My parents bought a rental house that they've been fixing up. The house originally had a small covered patio. The previous owners added a covered area on both sides of the original patio - it's attached to the house so taking it down without having costly expense/repairs is out of the question.

They laid 12"x12" bricks on the dirt in the areas they covered. So, the center patio is cement with an 8ft x 10ft brick area on either side. The brick area was laid haphazardly and was a huge safety danger so, my parents pulled the brick out with the intentions of cementing both sides. The problem is that the quotes for cement are coming in really, really high.

I manage their house and some of our own rentals as well and I think it's crazy to spend $1500 on cement for a rental. But, I don't know what the alternatives would be.

The area is covered by patio so, grass or other plants are out I would think. They don't want to fill it with decorative rock. So, I'm out of ideas.

Can anyone think of anything that can be done to fill this area?