G I'm aslo an engineering geek, but not such a fan of the exposed fastener look. Personally, I'd at least minimize the effect with coloured headcotes. You'd still see the 'construction', but not such a clash with the warm redwood. Check out my (first) recent post about the Starborn Headcote Pro Plug system. I'd assume they'll be producing redwood plugs in the future, it being such a popluar decking wood. They do make custom plugs (at a price and minimum order). My opinion is that a well finished plug shows just enough of the construction if you are in geek mode and looking for it, but if you are not looking, you only see a nice continuous uninterrupted deck. Best of both worlds. I bet most people would be most impressed seeing a clean deck, and barely visible plugs, wondering how you did it. My 2 cents, Dan R

Well, I finally finished it. We have a local "old time" sawmill near here. The mill owner recommended hemlock for the lattice. He said it would last just fine outside, especially if stained. Apparently hemlock was/is the lumber of choice for barn siding. If anyone is interested in including this feature in your deck project, it is mostly a time consuming process. The materials cost for all my lattice is well under $350, including the hemlock, PT 4X4s, fasteners, and stain. To do this, you will probably need a table saw and thickness planer (to make all the flat stock). I used over 3,000 #16 brads (pneumatic deWalt nailer). The flat stock is all 4X4" X 3/4", laid flat, so that makes the lattice panels 1.5" thick. To get the equal spacing in the lattice grid, I used and excel spreadsheet, with a little bit of high school Algebra. If anybody wants the spreadsheet, send me a mail (tom@garden.net) Thanks again to all the deck pros here - John Hyatt, Steve from Brooklyn Decks, and so many other!!! Here's the pile of hemlock for flatstock ($200) Here's a couple of pics of the finished project Here's a pic before the lattice screen: Here's a pic with the lattice screen:

I am very happy with the garapa so far - we'll see how it holds up. Got the lumber from east teak, and it was great. Also, they were very easy to work with. Finished with Penofin Marine, which looks very nice, but we'll see how it holds up. Also, yes, I screwed up and ended up putting 3 posts in a clusterfck near the stairs. Ended up with deckorators, trex post sleeves and caps, cedar sub rail and lower rail (painted) and garapa top rail.

I'm still working out some of my issues, but here is my take: 2. I do not want to pre-seal all 4 (6) sides. Top only, after install. Yes, but the sides will be important for aesthetics if there is any gap between boards. Use lots of stain or spray it in the gaps. 3. SS Trimhead #7 2 1/4 screws are planned- wouldn't mind Headcoat if I could figure on a color. The difference between Ipe and Garapa is significant, but I plan on using a darker stain on the wood (116 perhaps?). Love liquid nails so I will do the 4?? adhesive just because. Yes on the #7 2 1/4" and adhesive. Adhesive will give you a quieter deck. 4. TWP or Woodzotic? I know there has been a lot of info flying around, but the concreteness of the data still has me wondering. Yearly maintenance is ok, but to a lesser degree would be preferential. I can't say, I recently stripped the TWP on my ipe, but it was 501 (CA VOC compliant) - it didn't work. Today I put down the Woodzotic, but that's not enough time to tell. 5. Rails will be Mangaris, would like to use same stain but accentuate the difference in color between the two different woods. Information here would be quite helpful. I think it's a good idea to use the same stain, and stain them at the same time. Hopefully the woods will show the difference. But, masking or cutting stain along edges is much harder than paint - it's hard to show clean lines. 6. Countersink vs. no countersink. The Garapa is a bit softer than Ipe, so I like the 5/32 pilot with no countersink idea. I am a bit OC so I will definitely chalk lines and use a jig to ensure screws are straight. 3/4 from edges and ends sounds about right, but I would like to be sure. Anchor Seal is a given, but should the skirt cover the ends or be flush with the joists? I think 3/4" from edges is max, shoot for 1/2-5/8." If you are truly OC, you will countersink. I would countersink pine if it was my deck. 7. Gapping. I am clueless. 1/8, 3/16, flush? Much help here if possible. Kiln dried may expand, air dried will shrink. Be sure you know what you have. I used air dried ipe, with 0-1/16" gap. All of my boards now have a 1/8-3/16" gap and I would not want any more (I used 1X4). 8. Deck is ~1 ft above ground on low end and 20" on high end with ventilation on three sides. Is this sufficient? 9. Sanding? I am reaaaallly confused on this topic. I sanded the whole deck, but I think you can sand the problem spots, if any, and then RAD the whole thing to clean and prep it. good luck.