Is it difficult for a do it yourselfer? Any advise/input/experiences appreciated. I'm tired of looking at a boring, plain patio. Also, how challenging would it be to add flagstone steps? I'd have to start from scratch there, as a small deck area currently acts as the steps now.
I don't know how talented you are but as long as the concrete is level and you have a little experience mixing mortar, it shouldn't be too difficult. You have to be pretty meticulous - lay out all your stones beforehand, try not to place too many stones at the same time, have the right tools to shape the stones as needed, and keep things clean: Pretty similar to laying tile. An experienced mason would probably charge you about $30 per hour to do it for you.
I'm not a big fan of most flagstone surfaces. They're uneven, causing furniture to wobble and they often don't drain well, leaving puddles of water to get nasty. I was just at a really nice home with a flagstone patio and there were several areas that didn't drain and were stained and mildewy. Cut limestone has a more even surface, so that's worth considering, too. Another option is staining the concrete.
As mentioned consider staining concrete or doing an outdoor tile. To get flagstone down over concrete may take a thick bed of mortar depending on how uniform the stone thickness is.
