hi inkognito and dave, thanks for your help. i am working with a lanscaper - but as your know - i need to be informed myself for the best results. i am waitning for the landscaper to put together skecthches/pricing. i sounds as if i should go with a wood deck and suck it up and maintain it with sealer every year! my pool has a trex deck - it may be the less expensive trex - but its ugly and i would not put it on my house. i'll look up issues with mold..... ps - my dad said the same as you - that a raised patio will be a fortune if it is done correctly... i'll check back with you when i have nore info.... thanks again, nancy

Ssahw, sorry for this hijack, and back to your deck in a moment. *** Designshare, I have been saying nothing in response to several of your posts, but this time you posted twice and you did not listen to what the OP said. The OP clearly rejected your input, yet you made yet another bizarre and irrelevant picture. I would suggest you try to improve your work to encompass both reality and the question that the OP is asking, so it doesn't require anyone to be advised to ignore it. And by the way, if you see anyone giving advice that you think is a waste of time or otherwise bad, you are free to say so here. Just be sure to give reasons why you think it is bad. Given that freedom that you have, I would suggest that you try learning what "dictatorship" means before you use that word again. It continues to beggar my understanding that you are from China, which is a dictatorship where corruption and oppression abound, and yet you cannot tell the difference between a dictatorship and simple peer response. Far from seeking to oppress your contribution, I have frequently offered you suggestions on how to improve it. Your contributions in words are sometimes very good, and if you could simply stop with the pictures, you would be much more welcome by me. In particular, I have suggested that you not be the first to post to any thread, because it is very off-putting to a new OP when a "cartoon" (as your drawings were referred to by someone else) is the first response. That, of course, is only my opinion. I don't seek to speak on anyone else's behalf, and everyone else is free to tell you, and the rest of the world by posting it in a thread, if they feel differently about your pictures. *** So, back to the deck. I agree a deck would be easier to build, but maybe not so good for a firepit. I wonder though whether the firepit and pool seasons do not somewhat overlap. Perhaps it would be better to consider the two functions separately. Alternatively, based on the measurements you've given, that's some slope. Could you move the patio further from the deck to flatter ground? And/or extend the deck at its present level until you reach flat ground? Fill below the deck to bring the ground level up?? The concurrent thread I've linked below may give you, in monetary terms, some idea of the magnitude of putting the patio right where you want it. KarinL Here is a link that might be useful: concurrent thread

Eventually the roots of a Zelkova will penetrate the area beneath the patio. I'm not sure I'm accurately understanding the patio's construction: dug down then an additional 3 feet above grade? In any case, you've created an ideal environment for roots of any sort of tree - relatively loose and moist. If you plant only 10 feet away, a fast growing tree like Zelkova will have its roots beneath the patio pretty quickly. How much damage they will do and how quickly is impossible to predict. Your dilemma is pretty common for west facing patios and decks. You need the shade from a fast growing tree, but you want to avoid root intrusion. The truth is you really can't have the first without the risk of the second. Artificial shade may not be as attractive as a tree, but would have the virtue of eliminating any root damage danger. You could also consider planting a tree such as a Japanese maple with a compact fibrous root system. It would be a long wait for any significant shade, but would not destroy the patio. As for the forsythia, they're easy to move, but spousal horticultural disputes are best avoided by all third parties.

No idea the water source based on photos. A paver patio is built on granular material that drains quite well. so there is no need for a drain under it. Even if the material under it becomes saturated, the patio surface will still shed water, and eventually the saturated material will still drain. The rocks around the edge I would not call a retaining "wall." They act more as a curb. But since the curb is comprised only of individual rocks separated by soil, it, in itself, is not capable of preventing water from draining away. Nor should it be. The existence of the patio & curb seems separate from the problem of an unknown source of water infiltrating an area. (Other than that they could complicate the diagnosis and repair.) But it is enough water to look like a leak ... unless you happen to have a very high water table. If you do and there has been a lot of rain in days prior, that could cause such a condition.