Sarah, the other kids are pretty much spot-on. First, the gap between the framing and the tub flange: When the cement board goes on, the face of the cement board needs to at least be even with, or even slightly proud of, the tub flange. What you want is for the cement board to be held slightly above the lip of the tub flange. The tile will hang past the bottom of the cement board, it'll go over the tub flange, and be held just off the tub deck. So: Installing the tub...I'd look at the manufacturer's installation instructions and make sure the tub was properly set. Ledger board? No ledger board? Cast iron or plastic/acrylic/fiberglass? Some get set in mortar beds, some just get adhered to the floor with construction adhesive. But also check out the detail for fastening the tub flange to the wall framing. For the barrier behind the cement board, use either horizontally lapped tar paper, or 6-mil polyethylene plastic sheeting. For a topical barrier (should you go that route instead), you can use roll-ons like Hydroban or RedGard, or a sheet membrane like Kerdi, which dsegn mentioned. FWIW, you may as well read up on the installation instructions for the hardie board. The gap between framing and the tub flange could create problems. Excessive tub movement, "creaking" sounds when weight is shifted in the tub, cracking of the flange, etc. So yes, your idea to furr out the studs is right on the money, make sure the gap gets filed in so there is proper contact between the tub flange and the wall framing. Do not let them hang the hardie on the studs and float it over the face of the tub flange, so you end up with an air gap between the hardie and the stud down by the tub flange. That "kick out" will throw your tiling off and could cause integrity problems with the wall down the road.

That's where I am confused...I have some post brackets but they were designed to be screwed to the concrete pavers...the paver layers did glue the outer edge of my raised patio to the lower levels which were also glued...but I'm just wondering what the strength of the glued paver column would be in holding the posts securely...is there no way I can build a higher column or thicker column? I am sure if I pull out my old physics books I can figure out the ratio of force/work/friction that could yield me the greatest security...just wondered if someone else had accomplished this.. I see pre-made pergolas at Sam's Club and such that are not concreted in and are 'up'...here are my thoughts... 1. build column with a wider opening...so that I can pour quikrete into it and stabilize it.... 2. stick to the 4" opening in my columns and just glue the whole thing together. 3. dig up the pavers and dig down to cement the posts..but I worry about it messing up the stability of the corners of my deck..there is a load of crusher run/sand under neath all that and it would be a messy mess... I'm just wondering guessing the winds necessary to knocking down either option one or two would likely knock bring down a cemented structure and then I would have a messed up deck...yeah yeah, I know, I'm trying to rationalize my laziness! :) Thanks! Tara

I have a question about posts. It seems like there neeeds to be a lot of protection for the wood and preperation for the wood using pressure treated pine lumber. So my question to you guys is would there be a market for an alternative to pressure treated pine posts using posts made out of tropical hardwood? There are many species of wood that are extremely long lasting with ground contact and really do not have much of a market as lumber, so they are cheap. We have the worst possible climate for wood in the world, high humidity, constant hot temperatures, all kinds of fungus, and a wide variety of termites. Ipe is an example of this kind of wood, but there are species are more resistant, especially in ground contact situations. One of these, angelim vermelho (Dinizia excelsa)I have personally used in ground contact and I think that if I live another 50 years it will still be in great shape. They use this wood in Holland extensively to line the dikes with. It does have one drawback though, when green it has a smell very simlar to dirty socks. This would probably make it difficult to sell in the US market. I made a fence recently using this as the posts, 4 x 4s, and it is a question of a few months until there is no smell at all. But, there are many others without this problem. It would seem that wood with no chemicals at all may have some market, although limited. I realize that most homeowners do not probably care what the wood is under their decks, but I am always curious to see if there may be markets for wood that more fully utilizes the native forest species we have here. Maybe in large urban areas with high environmental standards, like Southern California it would be possible to create a market. It would not be something people could just pop over to Home Depot and buy though. dk

jterrilynn is a genius! :) I just now noticed she completed my railing on the octagon - lol!! Love it! You ALL have such a great eye - you have helped us leaps and bounds. My husband and I like the black posts. He and I are divided however on the lower level fascia under the deck. I am liking the house color as a tie-in to the rest of the structure with the brown fascia a close second. He likes it black. Hmmmm.... we have a few days to think about it before the painter returns. If anyone has more to weigh in on, feel free :)