Have been back and forth with Eric (over the weekend!) about various external details, like where to put the steps, should the door bottoms be flush with the porch / deck or a few inches above. There are lots of decisions, and if that's not to your taste, then getting your own house built is not for you.
Anyway, with the pilings underneath and all, the deck will be above the 18 inch limit that requires railings (building code: under 18 inches above grade, no railings; above that, railings required). I wonder if we can use the recycled plastic type (
Evolve or something like it). The nearby
Kellogg Biological station (MSU)) replaced their wood railings with plastics on the houses they own. Presumably that is partly because of the low maintenance. There are several types of
recycled plastic lumber that differ radically in their content -- the web link lists them and describes their advantages and disadvantages. For recycled HDPE lumber like Evolve, the main one seems to be that they are less stiff than wood. Others contain wood and may be almost as subject to rot as wood is. Check carefully before you buy so you know what you are getting.
We'll probably post new elevations with the deck railings in the next few days ... they look really spiffy!
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