Here is what I ended up doing. I clamped a board to the outside corner edges of a couple of posts - used that to find the angle - marked a parallel line at 3/4" to the angle - set my saw blade to the angle - clamped a piece of straight edge (door trim) to the point where the guide would assure my cut was close - used the level to make sure the guide was 'level' with the post - put on goggles and went to town. Not as pertty as I it would have been if I have 'notched' them all in, but it should work and these posts are only viewable on the outside to bugs and critters. So instead of having to mark - notch - cut - sand and take several days - I just need to mark - cut - sand - glue - and then screw! And, isn't screwing what we all really like to do the most? Sorry, couldn't let that one slip by! Lots of adhesive will be used and I will seal the cut seams/edges along with the rest of the deck with BONDS 7 YEAR SEAL - then will take pictures. Sometimes we novices just need to have an idear or two thrown at us beforen we git it or a better solution that fits our limited supply of tools, knowledge and ability. Oh, and the post colar works great if I keep the sawzall at a very slow speed with a short blade! Took it into Lowes with me over the weekend and the guy in there said that would be a great tool for novices like me - but that the posts should have been cut to the correct height Before they were set. Duh!

Hi Ya Think, This doesn't address your question about the corners but, FWIW, when I was researching my deck project, I learned that one of the weaknesses of railing post connections is dependence on the connection of the rim board to the joist ends (usually just nailed into the end grain of the joist). One way around that is to put the posts inside the structure and block them in really well, as suggested and practiced by Brooklyn Decks. If that isn't compatible with your design, a solution that looked good to me is to use brackets to tie the posts and rim board securely into the joist structure. I found two commercial products designed for this purpose: DeckLok brackets (www.deck-lok.com) and Simpson StrongTie p/n HD2AHDG (www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/DTT2Z-HD2AHDG.asp). Both websites have illustrations that describe the problem and solution better than I can in words. Some codes may not require this strength but if you're looking for the ultimate build, this might be of interest. Gook Luck.

Paint the wall and wainscotting the same color. And before you buy a brown rug, maybe consider other colors? You've got a lot of brown already and something with a little more life would add a lot to your already nice room. Even the little peek of orange in the existing rug looks very nice.

Virgil - It's not required by code. But our elevations have one drawn so the city won't bless off our house without one. So our options are: 1) Put in a permanent railing....wood, nice, traditional. City loves us and we move on. Will spend $$ on a nice railing. 2) Put in a temporary cheap railing. City loves us and when they leave, we take it down. Will spend some $ on a cheap railing which will ultimately be wasted when we take it down. 3) Resubmit the drawings without a railing. More $$ for basically pulling another permit. Plus dealing with the city again. But then we don't have to put up anything and can focus on another project. At this time, I don't know the cost differential between nice railing, cheap railing and the additional permit cost. So from a cost perspective, I can't factor that into my decision at the moment.