karigraphy & gina_w - I forgot to mention, we did serve Two Buck Chuck. We didn't tell them till after they drank it. DH's brother considers himself someone what of a wine snob and only buys $10+ bottles of wine. After they commented how good it was and asked what it was, did we tell them. Surprise! compumom - Maybe & No! karigraphy - "Nobody's dead yet." That pretty much sums it up. I am going to try out all these recipes, one or two a week. I look forward to the pear and blue cheese one especially when my Barletts come in. Thanks everyone. Clare

John, Thanks for the compliments. Why do you prefer pressure treated 6" x 6" posts? Cost? Most of the decks in our townhouse complex are redwood with either 4" x 4" or 4" x 6" Redwood posts. The posts are already 6" x 6" (5-1/2" x 5-1/2"). How much larger would they be with a Redwood wrap? Originally I wanted to go with redwood for the inner and outer rim joists that make up the outer built up beam, but others suggested I use pressure treated Douglas Fir. According to the tables a 3" x 8" Redwood beam may span a maximum of 6 between posts while supporting 5 of joist. In our case the beam is supporting 4 6-3/4" of joist and the span between beams does not exceed 6. To make the deck more esthetically pleasing from the outside I am thinking of going back to redwood for the outer rim joist and keeping the inner rim joist pressure treated Douglas Fir. See drawing below. Howard

I agree, the configuration could be done better. However, doing so would be a huge expense, renovating the whole kitchen and moving everything which means moving plumbing, electrical, range hood vent, etc. I do feel you would enjoy a different configuration that allowed you to get rid of that wall (maybe a few support pillars), add a large island, and achieve a greater open concept, but thats at a cost of a whole new kitchen. That would be a better use of money than moving that post which, in my opinion, would cost as much as a new kitchen. Plus the damage they would make to move that post you almost would need a new kitchen anyhow.

Thanks for the quick response. Not 100% sure if you are asking if they are the only 2 post or if the posts have other supports, so I'll answer both ways. All posts have knee braces. There are 10 support posts holding the deck up. The 2 posts in question are not near each other. I was only concerned because it just so happens that these posts (and all the others) are going to require some additional fastening. The original installers notched the posts to support the rim joist and fastened with screws( that are now pulling away). So I'm having to go back and support them with carriage bolts. Before I go through that process, I just wanted to make sure I didn't have to replace them.