I don't know how big your yard is, but I would start small, with the gravel, meaning, just big enough for the seating at first--the point being, you can always expand, but you will never remove the gravel once you've got it in (I'm making assumptions about what you will or won't do in the future based on human nature, the nature of gravel removal, and your post!). Also, will be an issue for the next (owner?)--if you will be responsible for future sale of the property, then that is one reason to avoid some forms of home improvement that may be seen as drawbacks. If you are the least bit inclined to "gardening" and to enjoy a bit of greenery, you might be able to plan and install some pockets of groundcover for the same price as covering everything with gravel--it is possible to build up soil areas without a lot of digging and leveling, particularly for planting one of the tough groundcovers (not for growing tea roses right away!). There would be some upkeep to establish the plantings but again, you could start small-- an area 3x3 or 4x4. You might approach your yard by mapping out quadrants or areas and tackle one or 2 , but leave the rest bare until you phase in the whole plan. The return would be that you would not be trying to establish a lawn from scratch under poor conditions but you would have some green space. You haven't said whether you have any trees in your yard or overhanging your yard--leaves, cones, acorns, maple seeds-- but that is an issue for pea gravel--you don't want a lot of gravel if there is going to be a lot of organic debris falling on it, requiring constant raking and upkeep.

1.) The ground can be damp or dry before concrete is poured, but your contractor may prefer that it be slightly damp so that the dry soil doesn't suck water from the fresh concrete. However if your soil is real expansive, it's a bit different ballgame: the ground needs to be saturated, which makes things so muddy it's hard to work, which can be remediated by a crushed stone sub-base and a few other tricks. 2.) Concrete decking is usually 3.5 to 4 inches thick. 3.) Expansion joints are made of a material such as foam or asphalt-impregnated felt. An expansion joint's purpose is to isolate expanding concrete (happens on a hot day) from structures, other concrete, etc. A control joint is a different animal, though. That is usually a groove scored in the concrete, or sometimes an inserted plastic or wood strip, which weakens the slab in that location. Hopefully the concrete will crack in that joint, not somewhere else, where it may be unsightly. And the concrete will crack. Guaranteed. You just want to control where it will crack, hence the name "control joint." 4.) About wetting the concrete after it's poured: I'd say talk to your contractor. He may tell you otherwise, but I'd say it's not necessary. The deck is not structural, as is the pool shell, so it's not as important. 5.) Concrete flatwork is considered fully cured after 28 days. The initial set of chemical reactions are usually completed within 24-36 hours, at which point the concrete is still "green," or soft. It can be easily scratched or damaged, so you stay off it for a few more days. The next set of reactions occur over the next 28 days, and the concrete is slowly gaining strength the whole time. And just as an interesting aside -- the reactions in the concrete never actually finish, they seem to go on pretty much forever, the concrete SLOWLY getting stronger the whole time. Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: poolnerd.com -- free pool construction/design info

I've been on several pathways that have clearly been some sort of stabilized agg product. They're sold as soil stabilizers (type that into google and settle in), but the principle is the same. I haven't used them myself, don't know how they're affected by climate (the website below is for a mfr in Phoenix), and don't know how well the product works as a "retrofit"- but it *could* work. Come to think of it, one of the private residences in Colonial Williamsburg has a stabilized pea gravel front walk. Here is a link that might be useful: manufacturer site

Doesn't seem like it's necessary for any more people to cast a vote against pea gravel as a walking surface, but I will chime in with complete agreement that it is one of the best ways to wrongly use a material. Just looking at the slate chips has me casting a vote against it, too. It will be a tiny bit better than pea gravel, but far inferior to other materials. The key to getting a good walking surface of granular material is that, a) none of the materials are larger than about 1/2" to 5/8"; b.) in addition to the largest sizes, there are all sizes smaller all the way down to sand and dust; c.) the material shape is angular, not rounded like pea gravel. (The slate chips fulfill only one of these criteria.) There are many crushed rock materials that work well and they vary with the different regions. One just needs to visit the yards where such things are sold and see what's available. Another consideration if it will be used during the daytime is that darker materials are not as glaring in the sun. (This is important to many people.) As one example though it is hard to find, crushed brick is about as nice as it gets. It's dark, pretty colored and packs down hard. Cinders, if not too large, is good too. In the end, a good surface should be almost hard enough to bounce a basketball on.