A new concrete foundation was poured, leaving a two foot space that we have made look like a dried laid foundation, cementing from the inside and resetting the house upon.

The finale grade will be brought up to the top of the concrete.

Concrete Stain: Rust-oleum Concrete Kit (This was the biggest change in the look of the patio)

Kitchen Blocks: Menards

Counter Tops: We helped our contractor pour them, but he completed all the pre-work and the leveling of the tops. I would leave this to the pro's unless you are good with concrete work.

All the steps can parts and pieces used can be found on my blog :)

So we are thinking of filling in the pond w/small red lava landscaping rock on bottom (lots of this in a garden we are redoing and I dislike it), then river rocks on top w/the fountain still bubbling up in the middle. Any suggestions on how to do this properly so that the water will not leak out, and we don't have to continue to refill the water level? Thanks for any ideas, I live in Wyoming so there is LOTS of snow in the winter and it is only used in the summer months.

Now we are also going to redo the front of the house w/a full length deck (eventually a roof over it). Have some cinder blocks, and thought about using wood decking over them w/the blocks as support. Do we need to place the blocks in sand to level? Or how should we proceed?

Also - this is my first post on Hometalk - so if I am doing it wrong...sorry! :)