Some things depend on you, and how you prioritize things. At my house, with a to-do list that will keep me busy till I'm 130, ripping up a perfectly good pad that covers an area I want covered anyway would come pretty low on my list of options. But I have flexible aesthetics; other people live and die by them. On the other hand, function is important to me - I've vacuumed water out of my basement. So me, I'd keep the pad and lay the bricks beside it. The fact that this part at least would be less vulnerable to frost heave, which I assume is an issue in your area and which the pad has withstood, would also be a motivating factor. You can select your bricks (shape and colour) and make a pattern that incorporates, highlights, or disguises the pad - circles around it, a patch of grey that mimics it, etc. You can also consider etching or staining the concrete. But jackhammering it, loading it, hauling it to recycling, unloading it... my back has only so many lifts in it, and those aren't any I'd plan to do. But, your mileage may vary, as they say. If you make the bricks adjoining, you will have to carefully compact the soil under the adjoining bricks and be very fussy about getting the level right, and of course manage the slope of the whole to channel water to a place where you want it to go. You might even have to be prepared to do some corrective work with the level in coming years as the patio settles/heaves. If you're not a fussy kind of person, but rather one who enjoys jackhammering and hauling concrete chunks, that may be another inducement to remove the pad instead. KarinL

Hi Mangomoon, I'm not an expert in this stuff but i did build 2 concrete paver walkways a few years ago. Here's what I remember from my research back then and my experience. "Traditional" brick is made from clay. Good for walls and fireplaces but has some drawbacks for walkways and patios. One thing is that they can chip pretty easily. Modern "pavers" are made from concrete and are designed for strength and durability as walkways and patios. They are available in many different shapes, sizes and colors, even "brick" look-a-likes. There are many manufacturers and costs vary widely. Poured concrete is a relatively inexpensive way to create a patio or walkway but doesn't offer many design options. However, one can add color to concrete and there are concrete "stamps" that can be used to create a faux stone or brick look. Bricks and concrete pavers are usually installed on a base of sand and gravel. Sand is usually used to fill the gaps between joints. As such, they do allow some water permeability. Still, it is recommended that the project be gently sloped to allow water to run-off away from the nearest building structure. This will be more critical with poured concrete. Heat retention will depend largely on the color chosen. Lighter will be cooler. I'd be surprised of there is much of a difference between similarly colored bricks or concrete but I don't know for sure. I think brick and concrete will have the same "hardness". The skill level required to build a simple square patio with pavers isn't too high. It is more physically demanding than anything else. And, most of the work is in the base preparation. i.e. excavating, getting it level, put in a gravel base, then put in a level sand base. Indeed, the better the base preparation, the better the final job. If you use a concrete paver, installation is easy. If you don't have to make any cuts, no special tools are required. I'd suggest looking at some of the manufacturer sites for concrete pavers, if you think you might like to go that way. I used Unilock brand (others are Bolduc, Belgard, Nicolock...just Google "interlocking pavers"). Good luck...

HI -- They do get a patina with ageing but you can also get stains and paints for concrete that you can choose a color you like . Consult with a good paint store . Also maybe get some advice from a landscaping company to see what can be done to make it look better and fit in with the houses style and landscaping. I think being you just bought the cottage it is too soon to pick a feature out to dislike . Give yourself some time to know your new home . You can find info on Pinterest for making moss grow on concrete and plant pots . Enjoy your new home .

How would you attempt to reattach the pavers then? You need to know what is there to know what the fix may be. You probably have to remove the paver chip up the mortar (hopefully that's what they used) mix fresh mortar and reattach. If they used something other than mortar all bets are off.