That is a well-known poolside finish - good traction. Have you tried scrubbing it really well? Sandstone has to be sealed, it stains easily (porous), and if it gets wet and freezes, it can shed layers. If you have a good concrete base, you can set extremely thin slabs of sandstone in thin mortar. You will raise the patio an inch or so, which will cause drainage problems for the pool. Pool borders have to be higher than the surroundings or rainwater and crud flows into the pool and you have unending filter and algae problems. Setting slabs that are thick enough for foot traffic on sand would require a couple inches of sand and 1.5 inch slabs and look really weird, as well as causing dirt problems for the pool. You don't want dirt next to the pool. Trust me. Walking across planting to get to the pool will track crud into the pool and increase the cleaning effort. Ripping out that existing border gets you into all kinds of problems, because you can't do it without high risk of damaging the tile ... and removing damaged tile risks damaging the pool's surface and it cascades from there. Basically, scrub it really well and live with it until you have enough money for a complete patio removal and replacement or look into the acrylic re-surfacing for pool decks (fake flagstone) that only raise the surface a tiny bit.

Imo, You should match up the pitch of the patio w/ the same pitch as the house. That is what will determine the height. The width or span of the patio, the pitch of the roof will dtermine that. There are many factors to consider. You wont have an enormous load , just the weight of the framing anf roof type w/ a patio cover. You also want to be concerned with wind shear or lift, so it will need the appropriate footings/piers anchoring the posts and things like rafter ties to tie it all together. This is why i would suggest a licensed structural engineer to calc out all your structral members. Well worth the consultation. Another consideration for you would be to hire a competent carpenter to assist you with at least the roof cutting part of the framing and can help you with tying in the new facia w/ the old showing where your overhangs will be cut, etc. as well as get the initial layut of the patio started. Painting and roofing diy is going to save you money, but valley construction is somewhat complex for a begginer, so a competent carpenter following the calc's of an engineer should get you on track. If you haven't already, it starts at the building dept for permitting. On a project like this, as long as you have a plot plan of your property showing the existing house, you can scetch in the proposed patio. From there it's a matter of explining on paper and drawings that you can diy the framing details laid out by the engineer, roofing type,etc. It would be good for you to know things like nailing schedules of the plywood sheathings, stating rafter and connector types, basically what is required by code for the framing and roof. You can get this info from the building dept as well as conversing w/ an engineer. The carpenter can also guide you as well as long as it coincides w/ the engineers recommendations and code. There are books on roof framing should you diy the whole project, but getting familiar w/ the whole process well before you start will help rather than diving in head first. Here is a link that might be useful: tauton books

i have an existing wood deck around my above ground pool and a 2 story deck on the rear of my home which was painted some years ago and the old paint is now coming off and the wood is splintering. I am looking for a covering I can put over the existing old wood decking which may be heat resistant so as not to burn bare feet going into and out of the pool. Something like astro turf maybe??? The existing wood is structurally sound just nasty looking.

I haven't got that far yet, I just started getting prices on the lumber/shingles/nails/brackets/etc yesterday $1,200. This is something I plan on building in 2 months, so I didn't want to get a permit this early. Before taking anymore steps, I just figured I would ask those few questions to make sure that I can build it. Then I can draw something up and start from there