my very favourite cheap fix is proper concrete paving paint...otherwise quotes from concrete finishers to have the floor polished and sealed properly to compare with standard floating floors that will hide a multitude of sins and the different prices will help you decide

Hi Lila The waste pipe can still work with the L shape but if you are concerned, switch the sink and BBQ locations. That way the BBQ fumes will be further from the house too. Access to the back yard is always a consideration but I wouldn't let it rule your overall design as there are always ways around it. I had a mini bobcat come through my house to dig the pool in the back yard when I lived in Brisbane!!! A sail maker or equestrian sewer could easily make a good cover for the bench unit and I've seen it work on several occasions, but I would save up for the pergola to the side of the house which without any issues with the neighbour, could go to within 1.1m of the boundary or just as I drew it. Good luck with the decision making and enjoy your alfresco lifestyle.

Hi Robyn, It´s a solution that is done even for industrials buildings, so its durability is big enough even for this kind of technical requests, but it should be done exactly following the requirements from the sealers, scrupulously. For the brands of the sealers, you can find many in the market, being one of them Sika. For this kind of finished, you can polish again, it is not a problem, the only issue is that you will need more work, because the hardness of the sealer. Regarding when is the best time for finishing this kind of floors. You mainly have two phases, the first one you will need to use water to do the polish, so you should do it before the installation of the wooden elements, as the interior carpentry. Also to avoid damages in the floor, you should do it before the false ceiling or you must take actions to protect it, covering the floor with boards. I hope this information can be useful for your questions. Pedro Hernández Architect for construction management & Building engineer www.checkingprojects.com

1. have a nice chat with your neighbour about the water from their yard as we're all required to keep our own water in our own yards ...overflow from their tanks should be able to be redirected with a simple hose into storm water..next step ask council for advice 2. anywhere that has recently had a stump ground or has matted old roots will probably eventually sink as underground roots rot away..but can take a long time so in the meantime some more raised beds could look great and cover up a lot of problems more of the steel trough would be good or try making one long raised garden bed with edges about 10cms away from the fence ..pieces of 30cms treated pine to match your edges or scraps of corrugated iron should be OK but not against the fence ..bang steel spikes into the ground or old bricks on either side to hold them in place and then read up on "dig free garden beds" to make a raised garden bed for veges or big strappy plants...many plants will happily live in only about 30cms of soil on top of concrete footpath so forget the tangled roots and occasional flood and make new raised beds on top