Yard Fountain II - Putting One Together

[Jim Becker]

David's thread showing his great yard fountain as well as Phil's example in the same thread reminded me that I hadn't put up the construction sequence I promissed in last week's "Weekend Accomplishments" thread. So here goes...

Dr SWMBO and I had been planning on turning the old dug well in the front of our house for several years and actually bought a pond kit well over a year ago. But alas...we procrastinated; until last weekend. The job actually turned out to be fairly easy, so if you have been thinking about doing this, have at it! As you can see from David's, Phil's and this version, you can do a lot of different things to make a water feature fit into your particular property. Big, small, in the ground or in a container, a water feature can add some great asthetics to your yard.

So here goes...

Pics:

1) The first picture was taken in November 1999 right after we settled on the property. That's my dad clowning around on the wooden cover that the previous owner had put on the old well. This thing actually provided water to the property for many years until a deep well was drilled at the rear of the house.

2) This photo shows Dr. SWMBO and I building up the inside of the old well to make it suitable for the pond we had planned. After putting about four buckets of sticky old soil in the bottom of the three-foot deep hole (the well had been largely filled in long ago) we concentrated on shaping the bottom and building up the wall that would bisect the space and provide a shallow area for birds to bath, etc. We have tons and tons of native limestone on the property and used it for this purpose as it matched the well and the house. (The stone portion of the house is over 250 years old)

3) After building the interior wall, we added some more soil to insure gentle curves as the pond transitioned from the deep area up the walls that formed the new interior contour of the well.

4) LOML continued to pack in the sticky soil in preparation of the next step...

5) ...laying in old rugs to provide a protective layer under the pond liner so that any sharp edges of the stone would not damage it.

Continued in next post...

[Jim Becker]

6) Next, the liner is put in place and worked around to get the best fit. This set also requires a bit of manipulation to carefully make folds to better accomodate the contour of the pond. The deep end of this on is about 30".

7) After placing a few temporary stones to insure that the liner stays in place, the pond was filled and adjustments to the "folds" made as necessary to at least try and make it look neat. This is about 150 gallons of water.

8) Next, larger stones are arranged around the rim to hold the liner "permanently" and the pump/fountain is checked out and adjusted. That took a bit of time and resulted in some "cold arms" since that water came from about 260' down in the earth!

9) The liner is trimmed and the divider wall was finished up after putting an extra layer of scrap liner on top of the interior wall to protect the liner. (Small river stones were installed the next day to make the smaller area shallow and provide a good environment for our feathered friends to bath and enjoy their water-sports) The fountain faced further adjustment until Dr. SWMBO deemed it "just right".

10) Final Inspection was performed and passed...:p

All told, this took about 4 hours to complete and we are very pleased with the results. The pond and fountain are already attracting lots of birds. The gentle sound from the water falling helps to soften the noise from the road and it should look even nicer when the water lilies appear in the deep end.

[Tony Falotico]

Looking Good Jim, projects like this are very rewarding. It'll bring lots of enjoyment for many years to come.

Be careful on your upcoming drive from Florida home, the interstates (I live by I-75) were pretty crazy this afternoon and getting crazier this evening. If you run into rain, go easy, the roads get very slick when wet down here, especially when rutted by heavy truck traffic. Be safe my friend ....

Tony.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks, Tony. I don't know if we'll do the I-95 route or the I-75 route...I'll leave that up to Dad. From their house in Summerfield (Spruce Creek), they usually go up I-75 and catch I-81 into PA as that fits their "visitin'" better, but for where I live, I-95 is more direct, and he's coming here for a few days. I'm sure the drive will be "fun" just due to the holiday, but with the window installation scheduled on the 7th and 8th, I really didn't have a choice on the date...he needs to take posession of the cabin on the 10th. I'll probably be on conference calls the whole way, anyway! Such is life.

[David Klink]

That looks great Jim. I used a rigid pond liner in ours, but the procedure was pretty similiar. Good post on it, too.

You're in Bucks Cty.? We used to be cross-river neighbors then. I lived in Mercer across the Delaware for years. My one nephew grew up in Upper Black Eddy.

[Jim Becker]

You're in Bucks Cty.? We used to be cross-river neighbors then. I lived in Mercer across the Delaware for years. My one nephew grew up in Upper Black Eddy.
Buckingham w/ a New Hope mailing address. Great area to live...still have trees!

[Jim Becker]

Here's picture of the finished product with the stone in the shallow area to provide the birds with a safe bathing area. Once the plants grow and appear, this should really look great. It's already attracted at least one new bird species we have not logged on the property before today; pictured last. This cowbird undoubtedly has been around, but until the pond was in place, we never saw it.

Definitely a rewarding landscape project!

[Rich Konopka]

Here's picture of the finished product with the stone in the shallow area to provide the birds with a safe bathing area. Once the plants grow and appear, this should really look great. It's already attracted at least one new bird species we have not logged on the property before today; pictured last. This cowbird undoubtedly has been around, but until the pond was in place, we never saw it.

Definitely a rewarding landscape project!
Is there a birder lurking there?

[Jack Wood]

Is that a Jersey or holstein?:D

[Jack Wood]

And that is a very nice fountain. I have a back yard pond that attracts lots of birds and insects and the sound of running water is very relaxing, enjoy it.:)

[Jim Becker]

Is there a birder lurking there?
Dr SWMBO and I are both "bird people"...she since grad school in Boston and I since hooking up with her about 7 years ago. There are pics of our "indoor birds" on my site in the About Me section.

[Phil Phelps]

Becker, you dawg. I see a red monster in those photos! Amish, you aint :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Becker, you dawg. I see a red monster in those photos! Omish, you aint :D

That's not red Phil.....That's Kabota Orange!!!!! It looks red, but it's Kabota Orange. :D

[Jim Becker]

Becker, you dawg. I see a red monster in those photos! Amish, you aint
Amish I ain't...indeed. And as Dennis points out, that's very orange. One of the best investements we made for work on the property from mowing, to multching to digging. (Including a 100' trench with the backhoe to the shop for the powerlines..priorities!)

[Jim Becker]

'Just a quick update on the "old well" pond. Dr. SWMBO and I got some nice aquatic plants in this weekend as well as a few "test fish". The latter seem to be quite happy schooling about and checking out all the nooks and crannies. If these small "feeder fish" work out, we'll move up to some more interesting creatures.

I'm also happy to report that a number of birds, particularly the robins have been enjoying the shallow end for their baths on a regular basis.

[Mark Singer]

Jim,
it looks great and fountains add to our enviornment and tranquility. I have several around the home and enjoy them daily...really nice job!

[Jim Becker]

Mark, Dr SWMBO and I were talking today about trying to find a way to get one in the back of the house, too, where we can enjoy it sans the road noise...it really is relaxing to sit and watch the fish and listen to the soothing fountain.