface of the deck. I like the idea, but I think you are limited by product availability, and code restrictions regarding the big obtrusive covers.

I may have to get rid of the lounger. It's 30+ years old and I could never replace it for what I paid for it, and I like it, hence I keep hanging on to it. I could replace it with any number of seating options that wouldn't need cushions or would look good cushions-optional, but I mostly try to keep using what I have if I can . . . but I'm downsizing. I do like having it where I have it. Maybe I should just sacrifice the cushions to the gods this summer . . . but I priced replacements, they are not cheap, particularly ones made from good materials. So that's not going to work, I don't have the money to buy cheap ones every year or so. I've ruined a couple of cheap pillows by trying to wash them. I don't have the skills to replace the cushioning material. That would be one option, having ones with stuffing and covers that could be washed. I have a few pillows on our screened in porch that work out great that way, the cushions wash up great, the stuffing doesn't come apart. I can use bleach for the mold. But they don't get constant sun and rain exposure, they are under a roof. Just a little dampness over the summer.