@ EMILY! Thanks so much for showing us all that you've accomplished...what a big...ongoing job and its not cheap undertaking something like that. Thanks for the tip about the star jasmine...I have a beautiful planting of that.....or rather 'had'...I got a chap in to trim it for me who advertised himself as experienced....Oh Dear! He killed most of the vine by cutting it at ground level! Now its a brown horrible mess up a tall trellis and no privacy. I'm devastated. To make it worse the neighbour sits out on her back deck and calls out to me when I'm out there when before she couldn't see me.....I'm putting up atemporary reed screen...I think....would rather my star jasmine with the blackbirds nesting in it....I know the feeling of not jumping in in case one makes a regrettable mistake. I also had gardenias but once they get sick its not worth all the trouble. I've had to learn heaps about what plants are appropriate for my place and I've made some really silly mistakes too. I've never seen those cut laser panels before and am a bit intrigued. What are they used for,,outdoor lighting? That colourbond fence works really well as a privacy screen! You've done so much and have invested not only your hard-earned money but also your ideas! Hope you have some lovely times in your space.

Cover your cement path/s with more decking, even bring the decking out from the wall (so not to cover your vents) say 6 - 10 inches, then you could put down some little pots or planters of heat tolerant plants, which could form a little narrow border, between your new decked paths and your house and soften the brick, (then if you lose any plants it would be easy to replace them) Also, take the decking down far enough down the side, as to meet your existing decking, then remove some of your strung wire balastrading and enter your existing decked patio from your new decking/pathway, this will create a much better flow. Also, if you choose, you could put up a pathway wide pergola, over your new decked pathways, along the side of the house, even off the side of your house, and you could then grow and train creepers over it, this would cool the whole side of your house and make it more inviting to visit! I can see it already. Good luck.

I would agree that despite the moderate climate err on the side of liability over aesthetics. Some of the M3 glazing films (applied to the inside) will significantly improve the performance of the glass. I would steer away from clear and go for comfort. Good luck with the rest of your build.

Thank you for all the ideas. Sometimes you think about something so much you can't see solutions. Like the ideas of umbrellas or awnings. We have 80 mm of the timber beam available to put an awning on. I think they're wider than that.☹️☹️ (There is a bolt in the beam that protrudes 2cm, it's not easily seen in photo as it is painted cream). An awning would need to sit underneath this bolt. The panels are plastic not glass and their track would need to be clear for when we open the pergola up, which we do during summer on long hot spells. We did plant callistemons about 3 -4 m away but they have not grown according to plan...lol I'm thinking the most achievable solution is a cantilevered umbrella. I think we'd need to concrete the base into the ground and remove the pole during winter. The brick area is a play area - netball etc. Any pros or cons to this idea?