How to Build a Waterfall - Part 1
Pond 15 years ago 882,987 views
Learn how to build a waterfall with our step by step instructional video. Building a waterfall can be easy after learning these "How to Build" tips and tricks. Avoid Frequently Made Mistakes and learn professional builder tips from The Pond Digger.
10. comment for How to Build a Waterfall - Part 1
learning a lot!!
20. comment for How to Build a Waterfall - Part 1
I have a six foot fence that will be behind my waterfall - similar to what you have...Will l still need to build a retaining wall rather than pile dirt up against fence if I have no worries about dirt on my fence? I guess the problem there is I need to get behind waterfall, so how much room should I leave between fence and waterfall?
If you wind up with too much liner or underlayment, would you ever want to cut it, or just better to fold under?
I live in Minnesota so my waterfall will be 3 seasons.. anything I should consider up front in terms of which equipment I buy etc. etc...?
My view from the house faces the fence - should I angle the waterfall slightly which I think is what you suggested to add character, or, should I come straight on?
If I am limited by space, is it ok to have waterfall dump into small pool and then have a stream take a "hard right" to a bigger pool?
Thanks again, Mike
You will be cutting excess liner and underlayment. How much will depend on your edge treatment.
Minnesota! I have a great pond building buddy in MN that lives in Faribault. How close are you to Faribault? You want to consider using the best equipment you can afford that allow for ease of maintenance and then do your plumbing accordingly for winterizing!!! You know I'm liking Helix Life Support!! :)
You're definitely catching on!!! I would turn the waterfall at a slight angle for sure!!
As far as the pool at the base of the waterfall and the hard right turn……Yes I would do it that way here in Southern California. Something to consider in MN is that small pool will certainly freeze solid. Not sure exactly if thats gonna be a problem. I'll have to ask my MN buddy his opinion.
Thanks for the great questions!
Read On Please:Why is there so much talk
about pond liners? Which
ones are UV protected, or
stronger, or last longer?
“The Experts.will tell“liners are simple
to install,” and “liners are inexpensive
compared to concrete
and steel,” and liners are
quick to install.” Or “liners
last for 50 years,” “liners bring
higher profits to pond construction,”
and “liners don’t
contaminate the water with
alkali as does concrete
construction.” Yes,
they've almost sold themselves on paper!
So, a liner is guaranteed for
40 to 50 years? I would have
to agree with that, as long as
you left it in its box the whole
time. Too bad a liner manufacturer’s
warranty doesn’t
include damage from gophers,
ground squirrels, chipmunks,
rats, mice, or tree, plant and
weed roots. Or from stretching
and punctures due to heavy
rocks and other sharp objects.
Try to accomodate a 1 Ton Rock or Stone on a Pond Liner!?
Startling fact: a hole only the
size of a pin hole can lose one
drip per second, or 5 gallons in
just 24 hours. That’s a pin
hole, not a hole made by a pair
of buck teeth on a burrowing
mammal.
Imagine along with me for
a minute. You have spent
$8,000 of your hard-earned
money for a pond and waterfall.
This water feature is impressive.
They dug a big hole,
piled up some dirt at one end,
draped a large rubber linerover the whole thing, and
placed giant boulders all
around the pond and on the
dirt mound. Smaller rocks fill
in between the boulder and
additional rocks cover the liner
in the pond.
Now, it’s two years later
and you’ve just come home
from a two-week vacation to
find the pond half empty (or
half full, if you’re a positive
person). There must be a leak!
How did this happen? Where
is it?
No problem, you think, I
remember the salesman’s pitch:
“If you should ever get a leak,
just clean off the area around
the hole, dry it off, and using
the directions enclosed in the
kit, apply this patching material.”
But there’s only one problem:
where is the leak? or
leaks? How do I find it? And
if I do find it, and I’m successful
in patching it up, what’s
to keep it from leaking again?
Have you ever had to find a leak in a Car or Bicycle Tire? Pretty Simple Stuff! Stuff the Tire in some water or hose it down and theres the Bubbles! Now spread out you pond Liner and Blow air into it and theres your hole!
Right! Cmon, you have this massive piece of Rubber laying all over the grass (and they say their building the Liners Thicker these days) so, try to find that little hole or holes!
So, its not really the Liner Guys fault -
the “liner guy” who sells the
liners, but at his disciples
around the country who are
bragging how much money
they make in just two or three
days. I’m not upset at the fact
that they make in two days
what it takes me six to seven
days to make in constructing
my ponds of rebar and 5000
psi concrete. My ire stems
from having to charge $8,000
to replace a $6,000 liner pond
that lasted only two years. (A
liner with padding didn’t stop a
tree root which traveled 25 feet
to do its work.) For only an
additional 16% in cost, that
client could still be enjoying his
original pond, stress-free, for
his lifetime and that of his
children and grandchildren.
The main features touted
by liner promoters are simplicity,
low cost, quick installation,
and extremely high profits. In
an article published in his
catalog/magazine of liners and
accessories, the “liner messiah”
has obviously taught his disciples
well, as you can read in
this excerpt:
“If you hire us to install your
pond, you get a choice of buying it
with or without a stream.We offer
no other choices! The pond we build
covers an area of 11 by 16 feet, has
a maximum depth of 2 feet, and a
beautiful waterfall. We’ll build your
pond in one day. The basic pond
costs $5,100 and if you want to
connect the falls with a stream,
you’re looking at an extra $1,000.
That’s it. End of story. No Mas.”
That’s what Ernie Selles,
president of Patio Ponds and
disciple of the “liner guy,” said.
Another quote from Ernie in
the same catalog is “I get out of
bed every morning and look
forward to going to work in a
way that I never had before.” I
noticed he didn’t mention how
he slept.
Let’s do the math on Ernie’s
installation. The pond,
stream, and waterfall cost
$6,100. The actual retail cost
of the kit is just $1,000.
$5,100 profit for only one day
of labor. Notice: unlike our
package, they offer no lights,
no auto-fill, and the pond is
only two feet deep. Yet a three
foot minimum is recommended
for koi fish.
A two foot pond affords no
protection from predators such as raccoons and herons, and
the shallow depth is affected
easily by rapid temperature
changes, causing undue stress
on the pond’s inhabitants.
We would build the same
pond with a depth ranging
from 3 to 3 feet, with no
shallows for dining predators.
It is constructed of rebar 10
inches on center with a shell of
5000 psi concrete (sidewalks
and driveways are 2500 to
3000 psi).
Okay, enough of that!
I was taught how to build Waterfalls and Ponds from the Best in the Business!
I would never ever use a Pond Liner again!
When I started building Outdoor Waterfalls and Ponds I actually used Liners! It did not take long to realize this was not the way!
I had been Designing and Constructing Indoor Waterfountains for years. I eventually wanted some outdoors Water Features and was soon throwing together Pond Liner Crap! Luckily - those were all made for Friends and Relatives who also thought they were great! Out of 17 of them only one exists now and that is being converted (after Umpteen Repairs) to a Concrete and Rebar Waterfall & Pond next Spring!
Really, the bottom line is, if you are going to do this and Invest Real Money into it, Do It Right! It can last for Decades! You can climb all over it - Kick It - Sit on it - Hang Big Rocks & Stone on it ! Its the real thing !
If you want a Real Water Feature, Please visit us at http://www.waterfallfantasies.com and we can help !
If you need more of a confidence Boost - Visit my Master, Douglas Hoover!
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=douglas+hoover+ponds
Read On Please:Why is there so much talk
about pond liners? Which
ones are UV protected, or
stronger, or last longer?
“The Experts.will tell“liners are simple
to install,” and “liners are inexpensive
compared to concrete
and steel,” and liners are
quick to install.” Or “liners
last for 50 years,” “liners bring
higher profits to pond construction,”
and “liners don’t
contaminate the water with
alkali as does concrete
construction.” Yes,
they've almost sold themselves on paper!
So, a liner is guaranteed for
40 to 50 years? I would have
to agree with that, as long as
you left it in its box the whole
time. Too bad a liner manufacturer’s
warranty doesn’t
include damage from gophers,
ground squirrels, chipmunks,
rats, mice, or tree, plant and
weed roots. Or from stretching
and punctures due to heavy
rocks and other sharp objects.
Try to accomodate a 1 Ton Rock or Stone on a Pond Liner!?
Startling fact: a hole only the
size of a pin hole can lose one
drip per second, or 5 gallons in
just 24 hours. That’s a pin
hole, not a hole made by a pair
of buck teeth on a burrowing
mammal.
Imagine along with me for
a minute. You have spent
$8,000 of your hard-earned
money for a pond and waterfall.
This water feature is impressive.
They dug a big hole,
piled up some dirt at one end,
draped a large rubber linerover the whole thing, and
placed giant boulders all
around the pond and on the
dirt mound. Smaller rocks fill
in between the boulder and
additional rocks cover the liner
in the pond.
Now, it’s two years later
and you’ve just come home
from a two-week vacation to
find the pond half empty (or
half full, if you’re a positive
person). There must be a leak!
How did this happen? Where
is it?
No problem, you think, I
remember the salesman’s pitch:
“If you should ever get a leak,
just clean off the area around
the hole, dry it off, and using
the directions enclosed in the
kit, apply this patching material.”
But there’s only one problem:
where is the leak? or
leaks? How do I find it? And
if I do find it, and I’m successful
in patching it up, what’s
to keep it from leaking again?
Have you ever had to find a leak in a Car or Bicycle Tire? Pretty Simple Stuff! Stuff the Tire in some water or hose it down and theres the Bubbles! Now spread out you pond Liner and Blow air into it and theres your hole!
Right! Cmon, you have this massive piece of Rubber laying all over the grass (and they say their building the Liners Thicker these days) so, try to find that little hole or holes!
So, its not really the Liner Guys fault -
the “liner guy” who sells the
liners, but at his disciples
around the country who are
bragging how much money
they make in just two or three
days. I’m not upset at the fact
that they make in two days
what it takes me six to seven
days to make in constructing
my ponds of rebar and 5000
psi concrete. My ire stems
from having to charge $8,000
to replace a $6,000 liner pond
that lasted only two years. (A
liner with padding didn’t stop a
tree root which traveled 25 feet
to do its work.) For only an
additional 16% in cost, that
client could still be enjoying his
original pond, stress-free, for
his lifetime and that of his
children and grandchildren.
The main features touted
by liner promoters are simplicity,
low cost, quick installation,
and extremely high profits. In
an article published in his
catalog/magazine of liners and
accessories, the “liner messiah”
has obviously taught his disciples
well, as you can read in
this excerpt:
“If you hire us to install your
pond, you get a choice of buying it
with or without a stream.We offer
no other choices! The pond we build
covers an area of 11 by 16 feet, has
a maximum depth of 2 feet, and a
beautiful waterfall. We’ll build your
pond in one day. The basic pond
costs $5,100 and if you want to
connect the falls with a stream,
you’re looking at an extra $1,000.
That’s it. End of story. No Mas.”
That’s what Ernie Selles,
president of Patio Ponds and
disciple of the “liner guy,” said.
Another quote from Ernie in
the same catalog is “I get out of
bed every morning and look
forward to going to work in a
way that I never had before.” I
noticed he didn’t mention how
he slept.
Let’s do the math on Ernie’s
installation. The pond,
stream, and waterfall cost
$6,100. The actual retail cost
of the kit is just $1,000.
$5,100 profit for only one day
of labor. Notice: unlike our
package, they offer no lights,
no auto-fill, and the pond is
only two feet deep. Yet a three
foot minimum is recommended
for koi fish.
A two foot pond affords no
protection from predators such as raccoons and herons, and
the shallow depth is affected
easily by rapid temperature
changes, causing undue stress
on the pond’s inhabitants.
We would build the same
pond with a depth ranging
from 3 to 3 feet, with no
shallows for dining predators.
It is constructed of rebar 10
inches on center with a shell of
5000 psi concrete (sidewalks
and driveways are 2500 to
3000 psi).
Okay, enough of that!
I was taught how to build Waterfalls and Ponds from the Best in the Business!
I would never ever use a Pond Liner again!
When I started building Outdoor Waterfalls and Ponds I actually used Liners! It did not take long to realize this was not the way!
I had been Designing and Constructing Indoor Waterfountains for years. I eventually wanted some outdoors Water Features and was soon throwing together Pond Liner Crap! Luckily - those were all made for Friends and Relatives who also thought they were great! Out of 17 of them only one exists now and that is being converted (after Umpteen Repairs) to a Concrete and Rebar Waterfall & Pond next Spring!
Really, the bottom line is, if you are going to do this and Invest Real Money into it, Do It Right! It can last for Decades! You can climb all over it - Kick It - Sit on it - Hang Big Rocks & Stone on it ! Its the real thing !
If you want a Real Water Feature, Please visit us at http://www.waterfallfantasies.com and we can help !
If you need more of a confidence Boost - Visit my Master, Douglas Hoover!
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=douglas+hoover+ponds
Steve - Owner/Designer - Waterfallfantasies - webuildwaterfalls.com
Hydropic Strawberry Wall w/Pondless Waterfall
thanks!
30. comment for How to Build a Waterfall - Part 1
Steve...http://www.waterfallfantasies.com
50. comment for How to Build a Waterfall - Part 1
100. comment for How to Build a Waterfall - Part 1