" They're saying we got less than a month to go before the mansion goes back on duty."

" That's right."

" The landscape has just begun. This magnolia is magnificent."

" It looks like it grew overnight."

" Yeah, and there's 2 of them flanking the mansion"

" One on both side."

" Now, what's the economics of putting something like this"

" Well the tree came from South Carolina and it's pretty big, so it's kind of expensive."

" The soil is really soft, after all the rain."

" Yes, it is, it's very wet there. This tree was about $1200."

" Is that right?"

" Yes."

" Well, it's well worth it , coz it really sets off the front to side."

" It needed to be a large tree to look like it was mature."

" Let's go take a look in the backyard"

" Alright"

" Check what's doin over there. Well Sam, the formal garden in the back here looks good, but what are all these trenches for?"

" These are the trenches for the underground wiring for the side lighting."

" Okay, so that's what this PVC piping here is all about."

" Conduit, yes that's right."

" And this goes into the trenches."

" Into this trench."

" How deep do they have to be"

" Code here is for about 18 inches of ground cover"

" So he's not doing that with a shovel"

" Oh, absolutely not, we're using this ditch witch here which is a..."

" That's the way to do it, yeah"

" Electrician's dream."

" Right, that'll go through anything."

" We'll also use this to install the irrigation lines"

" That's right."

" It'll go in next."

" Now, why have you removed the wall here?"

" This is a live Oak tree planted by Admiral Byrd,"

" So it's been here for a few years."

" They've been here for quite some time."

" Now, why did you have to tear down the wall?"

" Because the tree has grown to the point that it was touching the wall, as you can see by the paint that's on it, and in order to preserve the tree, we were gonna relocate the wall."

" It looks like the wall originally was on top of steel, isn't this a"

" Steel I-beam here?"

" Yes, there is. The wall was built after the tree was planted and so to protect the root system, the wall was placed on a steel beam."

" So, now you've had the concrete cutters cut and slice right through a 3-course brick wall and what will you, how will you replace it?"

" Well, we're going to make a right angle and then reinstate the same radius that was in the wall before but just away from the tree"

" Okay, so it'll have a nice curve to it."

" Now, what are we doing with the cobblestones?"

" These are granite stones being used as curving for the concrete pavers."

" Okay, so that's a soldier course to edge this motor cord, I guess right?"

" That's right."

" And here we are at work."

" And here we have John Gidden, who's doing this work for us."

" Hey John, can we"

" How you doin?"

" Can we interrupt? How are you?"

" Good"

" Nice to meet you. So you're laying them down in an actual bed of mortar, right?"

" Yes sir, we, uhhh fill her out about 4 or 5 inches and just use some Portland cement and do a what they call a "wet bed"."

" A wet slab."

" Yes"

" And set em in place going 6 inches from finish grade up."

" Of course, and then the part where you're standing will back filled with soil which really holds 'em tight."

" That's right."

" Now, where do you get these cobblestones? These don't look like they've ever seen duty on old roads here in Virginia?"

" Well, they come from up north, in Connecticut and what they do is they split large pieces of granite and then tumble them, to give them the old look"

" Oh, okay so it's almost like what they're doing with marble for bathrooms now"

" That's right"

" They put them through a tumbler to make them look old"

" Right, and they do them with pavers now too, these days"

" Yeah."

" But the pavers we're using here are concrete, right?"

" That's right and those aren't tumbled, those are 6 x 6 and 6 x 9 country cobble pavers from Belgard."

" It's a nice pattern, just the soldier course of the 6 x 9's flanked by the smaller ones"

" That's right."

" Now, what's going on here, Sam? In terms of, I mean"

" I assume he's purposefully put his line down at an angle like that."

" Yes, he has some slack in the line to give it a just constant dip and this is for an accessible rap that will cause this paving to meet up with the brick paving that's gonna be over on this side."

" Alright, so that basically means that there won't be any bump or transition"

" It'll be"

" If someone is using a wheelchair across here it'll be an even smooth transition"

" Yes, a smooth transition."

" And this is where the brick begins, but I know they're working on the brick on the other end, right?"

" That's right"

" Let's go take a look."

" Why has the sidewalk been built with all these jogs and odd forms in?"

" Well, this is the sculpture garden through here and these jogs are given opportunity for benches and this will be brick paved, it's meant to be a nice, serene place for people to come and sit and think about things."

" So, it's an extension of the garden along the front and the side?"

" Indeed"

" And it connects everything together"

" Indeed"

" I bet you had some fun trying to pour this concrete?"

" Well it's on the back of the building, very hard to get to, we had to pump it from the street down there and had to get a special permit and do it last Saturday, it was a tough job."

" Alright and then over here which is the corner with the new addition and the service entry to the kitchen, we looked at this about 3 weeks ago, before you actually poured the roof, right?"

" That's right"

" This is a concrete porch roof held up by a lally column"

" Yes"

" And what's the gray column behind it?"

" This is a storm drain to take care of the rain water."

" Okay, so"

" This is just a temporary support and"

" Right"

" And this one is a permanent support that will be encased in brick."

" Right and that looks like it just got poured a few days ago, as well"

" Yes, I think we poured that Saturday along with the sidewalk back here."

" And then, this is the service drive, so that you'll actually have a vehicle that's backing up here to deliver Vittles, etc. is that correct?"

" That is correct"

" Right?"

" And it's also the accessible entrance"

" Okay, that's right coz that's where the elevator is, right over there"

" That's right"

" And all this brick work, really is very, very nicely done"

" Really does look good"

" Top notch, now that's a water struck brick but this is a different type of product, isn't it?, the paver?"

" Yes, it is. This paver is set in mortar and then it's got sand swept into the joints so that it will look like it did when it was first installed years ago."

" And it also has this edge crimped to it, so that it looks like it's kinda worn and broken up"

" Yes, that's a special feature that we had added to the brick so that it would look old although it's new."

" It's effective."