Two roses that Gregg Lowery mentions as growing untended around the Sebastopol area are Aglaia and Mme. Alfred Carriere. They do get a fair amount of annual rain up there, but Lafayette also gets a lot, relative to Livermore at least. But even around Livermore, I've seen some old roses (an Eglantine comes to mind) that survive on their own, though all once-bloomers. My low-care rose on a fence (and at the top of a hill) is Alistair Stella Grey (the clone from Vintage, which is reputed to be not as large-growing as other versions). This rose is incredibly neat-growing: has reached 7 feet tall and about that wide and there it stays, more or less, with virtually no work by me, except to occasionally re-attach it to the fence when the wire breaks (good exercise). This year finally, about 8 years after planting it, I went up and trimmed dead wood out from under the canopy, but the rose is still leaved, and flowering, all the way to the ground and didn't look bad even before the pruning. I do water it. I have two steep hillsides in my yard, most of which are planted with natives or other drought-tolerant plants, with a small portion given over to teas whose nodding blossoms are best viewed from below. It doesn't sound like you have enough room for a Fremontodendron (nor do I). Many Ceanothus do not fare well in heat, but Ray Hartman, Concha, and Blue Jeans tolerate the heat in Livermore very well. Ray Hartman has the added advantage of being the fastest-growing Ceanothus, ever. Toyons grow very slowly here, but are nice when up to size. Garryas, according to Las Pilitas, are unstable in hot summer areas, but I've managed to keep one, nicely, by growing it in partial shade. Salvia clevelandii, Salvia mellifera, Artemisia californica, and Rhamnus californica are all foolproof and sturdy shorter shrubs. Many manzanitas are suffering from a mysterious die-back disease, which made me hesitate to use them, though there are some magnificent old stands around. Definitely, ANY planting would need to be watered for the first two years at least, fairly regularly the first year, then gradually tapering off during the course of years two or maybe even three (if droughty). What I did was lay out a fixed array of soaker hoses, connected to a hose with an end within convenient reach of the garden hose. When it comes time to water, just hook it up to the garden hose and there you are -- no need to set sprinklers or drag yourself and the hose up the hill. When the need for supplemental water is over, remove. My hillside plantings are now quite dense and pleasing and, except for the roses, need no water at this point.

I will be getting an 'Elegant Aluminum' Fence in a few weeks when my pool is done. I don't know anything about it but 2 of the 5 PB's that I had give me quotes use it and really like it. The others preferred the more natural look of the wood board on board which I was not a fan of. One PB was pushing a black galvanized steel fence (not sure of the brand) at $50/linear ft. which I thought was crazy, but then again he was high on everything!

I live in the Salt lake area with somewhat similar conditions. There several varieties of Junipers that will do quite well in your situation. If want a very large dense bush form, I would suggest the Pfitzers They can get up to 8-10 feet. I have seen some people trim off the lower branches to make them small trees. One thing to remember about junipers is that even though they are very drought resistant, when they dry out, they are explosive fire fuel. So it is a good idea to keep them either watered during the summer or keep them from your house, if you live in an area that is prone to wild fires. Other ever greens that you may want to look at would be the Incense Cedar. They are native to the California Sierras and when established, quite drought tolerant. Surprisingly, the Sierra Redwood is also a good choice in your situation. Both of these are fast grower and fire resistant. The White Fir is also a good choice. It is native to the mountains in the intermountain areas so you probably have seen them in your mountains. Some may recommend the spruces, particularly the Blue Spruce. I would avoid those as they do not age well, and by age, I mean after about 20 years. They get straggely and loose their lower branches. In the deciduous group, I would recommend the upright or Fastigiate English Oak. The go up rather than out. There is, or was, an long row of them at BYU, which is where I got my seeds. The grounds staff kept them more narrow than normal but they reached at least 50 feet tall. The normal spread is about 10 to 20 feet and they grow very fast, up to three feet a year in my experience. They also grow very easily from seed, which are either picked up by me for growing or squirrels for eating. They have very deep tap roots and don't mind the heat. The seeds will come about 90% true to the parent tree, but some will revert to the standard form, which is a great shade tree by the way. If you can get the seeds, I got mine on eBay, the Osage Orange would be a good choice. Again they are drought tolerant with a deep tap root. They do not get too tall, about thirty feet. If you trim them back while young they make a largish bush. They do have wicked thorns on the young branches. The female will drop softball size fruits in the autumn. This species was becoming rather scarce until the government started to grow them as wind breaks during the dustbowl. They proved to be excellent windbreaks. Growth is about 2 feet a year. From the maples, there are various varities of the Norway Maple that you could chooses. Most are gong to be spreading trees of one type or other. There is a fastigiate or upright variety. Most maples grow at about 2-3 feet a year. They do require more water than the other deciduous trees mentioned. There is another maple that would work in your situation. It is the Acer ginnala or Amur Maple. It is more shrubby than other maples and lower growing. The Siberian Pea tree is a fast growing shrub to about 8 feet. Drought tolerant. Easy from seed. The flowers are quite attractive yellow in the spring. The seeds are edible, like beans more than peas. Although not particularly drought tolerant, the old standby the lilac is good for this situation. No shrub row is complete without at least one. Plant it with your maples and it will be happy with their watering regimen. The seeds for most of these deciduous items are available on line. They are mostly easy from seed. I plant my oaks right in the ground where they are to grow. The cats take care of the rodents that might want to eat them. DO NOT grow just what ever comes up in your yard. Unless you know exactly what it is, it is probably a weed tree and will be nothing but a problem. DO NOT grow Russian Olives. They are weeds. DO NOT grow Tamarisks. They will take over. DO NOT grow willows or birch. They are no where near drought tolerant. BEWARE of the big box stores. They will have a large selection of plants selected mostly for popularity rather than compatibility with local conditions. DO talk to some one local who knows the conditions. If they have a real nice yard, so much the better. DO visit local nurseries. Many people are no looking into water saving plants and they may be able to stear you to more choices. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Yes. It can be done by injecting mud or polyurethane foam beneath the slab. I am not sure which method is recommended for your application. But my parents first sidewalk slab in front of their level porch step had sunk and they had someone do this, lifting the one slab and leveling it. You might have to build up the edges of your slab with dirt or even stacked pavers so that there isn’t erosion or shifting of soil. But…it is a thing. Check out “Mudjacking” and “Polylevel Concrete Lifting.”