Sandy, What posts you use will depend on the soil. If it's rocky you may have a problem putting in wood or pvc. You may have to drive in metal posts. If the sides of the concrete steps are exposed you may be able to bolt posts to the sides. Heavy rope can be strung between your posts for a handrail. Looking forward to seeing your first posts in the Hypertufa forum. Billie

Quite frankly it would be easier to make the drive and hang the mirror / picture/ piano or whatever than to write a step by step description on hanging a cleat system but here goes ONE: Locate and mark a level line where object is to be hung on wall, TWO: Pre-drill the wall side cleat for the number of anchors that is determined to be used, for a 40# mirror that is lets say 24" wide I would suggest 3 alligators. http://www.toggler.com/products/alligator/installation.php or sharkies: http://www.powers.com/product_07585.php One in the center and one on each side 3" - 5" inches from the ends, place the cleat at the the marked location and using a pencil through the holes mark the wall then set the cleat aside and using a 1/4" masonry bit drill through the plaster ( if you are lucky you could hit lath and wont have to use the anchors, just drywall screws ) insert the alligator and gently tap in with a hammer until flush to the wall (check the manufactures instructions). Using flat head screws tighten the cleat to the wall. THREE: Locate the other half of the cleat to the object being hung and attach it using an appropriate sized flat head screws and place your object just above the wall cleat slide it down and your done. Make sure that you understand the cleat system: http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22french+cleat%22&hl=en&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=&safe=images I have literally used thousands of the alligator wall anchors in all sorts of materials and as far as I know there was never any failures with them. Stud attachment isn't necessary for this hanging system... the plaster literally does the holding

look at these: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=3981&cs=3269&pcs=fam also these: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=3269&cs=3981&pcs=fam

I have a sloped ceiling with only 2x6 ceiling joists so there was no room for recessed cans. So I went with track lights. It was hard to finds ones that I liked the look of, there definitely are many Austin Powers-looking options available (Yeah Baby!) Also many track lights are designed for spot lighting, such as for accent lighting or task lighting rather than for the overall lighting for a room. I ended up with the following, with one track along one side of the galley kitchen and another along the other, with track mounted pendants over the peninsula: I am happy with the look and the light, I am less happy with how frequently the bulbs burn out and how difficult it is to remove the bulbs without damaging the fixtures.