building a water wall

[tatezig]

I would like to build a water wall but am sure about how they actually work. What I would like to know is how water is delivered to the face of the feature. A gereral idea of what materials are used to build the face also.

Thanks

[Bob Villa]

Stone, and a pump w/hose.

[howiek]

Hello tatezig and Welcome to DoItYourself.com

Rather than "re-inventing the wheel", you could type "building a waterfall" into a good search engine - I got over 50,000 hits when I did it. The challenge when doing an internet search is often separating the desired information from the advertising.

The basics behind pond and waterfall building are you have to have an upper and lower reservoir and a way of moving the water form the lower to the upper. You'll need to make the the reservoirs and stream/waterfall paths waterproof using an impermeable liner of some sort. There are pre-formed liners or you could use concrete or rubber. After you've dug and built up the reservoirs and wall face, you can add the facing materials of your choice. River rock, rockery stone, flagstone, fieldstone all make good building materials. Depending on what type of liner you use, you could either mortar the facing materials to the liner face or build it up by stacking the stones on top of one another. The expanding foam products that come in various size cans and colours can be used as a sort of cement if you are using a rubber liner.

You'll need to get a pump and plumbing to move the water - choice of pumps will depend on how much water you want to move and how high the wall/falls will be.

If you don't want a pond at the bottom of the wall, you could dig your lower reservoir deep enough to accomodate a pump and plumbing and then use strong mesh or screen to enclose the top of the reservoir. Cover the screen with pebbles and stones and it will look like the falls is flowing into the ground.

You may or may not want to incorporate a filter system in the loop. It would collect leaves, litter and debris and protect your pump as well as making the environment for fish a little better. There are numerous filtering systems on the market - Some will allow a mini-ecosystem to establish so your pond (if you have one) will be self sustaining (the fish feed on the plants and small insects, the plants get their nutrient from the waste from the fish, bacteria in the water keep the whole system clean and (for the most part) algae free).

The variations on theme, materials and size are limited only by your budget and imagination.

One thing to keep in mind if you are planning a pond with fish and other wildlife, you should avoid using calcarious rock (limestone) as it will drive the pH of the water up above where most fish and plants can tolerate. Also, if you use concrete or mortar in your construction, it will leach out salts and compounds that do not favour fish. Even rubber liners will release some chemicals that the fish don't like - if you want to keep fish, you should use EPDM Rubber - it is virgin rubber and is safe for fish; or let the concrete leach out the salts, etc for at least a few months, changing the water (a couple times if the price of water isn't prohibative) before introducing the fish.

Here are a couple sites that may be of help when choosing a pump: http://www.burnswatergardens.ca/bwgpkpmp.html, http://www.dubebotanicalgardens.ns.c...ld%20frame.htm These are commercial sites, so you will find some advertising, but the information is good.

Hope this is a little help

Good luck with your waterwall

Howie

[tatezig]

what you told me bob villa is that you don't know either.

[tatezig]

I appreciate your helping me out. Before I signed up for this site I did search for waterfalls, waterwalls, etc. Everybody wants to sell the full version for an outrageous amount of money.

What I really need to know is how the water is delivered to the wall. Is it microsprinklers? Plain old holes in tubing? I can't find any info on that.

I fully understand the recirculating and recovery process.

[howiek]

Hi again tatezig

Depending on the volume of water you want flowing over the wall at any given time, and if you can create a reservoir at the top, you should be able to just create a number of spillways from the top reservoir to let the water flow. As long as the hose/tube filling the top reservoir is not pointed up or toward one spillway, there should be even distribution.

I think that if you were to use a feeding tube with holes in it, if the hole size wasn't just right, you'd get a spray effect rather than a flowing effect.

This is one of those situations where the more I think about it, the more confusing it gets... holes on tubing should be as good as a single outlet - as long as the pressure doesn't make force the water out too fast at the first few holes...

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Although this question is in the right Forum (IMO), I'm going to copy it to the plumbing forum - I think they probably understand the physics of water better than me and the more opinions we get, the better you'll be able to form a plan...

- Plumbing people - could you post your opinions in the Garden & Outdoors Group - Ponds Forum - so we can keep everything in one spot... Thanks

Howie

[leonlesmann]

if when you say a water wall you really want a weeping wall, this would give the effect of a wall that is always wet, i have seen this done with several mediums. you can get expensive pre fab walls or make one yourself with tiles. the easiest way to get the effect is to get the smallest tubing you can, probably 1/4" would be best, next drill holes that are slightly larger than the tubing and slide the tubing into the hole so that it is snug and the water will go on front of the wall and not leak behind it. all of these tubes can be connected together with T-connectors and fed to a pump at the bottom of the wall where you will need to build a small reservoir to hold the water. this can be built from wood with a rubber liner or welded from steel. hope this helps,

have fun

leonlesmann

[eyal8r]

Tatezig-
I have been working on a water wall for a while now. Just a small free standing project with the water running down stainless steel. Tried many things- except one. tried building a resevoir up top for the water to flow out of- yeah right. Getting the flow contrasted with the wall sitting PERFECTLY level just wasn't working on a small project like this. I believe it works on a large scale, but not on a 2' wide x 6' tall wall. Then I cut notches in the lip hoping it would flow evenly- not a chance.
My local McDonald's has a glass wall- a little bit larger, but I can peak up there enough to check it out. They use the exact same method as mentioned here- black garden hose tubing, with smaller tubes running out of that larger one. The tips of the smaller tubes are sliced at a sharp angle and sit flush against the wall itself. This allows the water to spread out against the wall.

My grandmother has a wall mounted wall out of copper and rock. They use a copper tube with holes drilled in it. It sprays out the holes onto the wall, but the top of the wall is 'bent' at a 45 degree angle, and then runs down flat. Does that make sense?

Shoot me an email or reply and let's chat about what works and what doesn't. I gotta figure this small project out so i can move on to a larger one. Thanks bud
D

[thardin554]

I would like to build a water wall but am sure about how they actually work. What I would like to know is how water is delivered to the face of the feature. A gereral idea of what materials are used to build the face also.

Thanks

We built a wall of water for a client with very good results using a 1 3/4 HP shallow well pump to deliver the water to a 1" copper pipe, about 20' vertically above the pump, 5' long, drilled with 1/8" holes spaced 1" apart. The ironic thing was that the water flowed better from the holes at the opposite end of the pipe from where the supply was delivered. You would think the flow would be greatest at the end where the water was delivered, but that's just not the case. Next time, I wouldn't pressurize the water coming into the overhead pipe, or source of the fall. I'm going to experiment with a 1" copper pipe, cut open horizontally to allow the water to simply spill/flow over the edge of the cut with the rest of the interior volume of the pipe acting as a reservoir.

[pool_guru]

What size of water wall are you planning to put up? There a few factors you need to consider. Height of wall, width of wall, depth of catch basin ( this holds the water feeding the pump, amount of GPM (gallons per minute) you want coming down the wall. All the calculations will help you determine the size of pump and plumbing you will need…

[jdpond]

The best source I have found to build your own pond & waterfalls is http://www.aquascapedesigns.com and http://www.earthinspiredproducts.com

They have pond kits that are easy to build in any size. They even have pondless fountains with waterfalls and streams. Run completely clear water because the systems create a perfect ecosystem almost maintenance free.
I used them myself...Awesome experience...Want to build another one...

They give you the kit, components, step by step instructions, etc....they even have a video to show you...Your kids could do it...My son even helped...
Built mine in 2 days!...I built a double pond, w/ stream and 5 ft waterfall...looks like right out of mountains, water crystal clear always and bottom pebbles like nature...everything they said...

[rhreck]

With regard to drilling a row of holes in tubing, the pressure / water flow will decrease over the length of the tubing. Therefore, a circular loop should be fabricated to avoid this.

[lndavidson]

I would like to build an indoor water wall in my entry way. What type of materials will I need. I see them being sold for thousands of dollars...I feel like there should be an easier, chaper way for me to do it myself. Any thoughts??

[Linda Tittering]

Can an outdoor water wall be placed at the side of a swimming pool and water be pumped up to the top from the pump house?? Would it be wrong to use the pool water??I just might be able to combine much of the performance of building a tank and disguising it with rocks etc, by just using the pool......Has anyone done something similar?

[Linda Tittering]

[QUOTE=Linda Tittering]Can an outdoor water wall be placed at the side of a swimming pool and water be pumped up to the top from the pump house?? Would it be wrong to use the pool water??I just might be able to combine much of the performance of building a tank and disguising it with rocks etc, by just using the pool......Has anyone done something similar? I want to have a water wall behind our pool to block having to view an unsightly house below us......it would be approx 8'highby 15' wide and the space available is pretty tight.

[AutogenousLime]

Building a water wall will require you to build a wall roughly 9 inches thick.

You will also need a spiller which can be manufactured by a sheet metal shop out of stainless though there is several manufacturers of this product.

There is waterblade.com.au though that is a waterfall product rather than an adhesive water wall and they are plastic."not that that should be a problem"

nope not there, ok, here > http://www.creativefountains.com.au/...waterfalls.htm

The spiller is a 150mm square length of stainless "tube?" to desired length with a 6mm groove and lip hanging out where the water spills from.

Inside there is a baffle to prevent uneven spillage and pressure problems mentioned above.

The back of the wall is chased out to fit the spiller and the front of the wall fitted with tiles or the desired product adhered to the wall.

You will also need to run the pipe up the back of the wall and if you wish enter at two points to help distribution

Best use a separate pump to the filter and place a stop **** between to achieve the desired pressure.

The spiller should be tested for level which is critical to effective flow.

If the water seems to spill in different spots give it a rub with the finger to smooth out uneven viscosity.

I wont say anymore or you wont enjoy the challenge.

Kind regards,
Oz mason

[truepl18]

i need help finding out how to build a wall mounted waterfall from the type of wall and the materials to make it the cheapest way please help

[gbarron1]

I am interested in building a "wall waterfall" and wondering about materials. I understand the working part of the fountain - i.e. the pump and tubing but I'm wondering about a frame. I understand copper works well, but I've never worked with it before. What gauge would I need? Any suggestions on tools needed for bending and joining copper. Wood would seem to be easier but I wonder about sealing it to make it waterproof. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciate.

Thanks

[wlmay]

has anyone made a waterwall using tempered glass panels where the water spills between the glass, how did you attach the glass? i want to be able to see through the waterwall. it will be about 6' X 5' in size. i would really appreciate anyones advice step by step on how to make one

[waterfaller]

I also have been wondering how to make a water wall, and was driven to this site after a contractor charged my client 18k to design/ build one in their restaurant. So far, i'm thinking this is more like a 3k project, including custom water trough and labor. I bought 1/2" copper pipe and will drill 3/32" holes in it every 1". I have connected tubing to that and capped off the other end. I will connect the other end of the tube to a Danner Mag-Drive 5, fountain pump. I am told this will deliver 80 gph at 10 feet in height. The flow can be regulated with a simple ball valve, and this shouldn't hurt the pump too much, I am told. I believe simply drilling holes in the pipe and letting them hit the slate wall will be sufficient to produce an even flow. I don't think you need to put little tubes inside the the holes, as was mentioned earlier.

I will let you know how it goes.

NEXT DAY:

It works like a charm.

[leeps]

Hey there,

looking at building a waterwall insdei my basement for a bar background.

Does anyone know/have heard of any issues with humidity? I'm thinking its a lot of water to have indoors...

please advise

thanks..

[Pilot Dane]

You could only turn it on when you are in the basement to minimize evaporation (high humidity).

Whatever you build I think splashing will be your first big problem.

[leeps]

splashin is a concern.... but im not planing on having it taht large... probably 4 feet across adn 5 feet high... if teh water flow isnt that powerfull i dont anticpiate splashing at the bottom... also i am planning a lip or overhang at teh bottom to cover tha occasional stray drops!! =)

[retrac]

I also have been hired to do a water wall. Always nice being paid for something you have never done before. The issue with mine is that it is almost 5 meters wide and 3 1/2 meters high! Fun - Fun - I will also use a pipe with holes drilled to get the water to the wall. Having an upper resevoir with water spilling out is just too much to even think about.

I tried to space out the holes every 1/2" but it took way too much water presure to make the water delivery to the wall uniform. I am going back to a 1" space between holes. I also have put the whole thing on a circut - Feeding the water thru a t-junction from behind (the wall) with pipes going right and left and then wrapping around to the tube in front of the wall. This seems to stop the problem of having a heavier flow at one end or the other.

I should be finished in a week or so and will post news of the finished project.

Tommy

[hosta lover]

Tommy --

One reason you couldn't get an even flow is due to the pressure. You need to have larger holes further away from the source and smaller holes closer.

Give that a try and see if you can do it easier next time.

B - the Hosta Lover

[maryngary]

We saw a huge water wall at a garden show that was 30 ft high and 60 feet wide that was a screen with water pouring down it.
I am going to use a concrete basin at the bottom between two grape trellises (2 foot space between 8 foot 4x4's) and use 1/2 " pvc up thru a reducer into a 1+1/2 pvc elbow to 1+1/2 pipe with a cap on the end... top part will be 2 foot wide. Aluminum screen kit at menards for my water wall. We are going to cut a slot across the edge of the 1+1/2 pipe so the water will simply over flow. Capped end will have an adjustment to raise and lower to center the overflow of water.

All of the top will be in a 2x8" sandwich to hide the works...
To get the water onto the screen rather than just drip down will be the key...
Do you think I can bend the top part of the screen to catch the water?

[thiirane]

Hello Do it yourselfer's

We recently purchased a home. The backyard has an 8 foot retaining wall that forms a houseshoe shape near a deck. The rock retaining wall contains large boulders roughly 3-4 feet across. It helps support a steep sloping yard. The rocks are beautiful.

I keep thinking how nice it would be to figure out how to convert the rock wall into a pondless water feature. I think I would love the sound and the visual beauty of the waterfeature. I have consulted a local landscape designer. He told me that the boulders would have to be removed and a rubber liner installed and the boulders replaced. This is very expensive.

It would seem that it would be possible to "Grout" the boulders with mortar. Has anyone successfully done this? I have been told that after a winter or two, cracks would form and leaks would result. Is there anyone that has experience with converting a retaining wall into a waterfall?

I appreciate your experience..

Russ

[greeneyed_doll]

I would like to build an indoor water wall in my entry way. What type of materials will I need. I see them being sold for thousands of dollars...I feel like there should be an easier, chaper way for me to do it myself. Any thoughts??

I have been looking at links. I know about the advertisements you get and all the hits for people selling them. They are pricey!! We just finished contracting our first home and we need a wall fountain for a large niche behind our master bath spa. We WILL do this....lol... just have to finish the trompe' l'oeil 14' dome we put in and the sky and broken plaster look. whew. I don't know a lot about fountain building, but I know it can be done. I do know that you might use the term "wet wall" "waterfall" or "water wall" when searching for hits. The fountain word seems to bring up more sellers.
I will post some pics of what we do when we get there. Got to do the dome first. Now if you want an idea for how to put in a very inexpensive dome in a new construction... I have a great CHEAP way to do it. Our 14' dome cost.. hmm let's see...$5.00. lol. Anyway on to the links I have so far.


http://www.48hourwaterfall.com/?gclid=CI2LnqH7no0CFQZiOAodYTAo6g

http://www.buildafountain.com/

http://www.customhomeonline.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=207&articleID=197173

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/gr_water_gardening/article/0,2029,DIY_13861_2704877,00.html (good one)

http://www.creativewaterscapes.com/category.php?categoryKey=53&categoryName=Waterfall%20Construction

This guy sells kits, but I enjoyed the pics as they give me some ideas about what I might do with tiles. http://www.maverickfountains.com/fountain_kit0201.html


YOU just have to see this guys backyard. OMG
http://www.ericnewman.com/backyard.htm

And anyone wanting to contract their own pool should see what this guy did. This is not in my budget even for being your own contractor. Nice job though.

http://www.howibuiltmyownpool.com/modules.php?name=Construction&phase=finished-product

[filtarbmw]

I found this site looking for idea's on how to build a water wall and all i got was more questions.So I have a concrete block wall that is ugly, after building a 2 x6 shell I ordered a swimming pool waterfall spillway from invision it was 3 ft wide x 6" x6" it has a 2" pvc connection in the center, bottom feed . when i got the spillway I boxed it in ,then I left a space of 1" to completly surround it with grout (spilway cost $375) it provides a solid 3 ft wide sheet of water. I bought a 3200 gpm fountain pump that uses 500VA or watts (it was $375 ) .then 1/2"plywood everything with 1/4" backerboard on top of that ,then I used thinset and slate to cover every part of the wall and fall. With a tee on the pump I can adjust it for the waterfall to fall 4 ft ,manufacture specs no more than a 3 ft or water goes everywhare, or just wet the slate. thanx greg

[cmh6473]

I've read the post of some of you trying to get a wall mounted waterfall to work right. From what I've seen wouldn't it be easier to get the desired effect by having a piece of ABS pipe sitting on top of the wall or glass with a 1/4" to 1/2" slit cut out of the entire length of the pipe, maybe with some v-notches cut out at about 1" apart. Then feed the ABS pipe with a supply line. You would probably want the ABS to slowly drain over the wall and to get the desired effect you would need to have the ABS about and inch or so behind and above the wall. There would have to be a transition piece between the ABS and the wall at an angle to give it the gentle cascading effect. You can regulate the pressure and amount of water by putting in a bypass valve at the bottom reservoir.

[strykr1a0]

Verticle Waterwall - the water flows down the rock

on the sides, there is a 2 inch high wall that is suppose to keep the water inside the fall

however, the water still flows outside the fall
hopefully, this picture makes my explanation a little clearer



Any one have a solution to stop the water from flowing out?

- I have already tried smoothing the rock, but that doesn't work very well

***uploaded this video to help illustrate the problem***
YouTube - VID00004

[H2OWaterWalls]

This is what I do for a living & please note that when you try to do a half-assed job trying to build your own waterwall feature ... your looking for a big mess and big trouble.

It sounds like an easy thing to build, that's what I first thought as well. NOT!

Stay away from spray nozzles! Use a Spill-over and ALLWAYS use stainless steel for your support structure/frame and NEVER use cheep plastic or wood anywhere near your waterwall.

***mod: removed advertising link ***





Good luck!

[rainfalldesigns]

I have been working with water wall water features for a few years now. It isn't easy to get a uniform flow unless you know all the tricks. Most people think it's just about drilling some holes in PVC and connecting a pump and maybe doing a loop so the pressure is equalized. Still, you will find most of the water coming out of the center of the pipe. There are some simple detailed plans on the net that will help you get it right the first time.

[pdxonthego]

built a few waterfalls the one recent was slate wall 8 feet wide by 10' high.
first channel drain leaked. then the supply wicked back so did each un even slate.
what did not work
do not seal tile
do not use 2 one inch pvc supplys with 1/2" nipples each 6 inches
do not try 2" pvc with a long slit and a flat pvc plastic strip
do not try to flow to much water.
do not make the bottom gutter to small. do not have only one return (like a gutter turning a corner. have 2)
trying to fix it but always always test test test after its done hard to change... john

[slenzen1]

I want to build an indoor waterwall on glass or a bubble wall using the twin wall polycarbonite? I assume that is what the bubble wall companies use. Or is it some specialized twin wall acrylic? anyone have more info on that?

[Pilot Dane]

The bubble walls I've seen have a much larger passage than 1/4" thick double wall acrylic panels. Maybe a thicker panel would have passages large enough. The walls I've seen appeared to be made by cutting acrylic or polycarbonate into 1" wide strips and gluing them between two layers of sheeting creating passages about 1" square.

[DIY_DEAN]

I have a water wall but my problem is that i am getting alot of mist coming off my glass and want to know how i can get rid of this.

It is a 3m x 2m glass panel with 25mm pipe and 2mm holes every 50mm

please im on Plan F any assitance would be appreciated

[Pilot Dane]

You can try to reduce the water flow so it's surface tension keeps it attached to the wall. Unfortunately this creates less visual effect and sound since basically you are slowing the water so if flows peacefully and smoothly down the wall which can be rather boring.