I would also consider a 2-level approach or something similar that lets you make the transition to ground seem more gradual. There is also the idea that you may find you want to do a good deal of grilling the food outside, then eat inside, because well, it is just so convenient and you can grill under less ideal circumstances than required for outdoor dining. The utilitarian steps down to patio just to get to the grill will be a barrier to that. The problem with same level is that you have to use decking, then it does tend to force you to a large deck, then a large area underneath it plus lattice or whatever, plus maintenance--though new deck materials as you suggest make that less of an issue. So I do not want to discourage you from thinking about having a "stone" patio that is part of the yard. I think over time that area could be very nice and will feel more permanent--properly landscaped. So the deck idea gives a more immediate sense of its being just an extension of your kitchen and feeling like a "room", but the patio has the ability to feel "in the yard", as noted above. The problem with bi-level structures is you have to design carefully so that neither part is too small to be useful or it breaks up your party in the wrong way. So, for example, if you envision 6 guys or gals yakking around the grill, you want room for that in your design. I think the deck landing as shown in your picture has that dreaded ubiquitous tacked-on landing look that just gets you up and down, and if you do actually make just steps, I would try to put more into their design to make a more graceful descent to the yard--whether that is broader, curved, or something. Of course that might be too expensive, so part of the fun of the forum is that we can brainstorm about how you might spend your $$! Really, just giving you things to think about. Broad steps or more gradual transition type structures can also often be used as seating/dining (for kids) as long as is wide enough. You don't show anything about the exposure of the back of the house, sun patterns, etc, so any design needs to think ahead to whether you will plant trees for shade, use umbrellas, arbor, or what--meaning, leave space in yard, or plan layout of space.

One thing I notice repeatedly on the forum is that people describe--with words--their problem. Time and time again, the words are insufficient to convey, in a complete way, what is actually happening. Almost always we want to see pictures that help explain the problem. It makes me wonder if you have a plan (like a map) that shows the layout of what you're going to get? Personally, I would want to know that. It's something that costs to produce, but it is worth it in my opinion, as otherwise you might get things in places and ways that you never expected (or wanted.) The plan does not need to be elaborate in order to explain simple placement, size and shape. Then there are some items mentioned (like landscape fabric, flagstone, proper grade, etc.) ... I would want specs. for these: landscape fabric that can be torn is worthless. "thick" ... what is min. thickness for flagstone? Will water "roll away" from the patio over the course of a day ... or speedily? How about stating the min. slope to be achieved? Lately, I've had a lot of dealings with downspouts (not mine) that were run into underground drain pipe and ended up causing HUGE problems. I ALWAYS avoid underground drainage unless there is no possible other way to drain water above ground. Naturally, the mention of underground drainage and downspouts here has me concerned. Has it been determined by a qualified individual (as opposed to just the person selling the product) that underground drainage is needed or will be beneficial? How the water is transported and in what kind of pipes and how it comes out of the pipes can make a big difference. It's a red flag and I would obtain a THOROUGH understanding of all the issues involved BEFORE agreeing to a solution. If the agreement has already been processed, I would attempt to obtain understanding rapidly and try to temporarily put the brakes on implementation. Even if it costs something to alter the contract, it may be better than getting something that is unnecessary or causes problems later.

The service where all the pictures are hosted for this thread is shutting down. I have reposted all the pictures at a different site, but GardenWeb does not allow me to edit my posts to change all the links. Here's a page with all the pictures on it. Don't miss the tiny "page 2" link at the top of the page. Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures for this thread

We did this!!! We live in Maine. The 1956 house we bought had a "sunroom" that looked like it had originally been simply a concrete-pad patio area. Sometime in the 80's it had been converted to living space by adding 4" framed walls, windows, roof, baseboard heat, woodstove, and carpet on the concrete pad. It was VERY COLD in winter, needless to say. We did not have the budget to completely rebuild it, so we kept the roof. (We did have spray-in-place foam installed to create a "hot roof", then sheetrocked an normal cathedral ceiling over it.) The roof was propped up and the walls removed. A proper framed floor was built on top of the concrete pad, and insulated. New proper 6" exterior walls were framed and insulated. New windows and door were installed (actuually re-used some of the existing Andersen casements we'd removed), and the interior was finished like a normal space, with hardwood floors, baseboard heat, etc. We then removed the old exterior wall that used to separate the house from the "sunroom" and opened it up to one large space. It's very snug and comfortable now!! We did have an architect and engineer evaluate the existing concrete slab to make sure it was OK to build the new floor/walls on. I can post photos if you want.