Well, we're back outside and, since everybody's really tired of going up and down those rickety old "temporary" stairs, we're gonna get started on the real deal. The block guys that did the foundation were busy so we got another mason and his son who came well recommended. They shored-up the deck and removed the support posts.

(This is the third of a three-part Showcase series! Don't miss the Shell Construction and the Interior when you're done with this one.)

They trenched, put in the rebar and poured the concrete footings....and set the block so fast I couldn't even get progress photos! I can't stack block THAT fast WITHOUT mortar!!

We talked about how we wanted the stairs to look and they went to it.

It came out close enough to work with....a little rough but that's all we needed. The block for the stairs was really just permanent "forms" to pour the concrete into. The front stairs....

....and the side stairs both have a 16" tread and a 6 1/2" rise. We filled the block cells with mortar and the cavity with as much rubble as we could, leaving room for the concrete to vibrate down in between everything. We used regular concrete wire for reinforcement.

We let the angle of the step walls set the radius for the curved stairs. We put the concrete wire in later so it wouldn't get in the way while we set the forms.

We rented a concrete pump and poured the front stairs and filled the inside of the two columns....

....and the slightly less elaborate side stairs with 3500 psi, fiber-reinforced concrete. They're definitely NOT going anywhere!!

You can see where we had to modify the base of the columns a little to get the forms in....It's gonna get covered by the rock veneer anyway so no biggie.

Speaking of which, right after that we went and picked up the slate for the stairs and the El Dorado "Creek Cobble" stone veneer.

My buddy, Jory, a local tile contractor, did a killer job setting the slate tiles. We had to cut a seven degree angle on both sides of each tile to match the radius of each step. A lot of precise cuts but it turned out nice with perfectly even 3/16" grout joints!!

Yours truly, stickin' that beautiful El Dorado rock veneer up. We decided to start on the columns to learn the "personality" of the material and develop a technique for applying this particular type of stone....they're all different.

My little brother, (he'll hate that!) Brian, also a tile contractor, came up from California for a couple of days to lend a hand with the columns and get the front wall started. He got his done first....but mine was nicer!! LOL!

We had more fun, than anything! Thanks Bunky!!

So, Brian had to head back to California for a real job. I wound up blowin' out my shoulder so Jory came to the rescue to finish up the wall....not bad!!

OK....I'm on light duty ( my favorite!) so I'm doing some small "pick-up" like installing the log balusters for the handrail, wiring the lights on the columns and other menial tasks.

Shoulder's gettin' better so Jory and I started finishing off the exterior ceilings and soffits, door and window trim and about a zillion battens!

We used all of our scaffold to do the 12' x 48' front porch ceiling under the Shed Roof.

This time we used #2 tight knot, Red Cedar 1x6 T&G....this stuff is SO pretty!

We worked the red cedar right out of the ceiling and up into the soffit at the top of the "Window Wall". With all of the trim done, Dan Halzel, owner of MountainView Construction, brought in his crew to prep and paint the main house and restore the cedar deck. Simply the highest quality work!!

The gutter guys came and went....two 48' runs, front and back.

And two 10' runs up on that dropped eave on the Second Floor Covered Deck roof, right of off the Master Suite. You can see more of that cool looking Red Cedar on the ceilings of this feature, as well.

Well, we started the Cupola a while back and it's time to finish it up and get it up on the roof!!

We installed the shingles and ridge cap to match the house, prepped and painted the base and louver panels....

....and unpacked the fantastic 48" copper and brass "American Eagle" weathervane!!

I almost didn't want to mount it on the Cupola!!

We brought that crane out again....that thing's a real life saver!

Dan Halzel and his crew were finishing up the painting so he lent us a couple of his guys to set the Cupola and mount the weathervane....here's Mr. Halzel, himself!! That's that old fart, Dano in the background.

Man, talk about everything done with "The Cherry on Top". This is a view of the Cupola from the back of the house.

Well, back to earth....literally! After we discussed with him exactly what we wanted for landscaping, Christian from Northwest Landscape and his helper, Drew showed up ready to work! First, they laid out the retaining wall where it needed to be and dug the post holes with a power auger.

They set the posts in concrete and trenched for the irrigation system.

After all of the water lines and sprinkler heads were in they backfilled up against the wall and did the rough grading.

Then they jumped out front to tackle the flagstone/grass entry. First they graded and laid down a 4" course of compacted gravel.

Christian guided Drew on their cool little "Bobcat" to precisely position and level the 48" concrete pipe sections that will be the base of the fountain resting dead center in the flagstone entry.

"Hunt and Peck"!! You have to spread out all of the flagstone so you can find that next perfectly shaped piece. We had flagstone strewn from hell to breakfast! They laid the stones in a bed of sand on top of the compacted gravel and eventually filled the cracks with topsoil for the grass seed.

ANOTHER 10 yard load of sand!

Everything that was going to be covered with grass was first covered with 3" of sand....

....and finish graded smooth as silk!!

So this is what 3000 sq/ft of "Tall Fescue" sod looks like! We went with the sod because waiting for a seeded lawn just wasn't an option. With our active Border Collie, Buddy, not to mention all the deer who stroll through the property regularly, the place would have been a mess in no time!!

3" of sand, 3" of topsoil, all graded to perfection....and finally the grass sod.

Piece by piece, they rolled out the sod just like so much carpet....trimming around the edges and sprinkler heads.

Fast forward a few months and we can see how nicely it all grew in....sure a lot better than that old weed patch we had before!!

OK, back to the landscaping. What's a new garden without a few posies!?!? The nurserymen brought in a whole array of local specimens to decorate the flowerbeds. Everything from Azaleas to Wisterias, Jasmine and Clematis, not forgetting the local Oregon favorite, Rhododendrons....they're all over the place up here. They even hold the annual "Rhody Festival" every May in nearby Florence, OR!

Well, they got out the tarps and sheets of plywood to protect the brand new lawn and went to work!?

They actually dug out over a foot of that crappy old clay and sandstone in the bed areas.

And replaced it with ten MORE yards of sand and five yards of the richest composted topsoil you've ever seen! They arranged all of the specimens just so....

We also included a couple of "Bloodgood" Japanese Maples....one on either side of the stairs.

Then topped it all off with a couple of yards of great looking shredded black bark. The contrast really makes the plants stand out and it helps keep the moisture in! At this point everybody was saying, "Hey....nice fire pit!" Well, it's NOT a fire pit....

....it's a fountain!

Dan Halzel brought back his guys from MountainView Construction to lay on a couple coats of stain so the barn would match the house....another flawless job!

And the whole thing was done! All told, it took almost four years....from rolling that "triple-wide" down the hill to flipping the switch on the fountain, but we never lost focus on the finished project.

(This is the third of a three-part Showcase series! Don't miss the Shell Construction and the Interior when you're done with this one.)