Hi ED, still working on it! Have developed this little seating area which gets the sun from 6.30 ish so perfect for breakfast & morning coffee! This is where we had the playhouse before. Obviously need to plant up the area around it. We’ve just had a large tree taken down. Don’t like to take trees down but it was a pine & blocked so much light so nothing would grow beneath it. Also have been building a stone wall to face our lower patio area & we have steps to our patio door. Next big job is the patio when I can find one I like!

I think pouring the new concrete over the old one may be a good idea to help you save money, but it is possible if the old one is not damaged or of poor quality. Probably some construction engineers could give you the best answer. I dare not make such decisions alone. We recently poured concrete on the front terrace of the house with the help of specialists from https://albatrossrestoration.ca/, and they informed us about the best solutions that would be convenient in terms of time and money.

Hi Sven. They look nice in glossy photos but they always seem to be taken when the lawn has just been laid:-). In reality I personally think grass between paving is a pain! I have inherited some round stepping stones leading to the old shed and whilst I can run the mower over them keeping the edges neat can take ages. Unless you’re very fastidious with a lawn edge trimmer I wouldn’t bother. There are alternatives tho, plants that don’t need mowing such as Irish moss, chamomile, thyme, sedum etc. a few can deal with heavy foot traffic as well. Check out this blog: https://www.thegardenglove.com/stepables-perfect-plants-for-paths-and-walkways/ Perhaps a mix of both gravel and plants would look nice and also create a little scent.

You do not necessarily have to fully bed all the patio slabs. Ours have a sort of dot and dab underneath. Very annoying when you accidentally drive over them as it causes cracking. There are so many ways to do this. I think I would over order the cement,sand and any other materials just using square meterage and then allow 10% extra for waste and learning how to mix it properly. Don't feel massively pressured by the time frame. Its more pressure you don't need the first time. Do it properly and just do as much as you can in your timeframe. The weather might not play ball either. Just try and stop in a logical sequence if you need to. Think about access. Think about logistics too to make it as easy for you as possible. Paving slabs will be heavy so you don't want to have to carry them too far for instance. I have found Travis Perkins to be very helpful with materials in the past.