The house we bought was built about 12 years ago by the owner Jerry. He and his brother did all the rock work on the house and porch. They ran into some financial difficulties soon after they finished and moved in but ended up loosing the house to the bank the time we purchased it.
The house itself was finished and they had been living it in but they ran out of money before the finished the front porch and the sidewalk which was poured but did not have the slate top. The columns to the porch are set atop just a cut square of the slate. Bob and I discussed several ways we could try to finish the porch but never came up with anything that would look good. It’s roughly a two inch gap between the poured concrete top of the porch and the top of the slate pieces.
Several weeks ago the owner came by and told me he had the slate that goes on the porch and had been storing it off site but needed to move it. Guess he thought he could sell it or something. Wish Bob and I had known that after we we moved in!
Anyway we settled on a deal and had it moved to the natural area. He and his brother laid the rock when they constructed the house. Jerry no longer does rock work but his brother is still doing it.
So, long story short, they are starting on laying the slate today.