We've all got things that keep us awake at night. But in my world, 9 or 10 feet until concrete is exactly the same as no concrete in sight anywhere. That is, I would never worry about such a supposed issue. My gawd, we plant thousands of street trees which would never make the cut if that were a limiting factor! Not yelling at you, Joe, just saying, it's good to think ahead, but don't let that thinking paralyze you!

You are going to find that opinions are like certain body parts...everyone has one, everyone thinks theirs smells great, and that everyone else's stinks. Except, of course, by coincidence, mine. It's the only one you need. You're not so much looking for a specific tree, as a shape. One person will say you need one tree, another will say you need four, someone else will chime in and say only plant in odd numbers, and then someone will ask if a doorway has three sides...and what happens if you have space for six trees, need six to cover the sightlines, but are hung up on the odd number guideline? We're in the middle of an existential crisis...over rules of thumb that just don't matter. Where is the alcohol when you need it? Who says he need to move out from the deck? How do we know what space constraints may exist on the other side? Or what other uses for yard space a person might have? Or what effort a person who has a tall deck to stand on might be willing to put into trimming? My personal recommendation...I'd stay away from trees that have flowers and fruit in areas of high traffic. There are a number of crabapples that would stay narrower than 6-8', but my personal preference, is to avoid the multiple seasons of debris fall (petal, flower fuzz, june drop, fall fruit, leaves all the time) that come with them. Of course, if prevailing winds blow away from the deck, I may reconsider said opinion in this circumstance. So what kind of maintenance budget do you have? Are you interested in something that can be maintained at 2' wide, if you trim it a couple times of year? Any tree CAN be trimmed to whatever size you want...some are more equipped to deal with it. Frans Fontaine Hornbeam is at the top of that list. Slender Silhouette Sweetgum. there are a number of different maples that follow close behind. The columnar maples are more likely to bush out a little more. Given time, anything and everything will want to get wider. Just like people, the waistlines expand with age.

pond cypress would be an ok choice, but they like a lot of water. sweetgums get very extensive root systems that will destroy waterlines, and your foundation and take all the nutrients out of the soil to where not even grass will grow. gingko is a large tree, and if it is a female and gets fruit you will be stunk out of your yard.

embothrium, I have several magnolias and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them...However, I know the above trees I mentioned all need good amount of sun, and since I don't have as much experience with these trees, I guess I was kind of wanting to see which of all these trees (love them all,btw) really would get the most out of this full sun, blazing hot in the summer for sure, in this zone 7a I live in. kentrees12, thanks, the spruce would look beautiful there, I know it. Do you know if it is a fast grower? I hope it is because we could use the privacy from an evergreen there. I realized I overlooked that area right on the edge of our property... I was looking for space WITHIN the forest;instead, I needed to look from the outside in:)