Karen you win the 'most tenacious Creative persons award ! ' you got spunk ! Q - What makes concrete come out smooth on top ? A - It is the way one floats the finish. - mix it up, dump it into your form, and then level it out ( partial floating ) with a 2 x 4, - wiggling it back and forth. as you do this the concrete will smooth out . you can then use a variety of trowels to float the finish. Q-... there are several types of concrete. Is it all gray, or is some whiter or lighter gray? This would relate to the color I get after applying FeS. A. - If you buy your concrete in bags it is all one standard color grey. You can mix in dry colorant into the dry mix. - Shamrock Supply in San Rafael has all of this for you . The application of iron sulfate to the colored concrete will definately change the color of the concrete. Q. -...techniques or tips for breaking the stuff up into shapes ? A. - Lots of different types of techniques for breaking up your travertine tile. The best tool for your money is a $ 45.oo Angle Grinder with a diamond blade . I have a Ryobi 4.5 Angle Grinder that was given to me as a gift over 15 years ago. I LOVE IT and have used it on all kinds of projects over the years. You don't have to cut all the way thru the tile, you can simply score it and then snip off the corners . afterwards you can round them off with the saw again. If you're interested come on over to my house in Novato and I'll give you a demo. We are also working on a project in Kentwoodlands and you could see the guys doing some really interesting stone work . you got my email. give me a buzz and I'll give you the nickle tour of my garden at the same time >> Click over to the Landscape Design Gallery and there is a pix of the Kentwoodlands job

Interesting thread. As a rookie I'm not sure I have that much to offer, but some thoughts (I'm home with the flu today, so apologies if I'm less than coherent!) - in looking for original plans for your house, can you check neighbours with the same model (assuming there are multiple examples)? Wwe live in a pocket of about 20 of these little bungalows (there were 3 original designs, although they've been so altered over the years sometimes it's hard to realise!) and when we started working on plans for ours, I looked at as many of our neighbours' houses as I could, mostly to see how they had solved the problems this old house presented. I learned A LOT, and it really helped when we started considering what could/couldn't be done, and where the original bones were (since our house had already had some alterations made by previous owners). - from your post I get the feeling that you want to hand off a lot of the "hard work" stuff to professionals, but also that you want to have tight control on decisions. I will say that in reading here and elsewhere, the folks who seem UNhappiest with their remodeling experiences are those who've handed off to the professionals on the assumption it would all work out the way they wanted BECAUSE those people were professionals (bad English, but I hope that makes some kind of sense). For a project as substantial as you're considering, I do think you'd really REALLY help yourself by finding a design program you're comfortable using and drawing things - both for yourself, AND for the people you hire. My GC has repeatedly told me that part of the success of this project - and one of the reasons he could keep costs down - was because the drawings I gave him made it 100% clear what I wanted to do. Sure, it was his job to figure out HOW to do it structurally, but by working together - often with the design on the laptop so we could show each other what we were talking about - we avoided costly miscommunications. There are a lot of user-friendly programs out there more intuitive than the two you mentioned and, in your case, it might be a couple of hundred dollars and a few hours well spent. And it will give you WAY more control over the project, as your own understanding of what's happening will be greater. - I think whether or not you need an architect or structural engineer will depend on local requirements; what you're doing sounds like a really good GC could handle it UNLESS there are CA-specific requirements which insist that specialists handle specific areas. We did a fair bit of structural work, but our municipality is one that has a very easygoing attitude about permits - basically, if you don't change the footprint, they don't really care (we heard this from multiple GCs, builders and neighbours, so it wasn't just one person's opinion). We have managed wonderfully with a GC who handled everything (literally - no subs). It's worked well for us, but I suspect in CA the story may be different. Talk to neighbours who've done work and interview loads of folks across the range of price bands and see what you can glean in talking to them (I learned a LOT talking with the other 5 contactors - the ones we didnt' hire). You need to get a feel for the many different ways a project like yours could be approached. - "phase" the work. This is something our GC did that made it HUGELY easier. He broke it down, in order, so we could see where we were going and how it would all work (essentially it was: 1. create access to attic ie build the new stairs 2. reinforce and finish attic 3. holiday break 4. work on removing or framing wall between kitch/diner as appropriate 4. install kitchen). We were never in any doubt as to the PROCESSS so, even when we had to make adjustments or there were (minor) delays, we knew how it would all fit in. - while obviously you will need to forward plan so that initial work doesn't then have to be changed to accommodate subsequent work, be prepared to be FLEXIBLE. One of the reasons our project has run smoothly is because while we had a clear plan, both sides were willing to adjust as necessary during the process - it wasn't a case of clinging to ideas which simply wouldn't work in reality once we got inside walls to see what was there etc. That's another thing, too - beware ANYBODY who can "promise" that something will work before opening up a wall or seeing what's really there (think of all the threads in here where people have been disappoinited and had to make significant changes once a wall was opened and revealed something other than was supposed). There is ALWAYS a workaround, but, IMO rookie opinion, it's easier to find those when you don't cling to fervently to one single idea . This is also where being able to draw ideas for YOURSELF comes in handy, since you can play "what if" and come up with possible alternatives (I know I keep harping on about this despite the fact you said you DON'T want to do that, but I truly believe it will help enormously in so many ways). I had several "contingency" plans already thought of just in case we had issues with, for instance, taking down the wall. In the event it wasn't a problem, but I figured I'd better have more than one way of doing it just in case! Sorry for the rambling nature of this - I'm not sure I'm necessarily addressing your specific questions, but just some ideas fwiw. Start compiling lists of local requirements/experiences/contacts via neighbours and local friends and colleagues, consider buying a user-friendly home-design program so you can play "what if?" for yourself and also create drawings of your ideas which will be clearer than any description (and also avoid a "middle man" interpreting what you describe, sometimes leading to misunderstandings and disappointment), be willing to stay flexible as variants arise when the work begins and things aren't quite as anticipated, and most importantly... ENJOY the process! I confess that I have found it HUGELY enjoyable, much to my surprise. Yes, stressful - particularly at first before I "got used to" people coming in and cutting my house in half as a matter of course!! - but fascinating and very rewarding. Best of luck!

'Or maybe I am just using them wrong by placing our furniture in front of them?? ' I'll be running into that in my new place with placement of furniture and a few large cabinets (craft and stuff storage). So, what I decided to do is use those strips plugged in behind the cabinets. I'll cut out where the outlet is inside the cab so I can access it (unplug if needed to replace) it thru there. One in the laundry room is higher up on the wall (for a freezer?) where I'll again do a cutout and then hang the strip on the wall beside it. It won't be used much - but just in case it's ever needed. Most other rooms will be ok - as far as I know now. I'll be glad to have an outlet on either side of my bed tho. and the large cabinets (and bookcases) will all be 'wired' to studs in the wall behind them. If I can find those studs - lol! I'm sure I'll have the 'stud finder' by then. marti - at least you are allowing some time to think that cabinet deal thru. After other projects settle down you'll be able to clear your head and get a better idea of which is more important to you - storage or 'cute'. I do like corner cabs in a DR myself!

Another option is to deck over the concrete, depending on the elevation of the back door. You can set 2X4's or 4X4's (PT) directly on the concrete slab and deck over it. This could easily be a DIY project and cost hundreds instead of thousands to give the patio a new life. I agree that a good pressure washing could be a simple solution as well. Look into concrete stains and paints. All of these solutions increase maintenance, expect pressure washing. Good luck and show us after pictures.