I am not understanding taking on a project that size,and at that stage, with no thought as to what decking to use.Thats just plain Silly. Most often I would be done with you Dude.

In Fact, I am done with Ya. J.

That's not really the friendly welcome I was expecting when posting here.

I had my mind set on tigerwood 4/4x6 and was going to place my order in a couple weeks but after some more evening reading I started to doubt my decision and was hoping for input from someone not trying to sell me their product but I guess I was wrong.

Currently I only have the concrete piers in and the beams up.

I thought out every square inch of this deck and did all my drawings in many evenings making sure it's build safe and to code. All I was trying is to make sure I chose the right materials and my family can enjoy a safe deck for a long time.

The reason I am undertaking this project is that we had to take out a 2 year old patio because the last contractor build it so bad it started to fall apart and became unsafe for my 14 month old to walk around on. The contractor is nowhere to be found.

Thinking this forum would be for asking questions and sharing my experience along the way was a mistake.

Thanks for the input.

With your joists set at 16" oc, you can easily get away with 1x6 (3/4x5 1/2) if you use hardwood.

You can save some $ by using the screws listed in the link below.
Or checkout the new system by starborn industries
http://www.starbornindustries.com/proplugsystem/
I've tried it, and it works well.

steve

Here is a link that might be useful: screws

305 SS is your normal SS. 316 SS is for use around salt water. Last I heard there's not much of that in Colorado, so the 305's are what you need.

I just bought mine at Menard's (local hardware store). McFeely's sells them as well. I bought SS finish nails and pocket hole screws from them.

Don't let Jon Mon get under your skin. He gets kind of cranky if he thinks you haven't done your proper homework before asking questions. But he is very knowledgeable and helpful once he gets to know you.

I encourage you to post progress photos as you build. The forum is helpful about pointing out things and offering pointers along the way. Plus we like to see others' decks.

Thanks Allison, Slap!! I needed that. Total stress latley.

tormado storm, 3'' hail storm at 50 mph, then a flood with 10+ inches of rain in an hour or so ghesssssssssssss

Come on Back Essens, see what I can do for youall.

Dont be a Stranger Folks! its geting a little much doing it all. JonMon.

Sorry for the late reply.. I have been checking back, but I tried to put in some more concrete now that we had some dry days and I was able to pump out the water.

Since our backyard slopes down from the back and from the house it comes together about 17 ft away from the house. That's the area where water collects and runs to the side. I put garbage bags around the concrete tubes and gravel in the holes trying to keep it as stable as I can.

We have that nasty clay soil and that's the reason why our entire patio collapsed. They didn't remove enough of the clay which raised it during the winter and when summer came everything started to cave in. I tried to repair it last summer by adding sand in the spots, which I knew was a desperate move and of course this didn't help much and when spring came it was even worse.

Anyways, thanks for all the feedback!

I have a couple more questions ;-) so I'll try to check back in tonight.

Has anyone ever done business with Timber Holdings or industrial resources? I am considering one of the places that are mostly mentioned here but I just couldn't find anything about these places.

This weekend I'll be doing some more framing and tryout making some plugs to see if I could manage doing this myself or have to go the normal route.

Ohh.. one more question. I was going to use the deck membrane over my beams to prevent water coming in between from the top. But not sure if it's really worth it or do any of you use something different?

Have a good 4th of July weekend!

305 is fine. Swan Secure or McFeeleys are good sources.

4/4 is fine, 5/4 will give you more wood under the screw head as well as a deeper countersink to hold the plug. Plugging a 1000 sqft deck will be a bit of work. Build a jig to help you drill your holes so you can work fast with consistent layout lines.

Have two drills, one to drill the holes and one to drive the screws. Have several drill bits in case one (or two or three) snap off during use. Consider an impact drill for driving the screws.

You can certainly use a peel and stick material on the joist edges. Just watch our for logos that can peek out from in between the deck board gaps.