Ron, That was my initial reaction too. However, when I visited the masonary yard, my wife found and fell in love with the pattern and design. She called me over to tell me she found the perfect material for the patio and said it was bluestone. Visions of BLUE/Green slabs were dancing in my head as she lead me to another part of masonary yard and sure enough there it was brand new designs and they were all bluestone... My jaw dropped, when the salesperson confirmed it was indeed bluestone... Quote: ************************************************ Stones Bluestone -- despite its name -- is available in several colors, from yellow to purple. Bluestone typically is sold in 12-inch by 12-inch or 18-inch by 18-inch sections and is considered a more formal looking material than flagstone. ************************************************* (above quote was cited from this website here:) http://www.renovatorsplace.com/dsp_articles.cfm?l_article_id=87&l_cat_id=109&catid=41 As you can see we picked up random sizes for our patio and so far, knock on wood, both the patio and the deck has held up well for the first NY Winter season... -Alex

Totally depends on preference. Pros & cons to both and nothing is totally maintenance free, although some things may require more maintenance than others. In our Upstate NY climate, everything takes a beating - regardless of selected product. Long story short, I will never have another deck nor do I prefer poured concrete. Decks take too much of my time and money for maintenance (even composite) and I just don't care for the stamped concrete. In our climate, poured concrete shifts as do pavers. Pavers (or natural rock) are much more forgiving to shifting than concrete which generally (not always) eventually splits & heaves (even slightly) around here. Pavers shifting are easier to remedy than poured concrete should you desire to do so. I spend a total of 30-60 minutes a year maintaining the paver patio which includes weekly sweeping and minor weed killing in the cracks. Zero cost in supplies - just time. Probably not much more in maintenance for a poured patio either. The deck we used to have required washing, water repellent treatment (staining if preferred), tightening screws/bolts that came loosened up over time and occasionally replaced pieces of floorboards that became warped or split, parts of the skirting (should you choose to have one), and spindles on railings which became loose over time from bumping, leaning etc... The patio allows us to be ground level with shrubs & flowers which we used to only see from above on the deck. Fast growing plantings around the patio can screen things out pretty quickly as well, should the need be there. When your up on a raised platform like a deck, sometimes it can be more challenging unless you integrate a wooden screen into the design (which requires maintenance like the rest of the deck - more time & money). Regardless, I would remove the existing slab before I'd do anything. Should you go with a deck, the footings will need to be dug into the ground which will require removal of the concrete. Patios (poured, paver or stone) are only as good as the base they are built on and the current slab would need to come out to do build your new base. Only opinions and preference but it's good to consider all options that you are to make the best decision for you.

We're in Vegas and have done a lot of "try outs" at our own home, I made DH put in a separate slab on an unused side of the house for some tests. I wanted to finally put stone around our 16 year old pool, one passed the heat test and just this year it was d/c here, not selling due to bad economy. So after a few cocktails I agree to let him put the new Xcel deck IR (infra red?) over our old Mortex. He also had some Xcel deck coat, same color, that was not the new "IR". After yesterday in 105 full sun, I can say the IR is cooler than regular Xcel deck, and both were cooler than the old Mortex Kool Deck. I am happy with the color, tea and cream, a medium tan. Their website just says the color will determine how hot it gets and I didn't want a dark color. We have been using Xcel deck for about 4 years and haven't had any problems with cracking/peeling, either new pool decks or re-done decks. We now give homeowners the option with the IR upgrade, it is more expensive but looks exactly the same as the standard deck coat they sell. It is acrylic. We do at least 3 steps,bond coat, scratch coat and top coats. Hope this helps, Barb

What rooms do the doors represent? If the deck attached to the left door was enlarged some, could it actually be useful? It seems like it could be a nice and semi-intimate conversation area, or place to read a book if it has some shade and some comfortable furniture. It's not going to look good to convert the deck into merely a utilitarian outdoor hallway (which is what shrinking it would do.) The lower patio could be better furnished and if necessary, easily enlarged to accommodate whatever crowd is planned.