Yea I am following this thread as we are re-doing our pool deck soon. Jim I love the gothic stone, as does DH. Price is a big factor, we can get it from NPT here in Vegas, contractor price is over $7 a sq ft. Ventura, is that acrylic overlay hot? There are so many brands to choose from and I agree. look at the installers technique. I personally like elite crete, but haven't had the opportunity to put it out in the sun to check heat factor. To zarbiya123, I love the C & D pavers, the lighter colors are cool enough to walk on in 110 degree heat here, just a little too busy for our small yard/deck. I was thinking of doing the boca style, not the brick. I wish they made the boca in bigger sizes. I put out all their colors and can say after a few days in Vegas heat, the lighter colors were tolerable to walk on. Stay away from the darker tans and greys if you are in the desert and like bare feet. Enjoy. We are supposed to get into the 80's - 90's this week so I asked DH to bring home sample boards of acrylic overlay to see how hot it gets. I will report on that soon. The overlay can be done in so many patterns that we can mimic a stone look. As someone said, look at the installers technique. For it to look nice, you need to add accent colors and sealer, I am really fussy as to how "grout" joints are done. Sealer can be slippery as Tess said. I like the wet sealer look, but too dangerous around a pool. If I do an overlay I would do a penetrating sealer, not a high shine one. And I like saw cuts, not the grout joint look. Too many choices and not enough money : ) Barb

Yikes ravencajun! That is certainly a major project! I had issues too, because my flat roof is so large and I did not want gutters. I had roofers tell me they werent interested. One roofer gave me a price of 65k! I think the roofer I used said with carport and patio overhangs it was 7000 sq. ft. (!). I have had issues since it was installed, not with leaking, but with trying to direct the water away from the new concrete patios. The patios are not sealed and the water was leaving white spots (I guess from the roof materials). This is also why we put the flower bed in the middle of the back patio-to catch some of the runoff. Now that he's redirected it, it's leaving white spot at the front entrance. Argh! Maybe ask your roofers where the water will run off when it rains? You will love having a new roof though! Thank you jakabedy! It will look better when that damn electrical wire is buried, the pool equipment hidden, and the chain link comes down. I just have to wait a couple more weeks. With all the GW people visiting, I should buy that anthropologie bar and learn to make a good martini! Where I live, there are a lot of critters. When moving the patio furniture from the carport to the back yard, I had to leave multiple doors open. I also left the doors open while cleaning the kitchen floor that night. I should know better than to do this, because last time I did this, a kangaroo rat got in the house. This time, a thrasher got into the house (got him out safely), and this guy! Argh! I WAS NOT HAPPY SEEING HIM IN MY HOUSE.

Perhaps a shade sail to extend the patio? Then you might be able to get a large potted plant to survive. Maybe a large planter under the laundry room (?) windows. Use more of the cedar as an accent/trellis. Like this, but styled more to match your other yard elements: https://images.homedepot-static.com/productImages/29272905-cb70-4fca-bdbf-21719a86848a/svn/teak-oil-dmc-plant-pots-70514-64_1000.jpg I do think the rest of your yard is amazing. (How did you get the artichokes to be so perfect?) But that's why the house side looks plain. Everything else looks too good.

It is common to create landscape/garden beds in areas bounded by walk on one side and a building on the other. But here, it wouldn't be a good idea to make full beds on both side of the walk, because the walk is too narrow to be confined by plantings. Honestly, though, we would need to see a broader picture because we can't tell where the building walls end and that would make a difference as to what beds you might install. For now, you could be confident that adding sod along the edge of the pavers is a good way to finish off the patio. Remove the sand that feathers into the lawn and replace it with topsoil that comes to an inch below the pavers and blends into existing grade. Lay sod on that. Add a little more topsoil to the outside edge of the sod (where it meets grass) such that the feathering to the surrounding grade continues. When the grass grows, it will end up being a smooth transition.