S. Mailmaison is a very pretty bourboun rose with a good story behind it. It is tender, will need winter protection. If you got it at Walmart for $5.00, then most probably it is in a plastic package. The roots of the plant are usualy clipped to fit the pack and that limits plant growth. Fertilize a lot with 10-52-10 to establish roots, so you have a chance for the rose to survive. Malmaison , if it is healhy, can bloom repeatedly. Roses have outstanding smell, but they ball at the first rain drop. David Austin has a better alternative, Sharifa Asma, looks almost identical to Malmaison, survives the rain much better. Hope it helps. Ella

Dont use the clips,dont even think about using tigerclaw bang them in wham bam thank you mamm foolishment. Grade with ipe is a highly garded info subject in the short form you have to trust your supiler or buy local and go see the stuff your own self. Many kinds of trees can be passed off as ipe. But say a Person bought some ipe from say George at East Teak, got quality stuff, stickered it up with fans blowning thru the stack for hmmmmm 30 days or so, installed it perfectly with even the ss insert clips construstion adhesive, perfect spacing, perfect weather, perfect angle with the screw, perfect... ok I am on a rant here. A person still looks down and sees the clip and the screw, And still has the risk happening to them, as several posters over here are questioning , with the high grade ipe lifting from the joists, warping up, and generaly in a fit because ipe wants to lay flat but it cant because it wasent securaly fastened to the frame so its intent to be good cant happen! Why do you Folks still want to use the clips???????? JohnThey are made from solid stainless steel,of course thats not good ss is not strong enough so they would have to do what Hilti came up with building ss tapcons steel with a high grade ss coating. They provide info on install including ground clearance,cross ventalation,weather conditions,moisture, what kind of construstion adhesive to use, angle of the screw and where to put it ( this is something we all need to know). Boys and Girls,,its not gunna happen!! Face fasten,pre drill twice and plug the holes or install T&G material for the no fastener showing look. Its the ol John Mon, I am thinking I will not get involved with clip posts any longer,adding them to the deck finish posts, there is no complete logic with the thinking wanted, and too many people are saying things 180 degree from each other. J

Hi Oakrun, Yes, it is a daunting process. In fairness to all the homeowners here, (and respect to the pro deck builders who give so much help), we homeowners have pretty much one shot at the deck. In other words, we are not builders, and we are not Martha Stewart types, so we have to live with our decisions, warts and all. But on the other hand, we can afford to take a chance on something new. It will not wreck our livelyhood. I have nearly finished my 5/4" Ipe deck, 12' X 30'. After much thought, I went with the hidden fasteners - Tiger Claw TC-G http://www.deckfastener.com/products_tcg.asp They look great! Time will tell if they work. One difference between these clips and many of the old ones is that these are solid stainless, not fiberglass. To get these fasteners to bend would take quite a bit of force. I put one in a bench vise and hit it with a hammer. It didn't bend. One definite advantage of this system (assuming the boards don't lift) over face screwing, is the whole deck is "floating" on the pressure treated frame. The ipe boards are free to expand and contract slightly. In the long term, this may minimize end checking. Also, your air circulation under the deck seems optimal. (I have the same situation). I suspect that many installs of hidden fasteners don't have good air circulation. That may contribute to failure. Installation notes: 1) I used a biscuit joiner to slot the boards where the fasterers attach. It takes time, but I think it's a better job that having the boards slotted along the full length. 2) For butt joints, definitely ease the edges with an 1/8" radius. I think that's a John Hyatt trick. Looks great!! 3) I had to ease the backs of the ipe boards with a 1/4" radius router bit where the fastener attached. (the ipe comes with a 1/8" radius edge, not enough for correct installation) 4) most of the SS screws for this are # 8. If you are screwing into another hardwood (Ipe, Garapa, etc) I think the correct drill size is 9/64" . I broke a screw very early using the recommended 8/64" Here is a pic of a few weeks ago (I am doing most of this myself):

I have purchased faucets, a Kohler toilet, and a washbasin with legs from Signature. All were very good quality, their customer service was superb, and 7 years later, everything works quite well and still looks very good. I bought one bathroom of polished chrome, one of polished nickel and one of polished brass (footed tub fixtures).