Is it normal for a deck on a steep slope to feel a bit shaky before the stairs are finished?

The red clay in Cornelia is a nightmare once it gets wet, and you shouldn't count on the decking boards to stiffen up those tall 6x6 posts. Decking adds weight and lateral stability to the floor system itself, but it won't stop the 'sway' you feel on a steep slope. You need to look at **diagonal knee bracing** in both directions on every single post if you haven't alredy. If the deck is more than 10 feet off the ground, I'd even suggest adding Y-bracing or cross-bracing between the posts halfway down thier height to cut the effective length of the timber. For the drainage on that hillside, silt fencing is a temporary band-aid that will likely fail the first time a North Georgia thunderstorm hits that exposed clay. You need to divert the water before it reaches the site. Dig a shallow **swale** or a French drain uphill from the deck to catch the runoff and pipe it around the sides of your project. If you just leave it as a mud pit, you're going to have settling issues with your footings before the project is even finished. Regarding the retaining wall, don't just stack some 4x4s and call it a day. With that kind of slope, you need a proper gravity wall or a cantilevered setup with plenty of gravel backfill for drainage. The pressure that wet clay puts on a wall is immense. I'd get the drainage sorted first so you aren't fighting a river of mud while trying to set your stair stringers.

And when it comes to the 'flexible' feeling, check your ledger attachment. Sometimes that bounce isn't the posts at all, but a slight gap where the house connection isn't pulled tight. Use some heavy-duty tension ties to pull the joists into the house framing. It makes a world of difference in how solid the structure feels underfoot.

Back when we were building around Habersham in the 80s, we didn't have these fancy tension ties, but we knew that red clay would swallow a footing if you didn't over-pour 'em. If you're feeling sway, check your bolt holes. Most guys drill 'em too big and that slop turns into a wobble real fast. I'd also suggest throwing some X-bracing made of galvanized aircraft cable with turnbuckles between those 6x6s. It’s an old trick that pulls the whole skeleton tight without the bulk of more lumber. For that mud, throw down some old straw or wood chips now or you'll be sliding into the next county before you get the rails up.

Man, I've been there. Don't trust that red mud to stay put for a second. If you haven't alredy, check your post-to-beam connectors. If you just toe-nailed 'em, that's half your sway right there. I'd grab some heavy-duty Simpson ties to lock that frame down tight. Also, don't wait on the drainage. If that hillside starts moving, it'll take your stringers with it. I'd throw down some straw or wood chips just so you aren't sliding everywhere while you're trying to work.