Thank you all for your comments. Drainage and overland flow is an issue here - unfortunately the city is the one that caused the problem. According to the neighbors the city put in curbs and gutters in our area about 10 years ago but they never put in any storm sewers. So during any rain event all the water shoots down the driveways uphill from us then through both our rear neighbor's lawn and ours before making it to the patio. There is a decent amount on infiltration through the lawns so we don't have any rivers through the grass and the grade around the patio does a little bit to mitigate the water on the patio issues - but not enough. The basement has been waterproofed along the rear of the house... Anyway, I know the drainage is an issue but there won't be anything done about it by the city so I'm left to fend for myself. Thank you for your thoughts of privacy from the neighbors... that has been a thought of mine too. Luckily the house to the left doesn't really look over our patio area as their house has an extension (with no windows in our direction) at the back that runs along the property line and extends about 20' past the back of our house. The house on the right would have a pretty direct line of sight to the patio so it is that side (south) that would need the screening. I've been thinking that some blueberry bushes might be nice there... mind you I know nothing about blueberries except that I love to eat them and that the blueberry bushes at my mother in laws house are large and georgous (she is Atlanta though, so what works for her probably will not work for me in Ohio)... I guess I need to do some research :) Another thought we've had is to do some sort of trellis / arbor / pergola thing to give some privacy and to eventually provide some shade on the patio during the day. I've had a look on line and in books at the library and seen some things that look a nice but nothing yet that gets my motor going. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear or see them. We haven't really given any thoughts to a wood deck... I think it is because we've never seen one that we really like. My father's deck seems to be alot of work (cleaning, sealing, warping...) granted it is over 20 years old. I know nothing of the recycled wood products though. I"ll think about it, but can already imagine my husband's reaction to the idea - "no". We've had the neighbor's landscaper over here a couple of days to have a look at things and he came up with some really nice plans. He does interlocking concrete pavers. His portfolio has some really nice pictures of his work in it and I've seen some of his patio work at another neighbor's house which looks really nice 2 years after installation. It doesn't hurt that his is a young company that is hungry to do work so his prices seem reasonable... the other paver guys that said he couldn't even imagine anything going in under 10K made me gag (same guy that told me I'd need over 400SF). As for size... once the rain stops I will drag out the hose and see what kind of space I think I'll need to feel comfortable and then add about 10%. Thank you again for all your comments. Andria

Gardenwebber sweetie, you really need to read books, not surf the net. The net is fine to pick up fragments of info, but you need a foundation for all those fragments, and just a little bit of time spent with some landscaping books will give you that. At your library or bookstore, new or used, just flip through a few. The most basic book on patios, for example, will explain about fitting flagstones together. You buy flagstone in the whole quantity that you need, and then you lay it out like a puzzle looking for the best possible fit into the space you want. If it doesn't fit together well, you get tools to cut/break it so that it does. What you have on site really doesn't sound like flagstone and as you've concluded it shouldn't be used as if it were. What you need, if you want to incorporate the stone you have into your landscape, is to assemble your site needs, your personal needs, your DIY ability, your gardening interest, and your materials and budget into a landscape plan. It's a big DIY undertaking, and that's why hiring someone to do it can be expensive. It's also a task that can be done badly, which is why, if you are up to your ears in family, stacking the stone on the back 40 and extending your concrete slab with a quick paver job or an extension of the slab might not be such a bad idea. Good luck KarinL

I think the distinction between semi-custom home and truly custom construction is significant. I've done both plus lots of renovations. In our custom build, we had a fabulous GC. The way he liked to do business was to spend countless hours up front getting into excruciating detail about building products. Once we had cost out our desires, it became apparent that this house was going to cost a whole lot more than we had anticipated. We owned the land. The unknown costs lay in porches and basements. We all agreed that we needed another plan. (We were using William E. Poole plans) I went home and quickly found another plan that would work with a few modifications. It had smaller porches and we ditched the basement in favor of a FROG. It was a smarter build thanks to my GC. We owned the land and had more than 60% of the construction cost in cash. The bank loved us. Low risk. They only got involved when we were close to finishing up. I think we had one construction draw and a final inspection. Our GC suggested that we mutually determine his fee up front. It was a flat amount. This way, he was assured that he would be paid and make his profit. We paid him in monthly installments. The last payment would be withheld until we had release of liens from all of the subcontractors and the GC. Any costs would merely be passed through his accounts. There were no mark up on materials and services. They were entirely at his cost. I was given a copy of all of the receipts. He would present a months worth of bills and receipts at a time. There was one or two items that he needed the money a little faster. I think the framing material was an example. It was a pretty big bill as I recollect. In the areas where a guestimate was required in the budget, he would tend to overestimate. This way the surprises were pleasant. The hard work was done up front. We used those surprises to finish out the FROG. I ended up sourcing the appliances, the plumbing fixtures and the decorative electrical fixtures. He was a little leery about that, but I had everything ordered and stored in my garage ahead of time. I would take them over the day before they were needed and have them on site. The appliance dealer kept my appliances in storage until I was ready. The only plumbing fixture that I had the plumber order was two real cast iron tubs. I didn't want to be responsible for transport or installation of those. The GC had such a great time working with us, he and his brother, decided to do all of the interior finish carpentry themselves. They were used to working on projects that were 50% bigger than our home. We fit right into their schedule. It had been a long time since they had gotten to work together, they wanted to do it. They did a beautiful job. They built my mantle and an arched pocket door from a picture I provided them. They did a beautiful job. Semi-custom building, now that is an exercise in frustration. I'll never do that again. The answers in semi-custom building always seem to be no.

@Pink_Peony First, thank you for saying the work is stunning. Good field staff make all the difference. Hmmmm.....There could be a construction driven reason why North Carolina clay is problematic for bluestone but Chicago clay is not. For the life of my I cannot think of what it would be. I would be very reluctant to accept that explanation without some engineering to back it up. Those contractors could be right, but I am suspicious of their simplistic response. There used to be very few landscape material distributors but now they are a common site. I mention this because those distributors typically sell manufactured concrete pavers as well as an assortment of natural stone. If you call a distributor that sells both manufactured and natural stone products, ask whether there are issues with bluestone or natural stone in your area. If they sell both types of paving products then they do not have a vested interest in selling modular brick versus natural stone. I suspect that the negative contractor responses at the show on bluestone are driven by the skill of their work forces, not an issue with clay soils, but perhaps not. Of the manufacturers you listed I am somewhat familiar with Belgard and Pavestone. I took a look at the Cambridge stones you mentioned. Yes, Cambridge does have some very good looking product and they also have a trademarked face mix technique called Armor Tec. That casting technique is a real plus in my mind. Of all the modular products on the market I am most familiar with Unilock but I'm not sure if they are in the Carolina's. If you do have distributors in your area ask them who the three best contractors are locally for you. What you will get is probably 1) Their biggest buyer, 2) The best installer, 3) The next best installer. :)