Thursday, July 5, 2007
DIY: Patio Waterfall Feature — Copper Panels Coming Soon!
Related Entries: DIY
Part 1 Part 2 - The Panels Installed
The weather here in Seattle has been great this last week, in the mid 70’s, even 80’s — great weather to work on landscaping. I have a back patio that I needed to finish, I installed “cobblestone” pavers a couple weeks ago and it was time now to finish the waterfall feature. When my house was built, we had to put in a concrete retaining wall to hold up the back slope. From the start, I saw this wall as a great opportunity to design and build a contemporary waterfall feature. To this point, I have installed 3/4” schedule 40 pipe as a water return to the top reservoir, a channel drain to catch the water flowing down, a 1200GPH magnetic pond pump and now, I am waiting for the copper wall panels — more on that below.
The Pump
The hardest part about designing a waterfall feature is picking the right pump. In my case, I have to send water up 6’ to the top reservoir. This requires a stronger pump and if you are going to build a waterfall feature, you will need to find a pump that works for you. Depending on the effect you want, you could go slower or faster (less/more Gallons Per Hour) — I wanted a medium flow. So in order to achieve that, I went with a 1200GPH pump which is about half that when it pushes up 6’. I ended up using a Pondmaster Magnetic pump. The pump is installed in a remote/hidden location where I brought power and the plumbing to — and yes, it will be tied into the home automation system!
The Reservoir
The top reservoir holds the water that will spill over the edge. I poured a concrete wall and base then lined it with a black pond liner (available from Home Depot). This will retain the water with minimal loss.
The Channel Drain
I chose a channel drain that holds about 4 gallons. The channel drain will be covered with 1/2” - 1 1/2” black polished river rocks once the back copper panels are installed. The rocks will also add to the nice trickle sound effect when the water pours over them.
The Wall
I wanted to use copper since it is very low maintenance and I have used copper on other parts of my house — it would tie things together nicely. At first, I was thinking of using a couple sheets of copper and just attaching them to the wall. I did some research and found a company in Spokane, WA named Zappone and they have a copper paneling product that looked like it could work. I called up their sales department and Jerry, really helpful guy, told me all about their product. The price fit the bill and so I ordered a custom kit on Tuesday. I should have the panels here next week and once I get them installed photos will be posted. In the meantime, check out Zappones photo gallery — pretty cool stuff!
- Zappone
- PondMaster Pumps
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COMMENTS
Posted by steve lodefink at July 5, 2007 9:38 AM
Nice Mavro!
Can we get a video? I’d like to see some water motion.
Posted by Danny M. at July 5, 2007 10:06 AM
Good idea… I’ll post a video of the water motion once I get the copper panel installed.
Posted by Max at July 6, 2007 7:36 PM
Ever seen the movie “The Money Pit”?
Posted by Matt at August 8, 2007 8:31 PM
Won’t the copper turn an ugly blue after a short while?
Posted by Home Improvement at June 12, 2008 1:22 AM
I agree.. a video would be of great help. Hope that you could post videos on how to install it. Thanks!
—Stephen
Welcome to mavromatic! My goal is to bring to your attention the latest DIY projects, the greatest home automation and home theater products. As well as, the occasional offbeat entry, to spice things up a bit. 
