skhaire, at this point of considering how you might solve your problem, you should forget about specific plants. Instead, think about what FORM some type of screening might take. Seems to me it's going to be some support structure added to the deck which could provide privacy -- or the illusion of it (which usually means shade and partial screening) -- or it's going to be small trees in front of the deck that provide the same thing. (Can you think of a different way to do it?) If it's trees, then in order to get some quick effect, you're going to be buying some that are at least 10' tall. And you'll need to think of how they'll be modified (maintained) over the years so that they make sense long term. One main consideration will be how to keep the tree canopy from excluding the view of the rest of the yard. Even the existing railing offers a bit more privacy than if the deck were completely open. Consider that if there was something overhead (at least above the railing) the effect could be as if you were on a covered balcony. If I was in your situation, until things are worked out in a permanent plan, I'd consider rigging up some temporary, inexpensive structure that could support some annual vines. It doesn't need to be expensive or elaborate or high cost because whatever you rig up could be completely covered by vines (quickly) and not seen. (But it would need to be sturdy enough to survive the growing season.) Within a relatively short amount of time (1 1/2 to 2 months) your deck could transform into something completely different. A vine supporting structure could be like an extension of the railing, or it could include an overhead, ceiling-like portion, which would make it better; looking out from the deck could be like looking out through windows from an inside room. If you tried this and liked it, you could modify it to suit your needs and construct something better quality that would be permanent. If you're going to go with trees, unless they're already big enough, the TEMPORARY vine screen I described could be useful to you in conjunction with them.

Perfect, makes sense now. Looking around at my neighbors to see what they are doing since 2 are building decks right now. One is running 2x4 stringers flat sitting on little pink foam pads and the other is setting crazy thick stone tiles on bison deck supports. Your way sounds the most solid, though. For screws, do I need to go with 1 5/8" SS screws? I'd like to use the brown headcotes because the smartbit looks pretty idiotproof for a guy like me, but I understand that these are only in 2 1/2" lengths? I'm worried about screwing into the roof with the 2 1/2" screws at the lower spots. Then again I'm worried that the 1 5/8" might not be long enough if I end up going with 5/4 ipe (plus I'd have to use 2 bits for the drill/countersink unless theres some other tool out there). 2" seems like it would be perfect but I've never seen the pros on here discussing any 2" SS screws. Any recommendations? I don't want to plug, just facescrew flush with colored screw heads to blend in.

Jim, I just cant see you diging up really old posts, going on and on about it, with out some type of goal. Exactley what are you trying to prove??? Go to my site, All the ipe projects have 116 on them. As you can see they are not Red or Redwood or anything close to that. Saying it is makes me Mad clear and simple. Now if you put 116 on say preasure treated,garapa or any light color wood then Yes its going to come out a different color than 116 on ipe. This is basic 101 wood finish. Any of the resin base twp products can be mixed together to come up with a different color. I have used combos like that when puting finish on Garapa and other woods. I put cedar tone natural on ipe one time because the Wallet asked for it the result was bad but I did what they wanted however for ipe its most always the 116. Ipe itself is not one color it ranges from almost black to a light tan 116 levals out the differances but the result is not Red. Any color chip you get from Any finish store is going to be different on another kind of wood other than the wood used on the chip you cant expect them to have samples of finish on every kind of product. Just get off it Man. Its up to the Customer to know if one finish is the right one for them. There is no way twp is showing product online / samples / or color chips that dont match up with what they sell. You might not agree with what they call it if so just pick another name for your self and call it that but it Defentley is what they say it is and what they say they sell is what they sell. The JonMon has been a little tense latley after a long term project was real hard on me. This is a mixed site if I could I would edit my last response but O Well. J.

Hi i really appreciate your thoughtful input on this matter. The building department here seem to be a bit of a joke, as far as I'm concerned. I went there in person to talk to them about the requirements for stairs on a deck. The building inspector's secretary said you do need a permit, even for replacement steps. the building code enforcement person said technically you do, but they don't enforce this. I talked to the contractor about this and he said he has built many decks and steps in our town and never was required to have a building permit for just replacing steps. He went over to the building department after we spoke since I'm sure he felt like I thought he was doing something wrong. They told him the same thing they told me, technically requires a bp but they don't enforce. He was teed off that they told me that because it made him look bad and I agree. So...so much for the building dept here. They were kind enough to give me their specs for steps, which seem to be much looser than other things I've read. Ok, so this is what they require: Step length, minimum 36 inches. Step width, minimum 9 inches, max 11. Max riser 8and 1/4, not to vary by more than 3/8ths inch. That's all they gave me. The contractor said that because we are following the design of the original steps it's impossible to get the risers to be equi-distant from each other all the way up. So they chose to slightly alter the top and bottom steps to make it work. Does this sound feasible to you? I also was concerned about the exposed connector on the top step. He said that it's impossible to get the connectors behind the step because they weren't replacing that part of the deck, and there's no way to get them behind. How does that sound to you? We are tending to think we should just let him do some alterations, and let it go. I asked him how long he would expect these steps to last the way they are, and he said thirty years. My husband got the feeling that he wasn't all that pleased with the work that his men did. It sounded to me like he was standing behind the work.