Suntan answers:

$20 per square foot labor & material is probably a good estimate. I haven’t priced White Cedar lately.

Suntan answers:

I liked the rail system when I helped my brother in law do his. Now most of his deck was accessible from below on ladders. The only PIA part was the low part that I had to do on the ground under the deck while he placed the decking and kept the spacing .. GL

Suntan answers:

Here are some basic tips:

Use a good tip – it needs to be the right size and type, undamaged, and not rounded off on the edges. When using “phillips” bits, there are 3 sizes, #1, #2, and #3. #2 is the most common size.

Use the clutch setting on your driver. I don’t know how many screwheads I’ve seen my employees strip, becuase they didn’t adjust the clutch from ‘drill’ to one of the number settings for the driver. What number you actually need, depends on what you are screwing into – how hard it is. I start with a lower clutch setting, and move to higher settings, as long as the screw is being left protruding.

Most importantly – keep the driver in line with the screw. The most common reason for a screw head to strip out, is because the driver was held at an angle to the screw. I had one fellow, that stripped every single screw. I could use the same driver, screw, and setting, and get a perfect set, where he would strip it out — until he learned to hold the driver straight. Working in softer materials, you can get away with sloppy handling of the driver, as it is more likely to push the screw in, even if being held crooked – not so with harder materials. You have to hold it straight in line with the screw.

You will also find that some screws are ‘softer’ than others — for example, stainless steel screws are notorious for stripping out, because they are so soft. For this type of fastener, you need to purchase a softer metal tip, so that the tip will break, before the screw head strips out. Buy extra tips, hehehe. Brass screws are the same way – its a softer metal.

Where possible, use a screw design that is made to grip better, and be less likely to strip out, like the “square drive” (aka ‘Robertson’ head). Where the ‘Phillips’ head looks like a “+” sign, the ‘square drive’ is just that, a square socket. These also come in different sizes, so it is important to get the correct bit for the screw. Others are ‘clutch’ bits, “Torx”, etc. (you find ‘torx’ head screws in a lot of automotive applications)
I prefer to use the square drive wood screws myself. I know the local hardware store pushes ‘sheetrock’ screws to be used in most applications, but in my experience, it’s too easy to snap them off – they’re not as strong as wood screws.

Have Fun

Suntan answers:

Desk, deck whats the diffrence? My deck is bigger than my desk, but not as pretty. My deck rots but i didnt build it and my desk isnt exposed to elements.
But it really dosent matter what you do to the screws, what matters is a nice uniform coat of waterproofing or perhaps a nautical paint coat to protect from the elements.
Oh and yeah , use the galvanized wood screws

Suntan answers:

Stainless steel nails? Wow, that is going back! – Yes hot dipped galvanized is good.