ok, instead of lurking around, I finally decided to join this great forum.

I'm building my deck on my own. My theory is: building decks shouldnÂt be harder than building softare :-). hmm, may be IÂm wrong. I hope I'm not!

my deck is 34Â 11" (parallel to the house) by 20Â . It is 8 foot high. Following the county code, I designed it with 6x6 at 6' 6" beam span (that makes 6 beams). Joists are 2"x12" @ 16" OC. the joist span is 18' with 2' beam cateliver. The deck will hang on the house with a ledger. Decking will be IPE 5/4X6 pregrooved. So my questions are:

Is this span too much especially that I'm using IPE for decking?

Should I stick to 5/4X6 or 1X6 IPE (nominal) is fine? (is it worth to save the money?)

I live in Loudoun County, VA, and I'm buying from Tart Lumber. They have the IPE material in stock for over a month now. I live only couple of miles from them. Should I still air it for few weeks at my place?

I understand that you guys don't recommend Deck master hidden fasteners. What about Eb-Ty? or do you recommend T&G anyways?

I plan to stain to Cherry or redwood color. What is the best product out there? Should I hold off staining for couple of weeks after decking? The guy at Tart suggests that I donÂt have to wait and I can stain all sides of each board before decking. But then do I have to sand first? is this a good idea or is he selling me more stain?

Thank you guys. this place is a goldmine

Curious_Dude