Hi again, John or any one, my client is using east teak wood for the decking with the steep stairs. At the center to the ground is only 9 ft. They want to start the stairs from the outer most corner of the deck and curve into a natural stone patio. They also are looking at this patio being slightly raised. This patio will gradualy extend to a patio with an outdoor kitchen that will include a fireplace. Will a set of five stairs with a landing then turn with another set of five stairs sound reasonable? I'm also reading about some troubles using Teak wood. We are in Minnesota so this is very common material used on crusing boats. How weather worthy is this? And I expect it is high maintenance?

I am not a professional, shanmartin, but I believe the itmes to be concerned with would be the ability to get plumbing up there and waste down (in other words: what's below the proposed bathroom space and bedrooms?). Also, without knowing your entire floorplan, roofline, etc., it's difficult to tell if any of those walls are structural. Why don't you ask your builder? They could probably answer your questions very quickly. Sometimes, the sales people may not know (or want to tell you) and you might need to speak to a construction foreman. Just some thoughts. Sandy

I did my deck in a tan color, with green railings and I love it. I like the way the railings kind of disappear into the green of nature behind them when I look out my windows. In fact, I liked that color so much I painted my shutters that color in the front of the house. But all the pics you showed above are quite handsome too. The job was part finished when I took this pic:

I had to put in a P-trap for a shower in a concrete slab that had radiant heat tubing. Tubing is typically laid out in long loops that are fairly close to the surface of the concrete. By using an inexpensive, handheld temperature scanner when the heat was turned on, I was able to approximate, fairly accurately, the direction the loops ran and the spacing between them. This enabled me to avoid hitting the tubing when I made the smallest hole I could that would accommodate a drain and P-trap. I only had to go through 4" of concrete, so I made the hole by using a combination of hole drilling with masonry bits and a sledge and cold chisel. This took a couple of hours, but I could proceed more carefully than if I used a saw or jackhammer. Once you break through, expanding the hole goes a lot faster. Also be aware that there are repair couplings that can be used to mend a break if you are unlucky enough to hit a tube (but you should have a professional do that repair).