Organic, Yes there is reason. The two that have been going on the deck are little... short. It rains here 9 months of the year and we don't mow in the winter so the grass gets long and very wet. I didn't want the two little ones coming in soaking wet and cold several times a day, so a Shih Tzu breeder friend of mine suggested I just never teach them to use the stairs. That's what she does. The poo is much easier to scoop off the deck too, and the area is easier to sanitize. They also stay cleaner this way and so do my floors. My bigger (knee high) dog goes down the stairs to use the yard, and this also gives her a way to get away from the young ones (she's old). I was going to teach my new puppy (same breed as the old one) to use the stairs, but right now I'm having low back/hip/leg problems and I can barely make it down and up the stairs just for when I have to -- I can't do it several times a day with a puppy. I'm hoping that's temporary. I'm in physical therapy and I need to make an appointment for an MRI, and also with a Vascular place about a circulation problem that was detected by a doppler test I recently got. Anyway, the pee/poo isn't the problem, as I showed above. The area they pee most is under the eaves and it stays the nicest, as you can see in the photo above. The area that takes the most beating is 1) out in the weather and 2) getting lots of doggy traffic. If/when I get to feeling better I can teach them all to go down the stairs to the yard if I choose. I sometimes think I'd like to because I'd love to be able to use my deck again. I liked sitting out there. But that won't solve the deck maintenance problem. I had the same problem with my deck in the last house and none of my dogs pottied on the deck. Patricia, Yes it is painful. It's a lot of hard work and to have it start looking bad about three months after I do it is just unforgivable. There just has to be a better way! When the warmer weather comes I'll try the RAD (means I have to scrub down every inch of it again, including the stairs), and try another product and cross my fingers. I'm wondering -- should I give up and put some kind of rubber matting all over it instead?

Is there any chance that you could change out the window and door to the sunroom into a pair of french doors? I think it would be a lovely look there, and make much more sense perhaps. You could re-use the drapery if you desired, just hanging the panels on either end. You might consider changing out the spindles to iron spindles or iron decorative panels of some kind. I think the piano is wonderful, and if that is the only place for it, so be it. I would try to tuck it down into the corner a bit more, and take down the sconces. The tall mirror would be wonderful leaning on the wall there, at the keyboard end of the piano, where the bench is. I agree with opening the piano to give it presence, and then adding a wonderful floor lamp near the mirror. I would think about taking the foyer piece and putting that in the DR once the bookcases leave. Then you could put two of the side chairs, one on each side of that, and use the sconces from the piano wall there. By moving two of the side chairs and taking out a leaf or two, you could get your table centered under the chandelier. Rather than putting the flat screen to the left of the fireplace, I would think about putting it on the wall where the tall mirror is now, and orienting the furniture to that. It will fit better with the fireplace and the bookcase if you want a sectional from which everyone can see the TV, and still enjoy the fireplace. The sectional would start from the side where the secretary is, and the other leg would face the fireplace. Replacing the carpeting will make a big difference in the feel of the room. Wood is nice if you can do it, but a neutral berber will create a lighter feeling in the room. A soft grey-green on the walls would seem to work with the fireplace stone and also the wood tones in the room.

Thanks for the synthetic deck warning. I do like going barefoot but given the location/size I'm strictly picking based on color/looks vs. feel preference. I did read the other poster's complaint - but put some shoes on the poor kids feet if it is such an issue. :) Depending on the moment I am switching between Ipe vs. composite but I really like the Ipe deck that Scotte posted the other day...he really messed me up. The deck is so small that if I don't like it, I can always annoy my husband and make him switch it out in the future. We aren't really worried about the money issue. But your supply list is a big help as we weren't sure if we wanted the 6 inch tube or the 8 inch tube and you anwsered that one. My husband's big confusion is if the concrete pad is existing and he attaches a bracket to that for the post or drills a hole in the concrete pad and adds a rod (as the book showed) could that work vs. the tube. He just prefer's not to break up the concrete slab. He doesn't mind the extra work to make it to code/structurally sound or the cost given the project given the size shouldn't be that expensive (expecially compared to everything else we are doing). He has to form a plan in his mind before starting this and he's in his brainstorming phase... you've been a huge help. He is worried if he calls the building code people they will give us a stop order and make us pull a permit. While we in theory have no issue getting a permit, they will not fix our sidewalk on the county rightaway, so I refuse to pull permits for this stuff till they fix my sidewalk! Plus, we are replacing it, not building new and are doing our best to build it to code (which is why we are asking for help). Oh, can you explain why the frostline is important - my husband is getting stumped on that a little too. Thank you again! We are almost there and it will one way or another be going in next weekend.

It's not "more trouble" if and only if the builder you are using and the homes in that area are similar and they know what they are doing. For instance, the neighborhood I am in, while most the homes are a little more expensive so they paid a good contractor to add on a roof deck, the guy across the street went cheap. When I say "went cheap.. his house probably cost him 100-150k 12 years ago. This is not "cheap" but cheap in comparison. So, he got a rooftop deck, just like all the other folks, but the running joke out there (he is not well liked as he is a HoA nosey person).. is that his has a trap door to it and if it rains, it leaks like crazy.. and there is a roof on his deck. So, if you are at 200k, and your concern is money, you bet... bad idea. For that price range community, it would cost you a lot and unless the builder knows what they are doing, you are going to regret it. R