Cheapest way would be to clear weeds and try for some decent grass. When we were kids our badminton "court" was a section of a lower terrace lawn across which a net was erected. When we got tired of swatting birdies - as often happens with specific recreational set asides, the net came down while the lawn stayed.

Ordinarily I would find myself in agreement with almost anything Gardengal would recommend, but not in this case. Setting concrete stones at or slightly below the level of existing grass is going to result in constant dirt washing onto the soil with a sandy soil mix, and in a high desert with the constant need for irrigation for a lawn, it will also tend to wash the dirt onto pavers. I personally wouldn't want all that lawn in a climate where it will increase your water bills so tremendously, but recommended mowing heights for a Tall Fescue/Blue Grass lawn mix will be 3 inches, so having it slightly raised about 1/2 to 3/4 inches isn't going to create problems for the lawn mower. Don't forget that when rain does tend to come, as infrequent as it is, it can be the season total all at once, again likely to wash soil onto surfaces that are set too low. As to a pathway set right up against the house, it is a more common design detail in contemporary as well as spanish influenced designs, and can be a classic Spanish/Californian design detail. A desert garden doesn't lend itself to the PNW garden style with tons of foundation plantings; more widely spaced plantings and more sculptural plants placed in a more architectural or natural to the desert way seems more sympathetic to the surroundings to me. I can understand the desire to have a large green lawn in the high desert, especially if you are used to British Columbia conditions, but it is not practical in the long run, and lawn substitutes make more sense. I guess you will have to suffer through ever increasing water bills and constant battles to keep the lawn alive and looking good to understand the potential wisdom of working with your climate instead of against it. A Kentucky Blue Grass lawn doesn't even make much sense here in the San Francisco Bay Area, where they tend to want to go dormant in the summer heat and take much more water and care to keep looking decent than other lawn grasses. I'd suggest that you look into real water miser grasses such as Buffalo Grass for the high desert. Admittedly it will go winter dormant in your area, but it fills in quite quickly with desert heat, and needs hardly any water in comparison to cool season turf grasses such as Tall Fescue or KBG. If your area has a good low water demonstration garden to visit, I'd recommend a visit. Most California Water Districts do have such a display garden to show the merits of plantings that take less water and care. There is a very nice Display garden in Las Vegas, which isn't exactly close, but is similar in climate to your conditions, and illustrates the wealth of plants that actually make sense in your climate.

There are many sealing products out there that make outrageous claims. If you are not a chemist, you are right it can be hard to tell who is telling the truth. Or worse yet, many people are quick to give advice on subjects they really aren't experts in. In order to keep salt out of your concrete you want fluids to get in. Namely water carrying salt is what penetrates and damages (breaks csa bonds) your slab. 2. You want something that will last and not have recoat every year. 3. There is one category of product that will fit your needs. A siloxane/ silane modified acrylic sealer will offer protection for about 2-3 years. Depending if the slab is stamped or just brush finish will determine the gloss level of sealer you will want. Stamped is normally high gloss to enhance color variations. 4. One other category of excellent sealers is completely silicon base. These sealers bond awesome, come in satin or high gloss, hold up under UV and protect from salt extremely well. There are only two manufacturers that I know of because they are both patented. Adsil is one brand and Heal and Seal is the other. You can find Heal and Seal at http://www.walttools.com/heal-and-seal/ 5. If you put a high gloss sealer down I would use silica sand or Tru Grip as a slip resistant additive. Otherwise the slab will be slippery without ice. Also, do not just use a densifier to try to protect against salt damage. They are just silica or silica salts that react with portland or free lime - if it is available in the slab, to make more concrete on a micro scale. While this may make the concrete a little less permeable- salt will no doubt still get in and damage it. Hope this helps

I'm so glad you are wrong Sophie. The expert came today and man I'm now so relieved and can be excited again. He explained in detail to us all that he will be doing. Only thing he wants is the door off and will be put back on later. He showed the last ten he did just last month alone. In his 27 years has had only one he had to come back and fix that he did about 17 years ago, but he said the products now are so much better. He said it's a fantastic plan (and view