ADV Digital Multimedia: April 2012

Materials List

Fountain Materials:

Plastic pond or pond liner, depending on the size and type you would like the fountain to be. Water pump that depends on the size of the container, I used a 330 gph (gallons per hour) pump for a 91 gallon fountain tub. Although it is slightly bigger than needed, the pump has an adjustable lever to restrain water flow. Plastic tubing that will connect to your pump. These are your main components critical to your creation. All other materials for aesthetics depend on your choice in flowers and plants to surround the fountain.

Construction Materials:

Wheel barrel

Bricks

Shovel

Axe or hatchet

Extension cord

Running water

Sand

Bush clippers

Terracotta pipe

Extra Materials Used:

While digging the hole for the fountain I dug into the sprinkler system and broke the water line. Thank goodness the water was not turned on because our system is manual instead of automatic. I had to dig up the broken PVC and cut back the piping. Ran to Lowes for PVC couplers and PVC adhesive. Attached and glued all pieces together, fixing the sprinkler system.

Measurement

The process starts at your home or residence in which the fountain is being placed. You want to determine the size and area in which you would like the fountain to reside. You can create very large ponds and fountains by using pond liners similar to tarp or you can buy pre-determined molded ponds. I chose the molded pond because of the stability of the pond and the structural integrity of the material compared to the liner or tarp. I was afraid the tarp might tear or break due to the roots growing around the area I dug up.

Now that you’ve chosen the type of material (mold or liner), you need to either consult someone about pumps or generalize the size compared to the gph capacity of your pump. It is smart to buy something slightly bigger than needed so you can change the flow of the waterfall/fountain while not causing the pump to run at max power. The pump usually has tube sizing on the back of the product. My tube was a ½ inch tube for a 330-gph pump.

After you buy your main components, it is time to either borrow some construction tools or buy some for yourself. The basic materials I used were bricks, an axe, shovel and then water and sand for a substitute for concrete or grouting.

Construction

You start by clearing the area for your pond. The area needs to be leveled with limited debris in the area. Keep in mind that the dirt that is dug up is eventually needed to fill in cracks in the bricks as well as build up your fountain for aesthetics. Having said this, try to keep your pile of sand free of roots and chunks of grass. With your molded pond, place it where you picture your fountain and mark the placement with sticks and lines in the ground. I used an axe to cut into the ground a little bit to mark the area of the pond.

Now that the pond is marked in place, remove the pond and start digging. This will be the most strenuous part of the project, besides the brick laying. My pond ended up having 3 levels. The deepest level in the middle, two smaller sections that protrude to the sides, and the top level where the pond is level with the ground. I found it easy just digging a large hole in the shape of the pond and continuously pulling the pond in and out of the hole. When you place the pond into the hole, make sure there is a sufficient amount of dirt supporting the 3 levels. Once the pond is in it’s relatively correct position, grab the pond and shake it into the hole. This will create smoothed spots in the hole. Pull the plastic up and dig out the smoothed areas because this is where the pond is hitting. After doing this process multiple times, the hole will be much larger than needed. Keep the pond in the hole while shoving dirt into the sides around the whole perimeter. Continue this process until you can barely shake the pond in place. This is also important because as noted earlier, the dirt used should be free of rocks or sticks to insure safe installation of molded pond or pond liner.

Once the pond is in place, I used bricks in an alternating pattern to support the sides and top of the pond around the dirt. You will need to shovel loose dirt around the perimeter of the pond so the bricks can sink into place while also keeping it level with the ground and pond. Keep placing bricks into the desired pattern to strengthen the support of the pond. On my pond there is a small lip about 2 inches in which I placed bricks under. Once the sand was packed, bricks were placed and second row of bricks added I began to add water the pond. As the water filled the pond more and more, the pond began pulling the bricks slightly deeper which created a snug effect on the bricks. As the pond reached about half capacity I turned the water off to check the levels of the pond compared to brick. Sand was needed on the 2 protruding sections because the water was weighted more in the middle. I pulled the bricks out, shoved more sand in the cracks and replaced my brick patter. You want to continually look at the levels of water, sand and bricks because you do not want to create a sag in your fountain.

Once you walk around the perimeter checking the level of sand and bricks, you want to walk on the perimeter of the pond, which pushes the lip of the pond closer and snugger to the bricks. I used a little water to spray down the bricks to create a more solid space. The mixture of sand and water was used like mud to hold the bricks in place. The mud acts like a concrete because when the sand becomes wet, it becomes harder and more structurally sound.

Once my basic support structure was made I finished filling the pond with water. The surrounding area was dug up and flattened so eventually plants could be added to the area.

My next step was checking the flow of my water pump. I did not want to build up an area yet because I wanted to gauge the flow rate of the water and the test the limiting lever before creating a waterfall.

After checking the pump and its flow, I began placing the remaining bricks behind the fountain to build up an area for my waterfall application. I used about 4 layers of bricks to build up and support the top reservoir. Each layer of bricks I mudded; I smeared sand all over the bricks and then lightly sprayed them with water. After the brick support was built, I placed my top reservoir on the support and began using the remaining sand to hide the bricks from sight. I continued to spray the mound of bricks and sand to strengthen the support. My idea was to hide the pump feature and hose from sight to create a more natural environment. I chose to use a flowerpot tree stand to hold my terracotta pipe in place. I dug a small hole behind the fountain so the tree stand would not collapse. With sand I buried the left over power cord as well as the water pump hose.

Appearance

I was surprised as to how fast the process went once I got into a groove. Once all the structural components were together and working the main focus turned toward appearance and aesthetics. Multiple shrubs and flowers were added to the area.

Although I used plants and flowers that I already owned, the overall appearance changed our backyard dramatically. The slight trickling of the water drowns out a next door pool pump as well as local traffic driving by. It created a very soothing sound as well boosting the appearance of the backyard.

After plants and flowers were added I used some remaining bricks to create stepping-stones toward the pond. I was surprised as to how well it looks aesthetically because this was my first attempt ever making a tropical water feature. After starring at my creation for hours, I cleaned up the remaining area of tools and un-needed materials, as well as clearing unwanted shrubs, sticks and debris.

Images

Pond section @ Lowes contains all necessary pond equipment