I've been following this thread with interest because my DH and I have been having the same argument for years. He has the fireplace at the top of his list and I have about 10 projects above it on my list. I love your bricks, but do think they need to be cleaned up at bit (not the moss - love that). If you're going to keep them as they are, I would dig out the edges and lay landscape ties on either side to create a more distinct border. It also helps when gardening by creating a bit of a raised bed (easier to add compost, mulch, etc). Last summer, I did away with our old walkway which looked much like yours except it was ugly interlocking brick with grass growing in it instead of charming moss. I pulled up all the old bricks and laid them on the front boulevard with a for sale sign and they were gone quickly. The base they had been laid on was still in pretty good shape, I just bought bags of quarter down limestone from home depot and spread it over top. I bought new stones using my airmiles points and, voila!, I had a brand new sidewalk. I think the stones and all materials cost about $700 total. My neighbours got the exact same stretch of walkway done professionally and it cost them $2500. It took me about a week and by the end of it, I had the best toned arms (and walkway) on the block. Awm03, I would love to see pics and have details on your fireplace insert.

Hi, I am at work so I can't view the photos now, but will later. We used the Cambridge pavers in onyx/natural (which looks grey). I believe it was the Renaisance Collection, but will check. They have the more "old stone" look to them, which we wanted. We did a random pattern and it gets alot of compliments. The only problem is we have them also in the driveway and a few times, we had to clean oil stains up left from a leaky car. We are presently re-doing our backyard. It was overrun with large trees overgrown bushes that were half dead from the past owners overcrowding. We are using bluestone back there because my husband wanted something different, yet I wanted to carry the greyish tone there also. We also had our contractor build a wall with brick on the top and a brick flower box all around the periphery of the yard using Danish color brick. I still have to pick a color for the stucco part of the wall and hoping it all looks good.

Hi Adrien, I do think you’ll get some of the DG inside and on your floors, and will scratch. Probably not the best idea with kids. Adults who are sorta careful is iffy. And I’m not entirely happy with it, to be honest. I’d probably get rock if I had to do it again. Good luck!

That's really not accurate^^^. You can install on concrete, but there's a difference between all fresh vs topping an existing slab for a typical patio. Concrete runs $120-$200 per yard, CA-6 $50. A concrete company will charge from $5-$10 per SF for a slab. Could you get away with just a rough screed instead of bull floating it to perfection? Maybe, but you'll probably have low spots and ridges from aggregrate collecting water. And concrete is not designed to move, gravel bases can. Concrete is not designed to drain water (which is why it is recommended to drill holes), gravel is. If that slab heaves for some reason, there's no fixing it. If a gravel base heaves, remove the pavers, repair base, and reinstall. Compaction of a 4"-6" base is just that, there are no lifts. Concrete laborers are much more expensive than landscapers, not even talking about concrete finishers. If you like the look of concrete or stamped concrete, do that per industry standards (gravel base as needed for poor soils). If you like the look of pavers/porcelain tile, do that per industry standards (gravel base). If you like stone, do that per industry standards (gravel base). Now, if you live in a non-freezing climate and want brick or stone with mortar joints, then you can start with a concrete slab.