Janice if you damaged a deck using a power washer, it was your error in using the washer that caused the damage, or perhaps the deck was nearing the end of it's life any way. You can write your name in your concrete drive with a power washer if you don't adjust the fan and direct the water in one spot too long. It's obvious that you can rough up wood. Saying a power washer should not be used to clean a wood deck is rather like saying a power sander should not be used to refinish a wood floor, because you one used one and it ate right through the wood. Used correctly a power washer is the easiest thing to use and does the best job of cleaning a deck. And from all I know, pressure treated wood is harder then non pressure treated wood, less porous not more. Linda C

I have a walkway leading to the step-up at the front door and like a flower bed between the walkway and the house foundation, where water stands and at the front door. when it rains we can't hardly Step down on it to get to the driveway. what can I do. please help.

I am just finalizing a contract to have a Lock-Dry deck built. I got samples of it and the Arridek and felt that the Lock-Dry seemed to be a better product (and certainly has more color choices). The Lock-Dry units are thicker aluminum, more secure fit, and are powder coated to a more stringent standard (and it shows!). Both far exceed weight requirements for decking, but the test reports are a bit different so it is not a direct comparison. This will be about a 600SF deck over a walkout basement, so about 11 feet high with steps. The builder has a lot of deck experience and has worked with Arridek. We are doing Trex transcend railing, a Trex faschia, and wooden framing. Would love to have done the aluminum framing but $$$$$$. The framing definitenly different since the boards are at right angles to the house**. One of our beams will be gluelam to carry more weight with fewer beams. Will upload pictures when it is done. We went with the saddle brown. I like the Dakota woodgrain but felt the cost was not worth the difference in price for me. **you can run them parallel to the house but the wall of our house is 57 feet and the deck width will range from 6 to 14 feet.

Mari - I'm surprised lumberyard doesn't have exterior beadboard - thought a lot of people would use it for porch ceilings? Where do you live? I could come help stain if your DH would help me with my projects later LOL! Would predrilling be easier than setting nails? Or you'd have to set anyway? marybeth and remodelfla - nice mosaics! danielle - your DH is SuperDaddy! I can't let me kids see pics or they'll want one (and I'd have to build it since my DH is a software guy, I'm the hardware person!). Happy Birthday to the boys! Well, doesn't count since it's the end of the week, but it was raining today so carpenter cousin got off early from landscaping job (he's looking for different part-time job so he can do more carpentry, or a FT carpentry job again since he got laid off in Jan). I had taped off the counters to caulk, started marking studs to get shoe mold up when he called so I finished marking studs, taped off the lower island countertop edges too, then had to pick up our kids at school. He came over and was caulking and putting up shoe when we got home, then put up trim on sides of island (even though I wasn't happy with my finish job and would have liked to have done a final sanding)while the kids played, and cut the 12ft length of crown sitting in my DR to length. Brought me the mitred returns for cabinets on each side of corner and the center bay stool(sill) cut to proper depth but not notched. I've got lots of sanding and staining to do! Actually, putting crown on the kitchen cabinets was a winter make-work job for him that he didn't get to in March, so I told him my next priority is finishing that bay window stool and all the FR/kitchen door and window casings, and getting the baseboard (finished) nailed up. Hopefully I'll get the fiberglas pulled out from around the windows and slider, and low-expanding foam put in, then the next rainy day (or next w/e?) he'll come over and join up some casings with biscuit joiner, and maybe fit the new stool (3 pieces) so I can stain and finish that. I'd love to get the FR windows and slider trim finished and up by 4th of July, and if I can get tile issues resolved I can get kitchen door casings and then the last bit of baseboard in FR (runs into kitchen) and the small pieces of kitchen baseboard in (they're all finished) by Labor Day. It would be nice to have all the trim in the house finished 2 years after moving in, but I don't know if we can do the foyer, LR, half bath, and mudroom by then as well, since I haven't stained any of it yet and I have to do doors and window sashes this summer while I can set up sawhorses in the garage - short pieces of baseboard can wait til fall/winter, I finish them in the Master Bath (which will be finished in oh, 5 years). But maybe I can stain/finish and he can put up the crown by Thanksgiving so I can get it off my DR floor?