Hello folks , this is my first post but I am a long time reader of the forum. I am about to build my 2nd home (first one was 20 years ago). I did all of the general contracting and much of the work on my current house. I want to go a slightly different route this time and find a Tulsa area builder/project manager that can work with me & supply subs, at least through dry-in while I take care of paying for all materials & sub labor as we go. Even though this isn't a full build I would be happy to pay a reasonable amount for overseeing quality construction & scheduling through dry-in including electrical ,plumbing & HVAC subs. If anyone in the Tulsa area has a referral for someone that you have worked with that you feel you would use again please let me know. Basic Specs 2470 sq ft Two story 1500 basement (Open at two ends) Wrap around porch Thank You

Blocking is great for keeping joists in line and needed on large spans, but relying on them as "nailers" for the decking is asking for trouble unless you are willing to use hangers on every block in order to keep them from moving with use of the deck. If you simply nail the blocking, eventually they will settle and the decking will follow the blocks leaving a roller coaster deck surface. I think you would be better to run girders every 4',the girders attached to the planned 2x12's and ledger, and joist opposite/inbetween using hangers attached to the "girts". The girders can be doubled up joist material same size or larger,(2x12's same as your header/ledger).

are you opposed to electric fencing? we have used the wireless one when we had a short-term rental in the country, it worked well. our dog never got shocked, we did the training to keep her away from the perimeter and she is very responsive to training. We have family who actually installed an electric fence inside the house and outside when they built. It ran in the house so that the dogs could be in the kitchen/garage/outside but not cross to the living room/bedrooms. That was over 10 years ago and they are still very happy with that solution. They live in country near highway and have a breed that loves to chase and is not easily restrained with traditional fence. I would think you could run it under the porch and then to block off the area you want. This solution really depends on your dog breed and where you stand on this type of fencing method, but might be something to consider if a traditional fence doesn't work well for you.

Carol, I've been getting an Aster vibe about these plants, and the flower buds look Aster like too. They have gotten tall and remind me of the wood Asters growing near them. I was fearing it might have weedish flowers, but I'm hoping they are the pretty blue ones like in your link. It seems to be like an eternity waiting for the flowers, same way I feel about the wood Asters. I will post a picture as soon as I see flowers so everyone can have some closure. Blueberry, it's all good. I would have said my plant was perfoliate too, until I found out it's actually semiperfoliate. I still need to dig a little deeper to comepletely know the difference. I was never mad at anyone. I was just trying to get to the truth. And I wasn't mad that someone deleted their comment. I delete comments too when I say something really stupid, but I do it very soon after commenting. If I am wrong about something or get into a heated debate I think it's important to leave the comment intact so readers can understand how events unfolded. Carol, thank you again for the i.d.. I hope you're right, and you usually are. The weird thing is, I have no idea how they showed up in my garden. I've never noticed them in the wild around here, perhaps they were in some seeds that I scattered who knows when. Judging by the size of the developing buds, and knowing that the flowers are an inch wide, it will probably be a few weeks before any flowers appear, patience is a virtue. :))