Since the existing patio is on a granular base (as opposed to solid concrete) I would absolutely, positively NOT consider any mortared work on top of it. The reason is that the earth is a flexible surface. Though it moves so slowly you can't see it, it is doing it nevertheless. If you were to mortar flagstone or thin brick on top of it, this work would effectively be only as thick as the mortar that glued it on ... 1/2" maybe (?) It wouldn't be thick enough to support itself as the earth underneath shifts. If you're going to mortar something on top, you need a 4" solid concrete, driveway-like base (3 1/2" actual) that will not flex at all. But you could go over it with regular thickness pavers on sand IF you insulate the two layers with an inch of sand. (This is predicated on knowing that the existing base is of SOLID compacted material. Since it's been there a good while, its present shape is a good indicator of how solid the base is.) I would go so far as to say that if the present patio was perfect condition -- smooth, of perfect grade, and all slab joints perfectly matched -- you could go over it without the sand insulation. But it's not likely that it's that perfect. If you go over it, one thing you'll need to pre-plan carefully is the finish grade. It looks like your grade might end up being too high. I don't know what all the holes at the foundation are for, but they're probably not wanting to be blocked. If you need a lower grade, sell all those slabs on craigslist (someone would probably love to have them ... they look like step treads, BTW) and build directly onto your already existing base.

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Well, we have learned a lot along the way! First I learned that I should have edge sanded first before using the belt because the edger is an orbital and I have a few swirl marks. In some places they are bad enough I'm re renting the belt sander and resanding with a fine grit to smooth. In other rooms it wasn't bad and I managed to smooth them with my little electric palm sander. The color I originally chose was Dark Walnut (Minwax) because I wanted a true brown. We had hired a guy to do the floors but after he did the kitchen, we parted ways (because of many, many issues, not just the floor). The floor looked black in some areas and "muddy". I was determined not to have the same look elsewhere so I did some research and decided the lessen the intensity of the stain but keep the dark brown color so I diluted it 50/50 with Citrus Solvent. This kept the color but made it very translucent. I have lots of grain showing now and no muddiness. I decided to go with an oil based varnish in part because of cost. We went way over budget with the remodel and given the floors were at the end, we are out of money. The oil was about half the price of water so figured it was worth the extra hassle. It turns out to not be a hassle at all. The dry time is less than 24 hours and given we aren't moved in yet, that's perfect. I can go, varnish, come home and go back the next day. The only downside is the cleanup of brushes. Now my questions: When I apply the varnish with a roller it has air bubbles. It looks great with a brush but given I'm doing multiple coats in every room of a large home, that's a lot of knee time. If I do it with the roller will the bubbles go away as it dries? Secondly, how many coats do you advise? I've done 2 in two of the bedrooms and 1 in the hall thus far. I'm doing the second coat in the hall tomorrow ... is 2 enough or should I do 3? I went with a high glass poly. Normally I prefer a more subdued look but in the old victorian home with 120 year old floors, the gloss seems a better fit. It makes the color really POP and the floors look amazing despite this being my first time doing anything like this. Here is a link that might be useful:

Q. Why I revive old threads? A. No other way to contact the original poster. The truth is Houzz really isn't a forum. It doesn't look like, it act like it, and I'm pretty sure that it is designed differently. The search functions are different. The way 260 comments show up on one page is different. To be honest I didn't even know there were admins until I read this. There are no stickys. Random rules that yo aren't aware of until you read a comment 30 threads in 4 comments down. I had found a couple of answers to my questions but the thread was too old and initially I didn't want to revive it. One of them the user is still currently active but I don't want to derail a thread by asking something unrelated to the subject. I tried clicking on their page but there is no way to PM so I just ended up following them. Then I found another thread and said WTH and decided to ask because their answer is a little more relevant than the ones I asked for. Other than reviving an old thread to get an answer what would be the best way to get a response from the original poster?