Thanks for the comments. The house is on a slab so that's what mandated the low deck. Would've just gone with a paver patio, but the extensive roots took that option away. As for burying the beams ... I've read different things about how long PT will last buried. I realize it's a bit of a gamble but I've already rolled those dice. I'm a semi-neophyte DIY'er and after consultation with the brothers over a couple beers, that seemed like the best way to go. We'll see. John - when you say "use construction adhesive under the decking" what specifically for? For actually fastening the decking to the joists? That would be in addition to traditional fastening for extra support I assume. And for the vents on the rim joist, would you think one between every joist, or could I go every other joist? Also ... will slightly wider spacing (3/16 or 1/4) help? Any thoughts on the IpeClip fastening system? Thanks all ... I'll have to post a picture or 2 here in a bit.

Epoch/evergrain, one of the soft composites like choice or moisture sheild same kinda deal sister joists on any butt joints, pron to mold unless they get a finsh on them,not near the complaints as trex. Some say a shaded area promotes mold and mildew. With all the composites a person needs to understand completly how and when they want it installed read the fine print on instalation. Provide cross vintalation. I see you have already ruled out Ipe so I wont go into that. I have one Epohc project out 3 years the color has faded 30 % or so not a lot of mold really just the normal stuff that will happen to any outdoor project left alone with no care at all. Also one choice comerical job on a multi leveal condo its 5 years out and looks really bad the decking has faded to a liver color and has started to degrade. One thing might be of intrest to ya, I used the cut offs from that choice project for the treads on my own upstairs deck stairway I put two coats of twp 116 finish on them that same 5 years ago they look a lot better with no real sigh of degrading. John

My fiance and I have been looking to buy our first home for almost a year now. We have been looking for an older home (pre 1930's), because we love the historical feel, especially victorian architecture. A lot of us have that same dream. When I was a teen, I was dating a guy that was in a fraternity that was out of a beautiful Victorian. I remember the stairway, the flowers that were engraved in the wood. I remember the "dome room" and while it was a PITA to put furniture in, amazed me every time I went into it. I remember beautiful moldings, everything was etched and 3 or 4 fireplaces. It had a decent sized kitchen from what I remember, also had a servant room. Man I loved that house and swore that one day, if I could afford to have the house moved I would. The house was located in one of the worst neighborhoods. You had to lock your doors to drive there and run in the house. I bet that in it's day, it was one of the grandest houses. They ended up knocking it down, don't know when but I drove by about 16 years ago, there was nothing on the lot. Anyway, a lot of us have the same dream, to own a beautiful, grand house. Reality is the lack of things needed to live in it in today's world as Tricia said. Since you are not married with kids yet, it wouldn't really matter much, you would probably get by fine. Once you have kids and they start getting older is when you will notice how hard it is to raise a family there unless you luck out and get a house that has larger rooms where you can make closets, or one that has a decent kitchen. I wonder then if my fiance and I should actually change our dream to accomodate the current economy and the deals available? IMO, this might be a good idea, at least for now. Being newly married can be stressful. Unless the 2 of you are currently living together, you have to learn to live with your partner. How do both of you handle stress? Buying a house that you are working on all of the time is very stressful and could eventually start pulling you apart. You'll come home from work some days so tired but you have to sand & throw another coat of spackle on, or paint, or run out to the home store to buy supplies. Hubby & I worked on our last house starting 2 years after I moved in. We removed paneling, faux brick, painted, put in floors as well as putting a new floor frame on a concrete slab in the laundry area to build it up so that we could put a floor down. By the time we sold we were tired & cranky. Add to this a roof, electric upgrade, plumbing, which was a job in itself since there was only 1 shutoff valve, which meant we lost water for the day. We also did central air, a hot water heater as well as new furnace, and had planned to redo all of the baseboards as well. Are there any houses that are in between the old house and new construction for a compromise? You might be able to live a little bit more comfortably and not have to work as hard. It will also give you an idea of how the 2 of you work together as a team (or not). You can save the Victorian house for later on

1. The Bainbridge is the narrowest of their windows and the Soft-Lite Pro is also narrow. 2. Not necessarily. Soft-Lite is a well engineered window so it, with the optional meeting rail reinforcement, should be fine but some other narrow windows will not fare as well. 3. Typically, replacement windows, as a result of their thicker glass and more airtight insulation, will perform better. There are applications where the existing combination (usually with a storm window) might out perform the new double pane IGU window but not if you have single pane window without a storm. a. and b. Impossible to say without knowing exactly what type of window you have now. If you have single pane, both will outperform your existing windows. If you have double pane, it is very likely that your new windows will still outperform and be more sound resistant than your existing windows. 4. 0.09 is not drafty by any means and will probably be a huge improvement over your existing.