Thanks so much, Maureen! :-) happyday, here's a link to the red tomato trays: Red Tomato Automator Trays at Park Seed Happy Gardening! Jodi Here is a link that might be useful: Simplifying in Suburbia (My Blog)

"cut away the ledger strip under the joist" Just two saw cuts required. No one suggested removing the ledger strip for the full length.It was assumed that shop facilities for you are limited.I did one house the joists were very thick and I designed a shop-made hanger that would support both the joist and the ledger strip. Built the hangers myself. Some joists had problems out in the span and I jacked them up before sistering. Some were sistered on both sides and the hanger was made to support the triple combination. Jacking the hanger before fastening makes sure it is fully supporting the joist(s). Slow progress, lots of work, great results.

I'm just a homeowner like yourself. I'll tell you what I've learned. The picture seems to indicate the furnace is behind the viewer. Does the circle show where the existing grille is? The galvanized steel shown makes the joist cavity into a plenum. If that plenum runs straight back to the furnace, you could consider crossing over at the furnace to the preferred cavity. Sheet metal work would be required to create the crossover. Were there any past or any planned future modifications that make this a good choice, or is it overkill. Your mechanical contractor will probably tell you that he can create a single crossover where the circle is. Sheet metal is best but they can also seal off that part of the cavity and run flexible duct across. The expert will ensure the draw is balanced. The limiting factors on any install in addition to cost are appearance and headroom. Appearance and headroom are the reason for suggesting the first option. The expert may also surprise you and say "hey, since you're moving this wall, I can just enlarge the grille over here, results just as good for less money" or something else we would not have considered. If you're tackling this yourself be sure to read up on codes. Duct work is influenced by electrical and plumbing. For example wiring inside that cavity cannot just be Romex. A DIY-er could probably seal the cavity and run two elbows across from one to another, and not violate any code. Again, I'm just a homeowner. Good luck.

Since my question has not received workable response, I've done more research and have found a couple of references that answer the max span question. The table in the URL below should help anyone with with the same or similar questions. I did notice that the rule changes slightly for cantilevered ends and this reference works for those: http://books.google.com/books?id=1ggjXIWFnZMC&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=joist+width+maximum+span+deck&source=web&ots=lzdpLcMIPZ&sig=3QXSPvC2EGtmbfgk8X9SUQyShCU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA81,M1 (pg 82) Cantilevers are a cool design idea; I hadn't considered it in deck design (I have a cantilever theme in my greenhouse's design) see 'my page' for a picture. Page 81 of the above book also has a max span by joist size table as well. Here is a link that might be useful: maximum spans by joist specs table