Spotted gum for sure, merbau is blar... no grain or aesthetic appeal whatsoever. You have to use a stain so it does not fade but make sure you don't buy it at Bunnings because they do not stock any product that is worth putting on any timber. The two decks are Organoil in red stain and the railing on them is livos Alis in light teak. I use the livos on my own timber work but it is expensive. All this timber has been in the full elements for well over 10 years.

Hi mluh You've obviously done your research on these products, so it's most likely going to come down to personal preference. As you've mentioned, a natural stone is going to come with an amount of maintenance but the beauty of Travertine is within its variation. Once sealed with a good quality sealer (I recommend Guard Industry), the maintenance is really quite low and most spills are lost within those natural variations. 99% of spills can be cleaned up without too much trouble. Porcelain, on the other hand, can be quite difficult to clean once it's been marked. That said, the external porcelains have a great non-slip texture and are very hardy when used as paving/tiles. I'm personally not a fan of using them as pool coping, but many people love it. Again, both have their advantages and disadvantages so I would recommend using the product that you're happy looking at for the next 10-20 years. - Jordan

I checked the pavers that were left over from the same batch...low and behold 2 out of the 13 pavers also had the same white streaks on them. These are unused pavers. I'm now leaning towards the manufacturing stage and the retailer I have convinced of the same. He is sending someone out on Monday to see if some sort of chemical will clean them. I fear the worse but let's see how it goes on a couple of them. I agree with you all entirely, the streaks and scratches should have been seen before laying and not used. Luck is what I need for Monday, failing that, block your ears as I ask the pool renovator to pull up the defective pavers and lay new ones.... Renovating tests your body, mind and spirit sometimes lol

May I suggest that you could quite quickly and affordably: 1 - paint the roller door and the white beam above it in Terrain - https://colorbond.com/colour/terrain - which will stop them drawing your eye. You may still want to put in a wooden roller door but you will get the effect quickly. 2 - replace the eyesore round light fitting at the same time with a modern one 3- left hand side - the next door dirty cream fence is also eye catching either put a fence and gate there to block it from view or just paint it a dark colour so it recedes and separates from the house. 4 - yes the roof either needs a good clean or a repaint 5 - yes the down pipe - can it be replaced by a chain style into the garden bed? Paint it dark anyway to stop it popping. It may be possible to drain it to the side gutters Love the railings - 5- the house isn’t sitting in its own space visually planting darker evergreens to left and right will help to settle it.