The pool has many radius turns which is why concrete is the prefered choice. If a stone or paver is used it will need to be cut. You can also use a paver that is 6" x 12" to accommodate all the turns.

Hello Bonnie Ochoa, You know it's a hard question when an hour goes by on Houzz with no answers! Good news:the acid wash has given you a clean surface to work with. A simple solution would be using something like Ramuc paint, some of there colors are in the attached image. This gives a uniform look. A more complex solution would be along the lines of tiling the patio, travertine would give you a mottled look in the colors you mention above. Unfortunately getting a mottled look by selective reduction of the concrete's natural colors is probably above my paygrade! If you have any more questions, we give 15 minute analysis of any project for free. Hit us up. -frank

Resummarizing here because it wont let me edit my main thread, with photos.. plywood is often used for observatory builds because its a smoother surface to seal off, i assumed it was ok.. Summarizing again: I've tried using some online deck building tools to generate the materials needed for what should really be a simple build for this, but i'm getting weird results and had some questions. I thought home depot had an online one, but only found an offline tool, lowes online did work, but in both cases they generated ridiculous materials lists and prices close to $10k. I know that a build like this should only cost $300 to $400. (with everything i have below and $69 to ship, its around $480 as of now, so higher than planned) On top of the deck will be the nexdome with 2 bay (astronomy plastic dome weighs around 300lbs i think). The first issue is the soil/ground. I have to make things level, so that i dont need extra height on a concrete pier, to keep the whole structure say 12" off the ground and not need a railing. Here is a shot of my ground so far, i wasnt sure if i should just get a bobcat and push it forward till level, or if tossing the extra dirt that is "high" on the upper part, to the lower part would suffice or cause a settling issue later? Either way, once down to level, i figure ill either just leave it as just dirt under, or put down plastic to block weeds and cover with a thin layer of gravel. Back to the deck build itself: 12x6 vs 12x8: I've seen many do the 12x6 route, but I wasnt sure, so for now i have it figured as roughly 12-13 12x8s? I have two 4x4x8's figured, but i'm thinking there will be at least 6 posts, with the deck surface at least 12" off ground, may need a few more to go into cement block Onto the blocks (going with blocks instead of posts in the ground, so when we move, we can just take the whole thing and go, or disassemble): I think these are the right concrete deck blocks? But now that i'm thinking about these, it looks like they are really meant to go under the 12x6 going longwise? So perhaps for the posts that will be 12-14" tall, i need something else here? (I figured 6-9 of these max) One of the online builder tools generated the list using these wood to wood triple zinc framing angles, again i'm not sure these are needed? I know i need joist hangers, unsure on the quantity, but these 2"x2x18 gauge triple zinc face mount joist hangers **the part on these i'm unsure on, is since this is low to the ground, how ill go about attaching these,since the floor needs in place, so i guess i need to tilt the whole structure to do this Many regular decking forums dont suggest using plywood for the floor, but i've seen many nexdome floors done with it, i was assuming it was this plywood: Severe Weather 3/4 inch common square southern yellow pine sheathing 4x8's $39? I was estimating i need 3 of these. Then I was figuring using all deck screws and not nails (in case i need to remove them), or maybe nails (which type?) for the hangers. These #8 2" ceramic I thought were the right ones? (or maybe 2.5") Here is the view of the joists as generated by the home depot offline tool, generally i was figuring a joist every 16, not sure about the extra ones near the pier location: Another question is on the underside, in the one online generator it shows these things that i'm not sure on, ie: the posts have those brackets and there are i think the right angle brackets: The other part i think i'm missing here are "toggle?" bolts that go into the posts? With nuts on the other side of some size? Any thoughts on all this so far, is this a pretty accurate list of things to do this simple deck?

You are correct- cracks are common (and usually inevitable) in my area, but stamped concrete is a very common pool surround or patio near me. And pavers/stone tend to be a giant hassle requiring constant cleaning and maintenance (I'm totally over stone from multiple previous patios- brick, bluestone, travertine, techno-bloc).I guess my question is really what pattern would hide inevitable cracks best? Large vs small pattern? Straight vs curved lines? My home is a Georgian colonial. Backyard is 3 stories tall, tiered yard with a drystone retaining wall, and wooded. Very sunny and bright. My house is very manicured from the front but completely a blank slate out back. Style of the pattern is really not an issue as I could make anything work. Cracks. Hiding cracks is the issue...