What i did and so far it's working. On an older model Troy bilt rider i took the deck off, removed the three blades and spindels. Pressure washed the deck let it thourghly dry and had a friend spray it with some leftover liquid bed liner. This was last fall and so far it is holding up pretty well. I used it on leaves last fall, and have mowed twice so far this spring. After each use i use a blower to clean underneath. Not sure how long it will last.

If you getting droplets of oil on the TOP side of the deck that are clear to medium brown, then it might be coming from the crankcase due to not enough sealant used from the factory. I have this problem on one of my F-series engines. It starts and runs well, but drips and sometimes spits a few bubbles of oil around 1 of the case bolts when running. Isn't harming anything other than making the deck kind of messy. With the engine running and someone behind the handle, carefully check the engine around the carb for this condition. If you find it, you'll need to split the case and clean the halves, and reseal it with a small bead of anerobic gasket maker available at most auto parts stores.

in looking at your pictures of the basement... see where the band joist/foundation wall that rests on the stone/rubble walls? that is one place to air seal that is worth the time & effort to do so. there are different approaches.. less expensive in materials but more time: would be to caulk tops of joists to floor above and bottom to rubble/stone below. caulk any cracks or penetrations. install 1" or two layres of 1" dow blue board (or corning pink board). use roofing nails, button cap nails ..something with large head to hold foam sheathing in place. use construction adhesive to hold it tight to the wall. caulk edges of foam sheathing to floor at top of joist, and again at bottom of wall to stone wall. do this in all areas of band joist. more cost material..less time to install would be froth pack of closed cell insulation. this is diy. tiger foam is what we have used a few times on small jobs. http://www.tigerfoam.com/#video the site he is spraying..is what I am calling the band joist of your basement. third option..most cost would be to hire the foam sealing out. in the floors large air leakage sites would be any areas where pipes run into the house. under tubs around piping for radiators. plumbing accesses. a mixtue of methods to seal these areas would be pipe insulation around radiator pipes. cut to fit around pipe & into hole in floor. caulked to seal. under tubs..usually a large area. depending on where the tub is located..either metal flashing cut to fit over hole & around pipe. caulked into place & screwed to floor. then caulked around edges of flashing to floor. btw..the radiators you have are really attractive. don't think I've seen such nice looking ones before. of course..radiators are uncommon in this area. I know you are dealing with the ceiling issue right now. hope that goes well. whatever you decide is the fix...seal any gaps between new ceiling & walls of room before reinstalling moldings. this will eliminate any need to caulk moldings to walls & ceiling. will give some more thought to attic later. best of luck.

HI Ya George! I dont really care all that much for the 4th not for what its there for the caps poping off all over, just makes me a little jumpi so I am hiding out in the office. Rule of Thumb the fasteners should go into the frame at least 1/2 the depth of the decking, of course the L metal cant do that because the decking is not really fastened to the frame there in is the problem. Using any more than 2 fasteners per conection will have no effect one way or the other far as movement goes, but it just might split out the ipe. Take a close look at that L metal, hold it in your hand,while doing that recall the ipe bill you just paid, inspect the thin area the screws are going into, remember the coated cans you see on the freeway ramps that were missed by the clean up guys after several months, then ask your Contractor if you could drift on over to the many ipe jobs he has out 5 years old or so done with that L metal, Keep in mind us ol boys over here make a living doing decks there would be no trashing if they worked we would be selling the S#i$ out of them. Then make your plan as to how to countiune.Side Note>> I would come closer to using pt 2x2s joist sisters installed with ss screws and 490 adhesive leval with the joists and adhesive on the decking at least you would have a fighting chanceCross Ventalation is very important to any decking X 10 with ipe Air in Air out. T&G ipe skirting gives a very good look. When using solid skirting install screen vents in the skiting, they look like soffit vents in your overhang, we put a router detail on them pretty cool look you can see them on my site. Air in Air out. Do Not Seal All Four Sides with any decking ever for a lot of reasons. Ipe is a very tough long lived nice looking material. It will not put up with uneven traped moisture,lack of ventalation,or flimsly conection while laying flat to the sun. J