I have decided to make my deck rails from 2x4 supported and hangers. The top 2x4 will be flush with the top of the deck posts. The deck rail cap will be a 1.25x6 board that will cover the top rail and top of the posts. One concern is how to prevent water from pooling on the top of the cap? On the web, I have seen the cap be a 2x6 that is ripped so that the cap is peaked in the middle. Unfortunately I only have a compound miter saw. Another person recommended tilting the cap slightly so that water would go off to one side. I have seen other boards that are routed to give a drip edge Are there other options I should consider?

Hello, I have a 20' x 8' covered porch with a nice mortared-stone-block floor. It slopes slightly away from the house. The walls of the porch are formed from the rest of the house protruding forward. I.E. there is an indentation in the house where the roof covers a large outdoor porch. We want to make a mud-room out of the porch. We are in New York climate zone 7 (long island). It seems straightforward enough to put up the outside wall with another entry door and some windows. I'm not sure how to heat (and/or ventilate) the room, and whether or not I need to insulate the floor and build it up (I have around 5" available that I could build it up if need be). My hope is that the suggestion will be: keep the stone floor as is, slap up the wall, and put a space-heater in the wall. But I'm also thinking I may need to put down XPS rigid foam, possibly radiant coils on top, and then a skim-coat on top of that to bring the floor level, and then some vinyl or tile on top of that. (I'm not excited about screwing anything down into the current floor, but I would probably have to if I insulate it?) I don't need to have the room be 70 degrees ... but would like to get it up to 60 in the winter for most of the day. Any suggestions for the floor or other things I may need to consider?