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PLEASANT GROVE — When their home was seriously damaged by fire in May, Greg and Holly Richardson said they wanted only some paint and new carpet to replace what was lost.

So just imagine how surprised they'll be when they see their new waterfall.

Inspired by the couple, which added 16 adopted children from all over the world to the four they had themselves, community members have poured out their support to not only restore the Richardson home but improve it in the style of the hit TV show "Extreme Makeover," just without the bright spotlights. After the fire, inspectors discovered a number of building code violations and said the house was unsafe for habitation. The home also lacked ramps for the four members of the family who are in wheelchairs.

One neighbor said the project has been nothing short of "miraculous."

"We had this pie-in-the-sky dream, and we thought, 'We're not going to be able to do this,' " said Tracy Gillman. "But companies are stepping in, people are coming out and this pie-in-the-sky dream is coming true. It's amazing." On Saturday volunteers undertook the massive job of landscaping the back yard, which entailed laying 15,000 square feet of sod, digging post holes for the fence, preparing the basketball court and spreading bark.

The centerpiece of the new back yard is the recirculating waterfall, a beautiful 5-foot structure that is a far cry from the weeds that overran the back yard before. Next to it is a barbecue pit with plenty of room for the family of 22.

"Our company's had a good year, and we just want to give back to the community," said Rick Meinzer of Platinum Landscaping, which donated the waterfall. "We felt like this was a worthy cause, and it's just been fun."

Gillman said local companies have been creating miracles every day since the massive renovation project began a week ago. One day a contractor showed up, without even being asked, to stucco the front of the house. The next day, another contractor offered to stucco the back of the house and put in the window molding. On Friday another contractor offered to build a retaining wall and a 6-foot concrete wall in the back yard, a project estimated to be worth $45,000 alone.

"You can't put into words how grateful I am for all the people who stepped in at the 11th hour and made this happen," an emotional Gillman said. "How do you say thank you to someone who donates a $45,000 fence?"

In all, the estimated price tag of the back yard alone is about $80,000.

Inside the house, other companies have donated drywall, furniture, beds and paint. The number of companies that have made donations are almost too many to count, project coordinators said, but their donations have totaled more than $300,000.

"So many people have helped out, I almost hesitate to give names," project coordinator Greg Adamson, a project coordinator. "I'm sure to leave someone out."

Adamson said another reason the project has been a success is the army of volunteers that has descended on the home on a daily basis to lend a hand. Saturday morning saw as many as 300 volunteers alone, he said.

"The national home makeover show is here this week with the big bucks, but down here we've got the little engine that could," he said. "I'd put our house up against theirs any day, and I think we would demolish theirs. We don't have the big bucks, but we've got the heart."

Volunteers at the home Saturday said they were drawn by the amazing story of the Richardson family.

"You have to admire the family and the kids that they are taking care of," said Grant Mason, a bishop of an LDS singles ward that was working in the back yard. "It's a wonderful thing, and this gives us a chance to be a very small part of it."

Patrick Perrett, another volunteer, said the Richardsons deserved everything they were getting.

"This is what you call the law of the harvest," he said. "This family has done so much to improve the lives of these children; this is the least the community can do for them."

The Richardsons recently returned from a trip to the East Coast, but Gillman said she banned them from seeing the house until the official unveiling. The family is staying in a Provo motel in the meantime and is still in the dark because Gillman said they couldn't watch TV or read the papers, either.

Gillman said the family is in for a surprise, because they think they are getting only new carpet and a paint job.

But they're not the only ones who will be surprised by their new home. Even Gillman, looking out at the new back yard, admits that she never thought the project would turn out as it has.

"It's just amazing," she said. "It's overwhelming. Every day there's another miracle, and I have to think that there's been a higher power involved."

The public is welcome to the unveiling ceremony, Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Richardson home, 882 W. 2800 North in Pleasant Grove. S & S Productions, one of the coordinating companies, will show a documentary of the project at the unveiling.