More of Steve's stone

As I mentioned before, we got Steve to clad the new cinder-block foundation wall in the back of the house with stone to match his dry-stacked wall.

This wasn't exactly necessary for us to move in (and that has been our focus lately), but it sure does finish off the exterior.

He found natural stone for the cladding that is pretty much exactly the same as the stone in the wall.

This is the finished wall, complete with LED lights going down the stone steps. 

I haven't seen these lights on yet, but I imagine they'll give a nice glow along the path.

This is the basement walkout. 

There will be some wood framing around the door eventually that will cover up that orange foam.  We couldn't put the stone right around the corners because it would completely encase the sliding door.  The windows and doors peeps don't recommend doing that in case we ever have to repair or replace the door.  With a painted wood frame, we can do it without damaging our beautiful stonework.

This reno has been chock full of funny little issues like this one that need some kind of thoughtful solution.  A total learning experience for me.  In hindsight, we could have made the opening a bit larger than the door. 

As I keep saying-- we'll know that for the next house!

This is the full back of the house right now.  I know, what a mess!  We've still got railings to go in on the second floor balcony and the deck to build (with storage underneath).  Still, it's coming together very nicely, I think.

Paul and I are already thinking of other stone projects for Steve to do in the front of the house.  We just love his work!

Our hardwood floors are going in next week and Steve is going to finish them for us-- with me as a helper!  Yep, he does woodworking too. 

And this morning he gave me an amazing idea for the front hallway!  I think I'm going to save this one as a surprise-- even for Paul.  MOSTLY for Paul!  It's that good.