Since the existing patio is on a granular base (as opposed to solid concrete) I would absolutely, positively NOT consider any mortared work on top of it. The reason is that the earth is a flexible surface. Though it moves so slowly you can't see it, it is doing it nevertheless. If you were to mortar flagstone or thin brick on top of it, this work would effectively be only as thick as the mortar that glued it on ... 1/2" maybe (?) It wouldn't be thick enough to support itself as the earth underneath shifts. If you're going to mortar something on top, you need a 4" solid concrete, driveway-like base (3 1/2" actual) that will not flex at all. But you could go over it with regular thickness pavers on sand IF you insulate the two layers with an inch of sand. (This is predicated on knowing that the existing base is of SOLID compacted material. Since it's been there a good while, its present shape is a good indicator of how solid the base is.) I would go so far as to say that if the present patio was perfect condition -- smooth, of perfect grade, and all slab joints perfectly matched -- you could go over it without the sand insulation. But it's not likely that it's that perfect. If you go over it, one thing you'll need to pre-plan carefully is the finish grade. It looks like your grade might end up being too high. I don't know what all the holes at the foundation are for, but they're probably not wanting to be blocked. If you need a lower grade, sell all those slabs on craigslist (someone would probably love to have them ... they look like step treads, BTW) and build directly onto your already existing base.

What chowdhry is referring to is more of a dryer mix of the concrete. Certainly not wetter otherwise the mix would collapse if you remove them from the tins. However I am concerned about using tins. Often tins have these lips on the rims and so the opening is slightly smaller than the insides which would cause problems when removing the concrete. You might get a brick too large to be removed. So watch out for those kinds of rim. Also, I've seen cement stick to tins so releasing the brick can be problematic unless you line the tin with plastic but then that leaves a lot of lines from the folds of the plastics. With milk cartons you get thicker bricks and essentially using up more concrete. So there's the disadvantage of using the form. More concrete in one form - less bricks you can make. However if you don't need a lot it's still a good way to go. I believe there is something that's used - a spray to help release the concrete from the mold - it's used to 'grease' the mold before the concrete is poured in. Ask the hardware store about this. And Sheryl is right about concrete curing - having done hypertufa myself. YOu need a curing period with plastic on the top to help get the concrete to fully cure otherwise - you get cracks. Chowdhury described in her first response, a technique I've used to make my concrete materials - and it's something I would recommend. Build the mold out of 2x4 - no top nor bottom, and with a flat surface covered in plastic, you can easily make bricks and remove the mold as soon as the brick has hardened a bit. And cover with plastic to prevent fast drying. - The advantage is that you can easily remove the material and you may need less concrete to make the bricks. - And it's a technique still in use in countries that make mud bricks for houses. I digress with this other thing technique I made some years before. I did the same thing as Chowdhury descriged, making a square mold with 2x2 and then I poured very smooth sand in the bottom and then I got my daughter to put in her footprint indentation. And then I poured the concrete mixture into it. Only my mixture was a wetter kind in order for the concrete to fill in the all the spaces. I had a relief of her footprint. The other thing I did was to put in seashell indentations and once again I got seas shells out of this technique. What's more the sand gave a nice texture to the block. Might be a something you can do at some point. anyhow, good luck on your experimentations.

You did good on the paint color- the shed blends in perfectly with the foliage and gives it a real woodsy feeling. It's really difficult to choose good paint colors for me. I ended up buying a whole set of acrylic paints which I mix and put up on the walls, then I go find a paint chip to match and order the paint. I've wasted so much money buying truly ugly paint! I also built a dry creek bed for drainage and it works beautifully. The water used to come in under the front door and flood the living room; now it sweeps around at the front of the property and down my neighbor's gravel driveway, where it percolates into the soil and waters his big sycamores. I'm looking forward to seeing your creek bed. I recommend looking at Wanda's front yard to get good ideas. She built a spectacular dry stream bed. I used stones that are too small for mine, and it looks a little rinky-dink. Renee

We finally got started planting behind the raised bond beam! Talk about a lot of work! We had to build a retaining wall behind the curved portion of the wall with Castlerock, and those things are heavy! I haven't planted anything along the new sundeck, but hope to start that today. We also still have four Pygmy Date Palms for behind the raised bond beam, that we have to plant. Two will flank either side of the CI Date Palm for some added privacy. Here is a close up of the area we planted: I'm super pleased with the look of the ferns. We're lucky in that we only get about 1 hour of direct sun there a day, and it's from about 5:30PM - 6:30PM. Hopefully these Kimberly Queens will thrive there. I looked forever, before finding these bowls for the lower portions of the bond beam. There is a really good nursery, showcased in Southern Living, in a nearby town. They're my go-to place for hard-to-find Texas plants, and they have awesome decorative items. The bowls look amazingly like Oklahoma Wister flagstone! I've planted this combo before. It'll be white in the back (Angelonia), Liriopi in the middle as a perennial, and eventually the purple Scaevola and New Gold Lantana should spill over the front. With the Blue Plumbago in the back, the color combo should look nice. In about a month, it should be totally full. All I'll have to do is change out the annuals each season for color. The fence is in. Now all we have left is the flagstone inlay and the flagstone on the steps and we're done!