Wow...so much good info still coming in. Thanks :) I am going to add some buzzing friends to the mix. I have purchased, and will be making more, Mason Bee houses. Plan to put them around the deck and see if they can help with pollination a little (hopefully a lot). I won't be discouraged if things don't work out. I have been planting tomatoes in two gallon clay pots, sitting in the driveway, for three years now and they do fine. If my deck project fails, I'll go back to that. The deck is treated, and hopefully I'll do it again before I set up the deck garden this spring. I have a hot tub sunken into the deck in one corner, but I don't use it anymore. I plan to build a box over the cover and set planters on top of that. I'll do some before and after pictures and post them when I get a chance. Brody

Yes, that is what I was referring to......that any reduction of belt speed due to wear in the DRIVE pulley.....might be cancelled by wear to the DRIVEN pulleys, resulting in the same net belt speed.......but with some slack appearing in the belt train. Replacing just the DRIVE pulley might put your belt (and blade) speed up near where you want it. But without a tachometer (or some very careful measurements along with accurate calculations) it really amounts to theory and guesses.

Jetlane, We just went through the stamping nightmare. Even though our contract said we required expansion joints/saw cuts (I was willing to do anything to keep from having cracks), our builder did not put them in. When we reminded them they never 'got to it'. Within the first week we had over 30 cracks. We then did a lot of research. Because we were able to prove the rebar was improperly placed (not the contracted 16" and left on ground rather than suspended) we were able to get a new deck installed. Whew. Take pictures of everything - before, after and especially during. Here is what we found after calling recommended stampers. You need to do the saw cuts around 2 hours after pouring - at the latest early the next morning after a pour. Not later the next day, not a week later. Also when stamping it is important to have the concrete be just right - not too wet or dry. We were told the original job was done when the concrete was too dry. We thought about going the PVC deck joint route but heard too much about the strips eventually cracking. Our concrete guys had a special saw (like an edger) that did straight saw cuts. Make sure they use a new sharp blade. Our cuts are somewhat ragged. Where they used the manual smaller saw the cuts are much sharper. We ended up with three cracks - one running near the expansion joint from the skimmer - but we at least feel we did what we could to limit cracks. We learned after the fact that we should have gotten our own concrete people. We found we had a couple really highly recommended stampers here locally but were already committed to use the ones our pool builder contracted. Another lesson. Listen to recommendations - pros and cons. All it takes is one negative comment to raise a red flag. Don't ignore it and think it wouldn't happen to you. Hope this helps.

Hi all, Sorry, I was sidetracked by yet another project which will be the subject of another decorating post. Well, after surveying the situation, the sad and bad news is that my 8 X 10 deck has shrunk to basically an 8 X 5 one! I know, right? Because the honking grill is 5' long and the door off the kitchen in line with the grill is opposite it, that essentially cuts down the deck size. Currently we have a folding table and two basic plastic chairs set up along the far end on the 8' edge with the umbrella next to the grill. If we upgraded the furniture, it might work. I don't think there's a whole lot of options. I love sitting out there for breakfast/brunch, lunch and dinner. After reading that Boston has allowed something like 300+ square feet to qualify as living space, I think my teeny deck would be roomy if done creatively. Can it also be comfortable? Thank you.