Project Stories

Real properties, real transformations — befores, afters, and the years in between.

  • Family-owned since 1996
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Fifteen years, one backyard

Freshly set stone slab steps on a wooded Lake Oswego hillside
New flagstone circle with the homeowner’s "Secret Path" sign
Backyard pond and waterfall in fall color with a bronze deer at the edge
Mature pond with clear water over pebbles and a soft waterfall

Some clients hand us a project; this one handed us a place. Stone steps first, back in 2011. A flagstone sitting circle — and the homeowner’s "Secret Path" sign — by 2016. Then a waterfall and pond that grew into the hillside like the forest built it. Fifteen years of building, planting, and keeping it sharp on one Lake Oswego hillside, and we’re still there. That’s the quiet advantage of hiring the builder who also maintains: the yard never starts over — it just keeps getting better.

A pond built like a foundation

Old hillside waterfall stripped for rebuild, worn liner and displaced rock exposed
Before
Mini excavator carving the terraced pond basin into bare earth
The dig
Underlayment and liner spread across the excavated pond basin
The liner
Crew tying a full steel grid over the lined pond basin before the shell went in
The steel
Twin stacked-stone waterfalls pouring into the new pond
The falls
Wide view of the finished boulder-lined pond, falls, and fresh plantings
Finished

The old waterfall had quietly failed — liner past its life, water finding ways out. We stripped it to bare slope and rebuilt the whole feature in one season: excavation, plumbing, then a full steel grid over the shell before a drop of water went in. By October it was boulders, twin falls, and clear water over pebbles, with planting pockets ready to blur every edge. Build the part nobody sees right, and the part everyone sees takes care of itself.

The hill that wouldn’t stay put

Earthworks crew member at the foil-wrapped wall forms set into the excavated slope
The slope
Fresh concrete being sprayed over the carved lower wall with the house wrapped above
The bones
Crew, pump hoses, and equipment lined along the lower wall during the concrete pour
The pour
Earthworks carver shaping the wet concrete wall face into boulder texture by hand
The carve
Carved concrete steps climbing the open slope mid-build, edges still rough
Building Steps
Two tiers of carved boulder walls with grasses and young plantings grown in between
Grown in

This backyard fell away so fast you couldn’t stand on half of it. The fix wasn’t a fence at the top — it was ground that stays put: formed and poured concrete walls with steel where nobody will ever see it, then our carvers working the faces by hand until raw concrete reads as stacked stone. Stair treads cut straight into the hillside. By the third season it was planted, walkable, and holding its line like it grew there. Look close at the steps — every shadow in that rock came off a trowel.

The koi that never get fed

Mini excavator and crew digging the pond basin against the backyard wall
The dig
Raw hand-carved concrete koi curling around its wrapped spout before painting
The sculpt
Three painted koi spitters pouring their first water from the wall into the pond
First water
Front entry with palms, colored concrete steps, and pillars glowing under night lighting
After dark
Carved concrete fire pit filled with red lava rock at the edge of the koi pond
The fire pit
Three carved koi spitters pouring into the clear pebble-bottom pond with pink blooms in the foreground
In bloom

A Wilsonville backyard with a secret: the three koi arcing out of that wall are carved concrete — sculpted on site, painted by hand, and plumbed like fountains. The pond below them is real. So is the fire pit carved from the same material, and the colored-concrete entry that glows after dark. One material doing a dozen jobs, and by the next summer the plantings had moved in around all of it like the whole thing had always been there.

Same walk, brand-new welcome

Paver entry walk in winter with bare mulch beds and an empty center island
Before
The same entry walk in summer with a basalt bubbler in the island and borders full of color
After

January 2021: a handsome walk, a pretty door, and beds running on empty. We didn’t tear anything out — we brought it to life. A basalt bubbler moved into the island the next year, boxwoods and hydrangeas built the structure, and every summer since we’ve packed the borders with color. Five years of steady care later, the same walk earns a double-take. Not every transformation starts with an excavator.

Curb appeal, built in layers

Patchy waterlogged winter lawn along the sidewalk before the front-yard rebuild
Soggy turf
Fresh soil and a paver pathway taking shape across the stripped front yard
The rebuild
Outdoor seating area under an umbrella on the back patio, espaliered greenery trained along the fence
The seating area
Front garden beds layered with shrubs, perennials, urns, and boulders
Layers
Stamped concrete walk sweeping through borders packed with red and purple blooms
Texture & color
Artificial turf lawn holding uniform green behind beds full of color spots
The new turf

Curb appeal is a system, not a plant list. This Lake Oswego frontage started as soggy winter turf you’d hurry past. The rebuild gave it structure instead: paver and stamped concrete walks that pull you through the yard, beds built in layers — evergreen bones first, then texture, then the color spots that catch you from the sidewalk. A seating area waits out back, espaliered greenery trained flat along the fence behind it, and where a lawn still earned its place, artificial turf holds this green every month of the year. Five years of tending later, the same stretch of street stops people mid-walk.

A tired corner becomes a waterfall

Mossy rock wall with bare gravel and exposed pond plumbing before the rebuild
Before
Stacked-stone waterfall spilling into a pebble pond with fresh river rock and new grasses in the same corner
After

The wall was there, the bones were there — but the corner had gone mossy and bare, with pond plumbing showing. A few focused days later: a stacked-stone waterfall spilling into a pebble pond, fresh river rock underfoot, and planting pockets that will soften the wall by next season.

Bare dirt to fish in a week

Earthworks crew and mini excavator digging the pond basin in a backyard
Before
Closeup of the finished stepped waterfall spilling into the clear pebble-bottom pond a week later
After
Four chickens drinking from the rock edge of the new pond
The regulars

Mid-July this was open ground, a mini excavator, and a plan. A week later: a stepped waterfall, a pebble-bottom pond, and goldfish settling into their new address. The resident chickens conducted their own water-quality inspection — and now hold a standing reservation at the rock bar.

Cracked concrete to a paver patio

Worn concrete patio under a covered porch with forms being set at the door
Before
New paver patio with charcoal border banding under the same covered porch, running out to the backyard pond
After

The cover was worth keeping — the cracked concrete under it wasn’t. Three weeks later the whole surface is a paver field with charcoal banding, stepping cleanly out from under the roof to a second sitting area by the pond. Same bones, whole new floor.

A front yard becomes a water feature

Flat front-yard lawn marked with flags before the project began
Before
Finished custom water wall with dry creek, boulders, and flowering beds
After

A flat, ordinary front lawn reimagined as a design/build showpiece — a custom water wall spilling into a boulder-lined basin, a dry creek, layered plantings, and low-maintenance turf tying it all together.

Bare ground to finished grounds

Graded bare dirt lot at a new-construction commercial site
Before
Completed commercial landscape with fresh lawn, plantings, and custom entry signage
After

New-construction grounds for a community church — from a graded dirt lot to a finished landscape with fresh lawn, mounded planting beds, and a clean entry. Commercial or residential, we carry the whole site from excavation to the last plant.

Overgrown hedge to a clean fence line

Overgrown arborvitae hedge being removed by the Earthworks crew
Before
New cedar privacy fence installed along the cleared property line
After

A tired, overgrown arborvitae hedge cleared out — roots, stumps, and all — and replaced with a straight, solid cedar privacy fence. The kind of reset that gives a property years of easy upkeep back.

Natural lawn to year-round turf

Natural grass lawn before artificial turf installation
Before
Premium artificial turf lawn, green and uniform, after installation
After

A natural lawn converted to premium artificial turf — green every month of the year, with no mowing and no watering. A great fit for shady spots, slopes, and anyone ready to trade the mower for their weekends.

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