diff --git a/benchbox/core/dryrun.py b/benchbox/core/dryrun.py
index 39c2ac687..fa2e5a221 100644
--- a/benchbox/core/dryrun.py
+++ b/benchbox/core/dryrun.py
@@ -1101,7 +1101,16 @@ def _extract_ddl_preview(
         if not hasattr(benchmark, "get_schema"):
             return ddl_preview, post_load_statements
 
-        tables = list(benchmark.get_schema().keys())
+        # get_schema() is a dict on core benchmark classes but some public wrapper
+        # classes (e.g. JoinOrder) return a DDL string instead - normalize the same
+        # way _generate_external_schema_sql() does rather than assuming a mapping.
+        raw_schema = benchmark.get_schema()
+        if isinstance(raw_schema, dict):
+            tables = list(raw_schema.keys())
+        elif isinstance(raw_schema, list):
+            tables = [t["name"] for t in raw_schema if isinstance(t, dict) and "name" in t]
+        else:
+            return ddl_preview, post_load_statements
 
         # Benchmark table names are lowercase (e.g. "lineitem") while shipped tuning
         # templates key tables uppercase (e.g. "LINEITEM"); look up case-insensitively
diff --git a/benchbox/core/tuning/metadata.py b/benchbox/core/tuning/metadata.py
index 75a015502..2b436a3dc 100644
--- a/benchbox/core/tuning/metadata.py
+++ b/benchbox/core/tuning/metadata.py
@@ -178,8 +178,11 @@ def _get_create_table_sql(self) -> str:
             # Redshift prefers explicit column encoding
             return base_sql + " ENCODE AUTO"
         elif platform in {"clickhouse", "clickhouse-local", "clickhouse-server"}:
-            # ClickHouse uses specific engine and ordering
-            return base_sql.replace(")", ") ENGINE = MergeTree() ORDER BY (table_name, tuning_type)")
+            # ClickHouse uses specific engine and ordering. base_sql always ends
+            # with the CREATE TABLE's closing ")", so appending here is enough -
+            # str.replace(")", ...) would also rewrite every VARCHAR(N) column
+            # width's closing paren, corrupting the column definitions.
+            return base_sql + " ENGINE = MergeTree() ORDER BY (table_name, tuning_type)"
         else:
             # Default for DuckDB, Databricks, etc.
             return base_sql
diff --git a/tests/uat/phases/report.py b/tests/uat/phases/report.py
index f39190bc0..ce77057ea 100644
--- a/tests/uat/phases/report.py
+++ b/tests/uat/phases/report.py
@@ -426,6 +426,16 @@ def release_gate_ordering_violations(
     violations: list[str] = []
     for log_text in docker_stage_lifecycle_logs:
         for timestamp, platform in parse_docker_up_events(log_text):
+            # append_lifecycle_log() writes datetime.now() (naive local
+            # wall-clock time, no offset), but native_stage_completed_at is
+            # offset-aware in production (orchestrator.py's
+            # datetime.now().astimezone(), #1162). Comparing a naive and an
+            # aware datetime raises TypeError, so normalize a naive
+            # timestamp onto native_stage_completed_at's awareness -- via
+            # astimezone(), which interprets a naive datetime as local time
+            # and attaches the current local UTC offset -- before comparing.
+            if timestamp.tzinfo is None and native_stage_completed_at.tzinfo is not None:
+                timestamp = timestamp.astimezone()
             if timestamp <= native_stage_completed_at:
                 violations.append(
                     f"Docker stack '{platform}' started at {timestamp.isoformat()} "
diff --git a/tests/uat/test_report.py b/tests/uat/test_report.py
index 90e70651d..dc1bec8da 100644
--- a/tests/uat/test_report.py
+++ b/tests/uat/test_report.py
@@ -292,3 +292,22 @@ def test_release_gate_ordering_flags_docker_up_before_native_completion():
     assert len(violations) == 1
     assert "cedardb" in violations[0]
     assert "at/before native+dataframe stage completion" in violations[0]
+
+
+def test_release_gate_ordering_does_not_raise_against_offset_aware_boundary():
+    """orchestrator.py's completed_at is offset-aware (datetime.now().astimezone(),
+    #1162), but append_lifecycle_log() still writes naive uat_lifecycle.log
+    timestamps. Comparing the two used to raise TypeError; parse_docker_up_events
+    must normalize the naive side so the comparison (and any real violation)
+    still works.
+    """
+    aware_boundary = _dt.datetime(2026, 5, 30, 1, 0, 0).astimezone()
+
+    no_violation = report.release_gate_ordering_violations([_DOCKER_LOG_OK], native_stage_completed_at=aware_boundary)
+    assert no_violation == []
+
+    violations = report.release_gate_ordering_violations(
+        [_DOCKER_LOG_EARLY, _DOCKER_LOG_OK], native_stage_completed_at=aware_boundary
+    )
+    assert len(violations) == 1
+    assert "cedardb" in violations[0]
diff --git a/tests/unit/core/test_dryrun.py b/tests/unit/core/test_dryrun.py
index 8abdc97f4..0cd87a854 100644
--- a/tests/unit/core/test_dryrun.py
+++ b/tests/unit/core/test_dryrun.py
@@ -805,6 +805,26 @@ def test_missing_unified_config_returns_empty(self, tmp_path):
         assert ddl_preview == {}
         assert post_load == {}
 
+    def test_string_schema_does_not_raise(self, tmp_path):
+        """Public wrapper benchmarks (e.g. JoinOrder) return a DDL string from
+        get_schema() rather than a table_name -> columns mapping. Calling
+        .keys() on that string used to raise AttributeError; the preview
+        should instead come back empty rather than crash the dry run.
+        """
+        unified_config = self._load_duckdb_tpch_template()
+        config = MagicMock()
+        config.options = {"unified_tuning_configuration": unified_config}
+        database_config = MagicMock()
+        database_config.type = "duckdb"
+
+        class _StringSchemaBenchmark:
+            def get_schema(self) -> str:
+                return "CREATE TABLE title (id INTEGER, title VARCHAR);"
+
+        ddl_preview, post_load = self.executor._extract_ddl_preview(_StringSchemaBenchmark(), config, database_config)
+        assert ddl_preview == {}
+        assert post_load == {}
+
     def test_unknown_table_is_skipped(self, tmp_path):
         unified_config = self._load_duckdb_tpch_template()
         # Rekey the loaded template so none of its tables match a real TPC-H table.
diff --git a/tests/unit/core/tuning/test_tuning_metadata.py b/tests/unit/core/tuning/test_tuning_metadata.py
index 8d11d9e75..845f76c13 100644
--- a/tests/unit/core/tuning/test_tuning_metadata.py
+++ b/tests/unit/core/tuning/test_tuning_metadata.py
@@ -113,6 +113,22 @@ def test_create_table_sql_varies_by_platform(platform, needle):
     assert needle in manager._get_create_table_sql()
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("platform", ["clickhouse", "clickhouse-local", "clickhouse-server"])
+def test_clickhouse_create_table_sql_does_not_corrupt_varchar_columns(platform):
+    """A prior str.replace(")", ...) rewrote every closing paren in the base
+    SQL, including each VARCHAR(N) column-width parenthesis, not just the
+    CREATE TABLE's final closing paren - producing invalid DDL like
+    'VARCHAR(255 ENGINE = MergeTree() ... ) NOT NULL'.
+    """
+    sql = TuningMetadataManager(_Adapter(platform_name=platform))._get_create_table_sql()
+
+    assert "VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL" in sql
+    assert "VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL" in sql
+    assert "VARCHAR(64) NOT NULL" in sql
+    assert sql.count("ENGINE = MergeTree()") == 1
+    assert sql.rstrip().endswith("ENGINE = MergeTree() ORDER BY (table_name, tuning_type)")
+
+
 def test_create_index_sql_skips_platforms_without_indexes():
     assert TuningMetadataManager(_Adapter("clickhouse"))._get_create_index_sql() is None
     assert TuningMetadataManager(_Adapter("bigquery"))._get_create_index_sql() is None