in article , dave @ stejonda at
wrote on 10/2/03 5:41 pm:

In message , sacha
writes

Ah, but I'm talking lovely, mellow stone or brick - a sort of cottagey
courtyard.

I didn't doubt you were Sacha

Phew! I'd really hate anyone to think I was talking 'concrete'..... ;-)
In fact, IF the OP used stone slabs or brick, a future buyer would find
those much easier to lift and dispose of if he wanted to. Concrete has a
certain unyielding quality about it! If a future buyer wanted a play area
for a small child, it wouldn't be hard to put in a sand pit made from raised
wood or stone edgings. And bicycles and tricycles and little car thingies
work much better on stone. Dog mess can be swept up or hosed down with
little effort - it's beginning to sound more tempting by the minute!
The other thing is, would future buyers possibly/probably be people in the
same boat? Busy, working, not wanting to spend every w/e mowing a small and
not-much-used lawn?
However, just as a NB to the OP, if you slab or brick, make sure the area in
which you intend to put table and chairs does not have attractive old 'wavy'
slabs because you'll have unattractive slopped-over vino collapso on your
summer evenings!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk