Thursday, July 12, 2012

Backyard Pond with a Waterfall


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The backyard pond and waterfall is FINISHED!  I think.  I never know what else my husband will come up with.  As seen in the first picture below, the pond before was basically grade level with a small waterfall.  We put it in last year using a small piece of liner cloth.  Tim decided that he wanted a bigger waterfall and extra seating area around it.
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We didn’t have a lot of money to invest in this so we tried to reuse as much as possible.  I suggested that he make it out of concrete because the larger pond liners and fabric can get quite expensive.  It also helped that he had extra bags of concrete left over from another job.  He started by building a level footing for the cinder blocks.  The cinder blocks will give us the extra height not only for the pond and waterfall but also the seating.  He hand troweled the cement in the bottom of the pond but that didn’t quite work the way he wanted so he built another form to pour the sides of the pond.  He made the right end of the pond deeper for the pump to go in.  After the concrete was dry, it was painted and sealed with an epoxy concrete paint.
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As you can see in the above picture, his idea worked out really good.  We now have additional seating.  The cinderblocks were covered with slate tile and topped with flagstone.  The slate mimics the bar in the outdoor kitchen to the right of this area.  It was my job to arrange all the stone and I made sure that it covered the cinder blocks and the edge of the concrete pond trying to make it look as natural as possible.
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It was more difficult to build the waterfall.  We probably tore it down about 4 or 5 times before we got it right.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of this step but I’ll try to explain what he did. Okay, we didn’t buy anymore rocks or flagstone but we did buy a load of sand that was used to fill in around the pond and mound up in the back.  He submerged a really large bucket, almost the size of a barrel, in the sand up at the very top.  There is a hose that runs from the pump in the pond to this bucket.  This fills the bucket up and causes it to over flow down the rocks.  Originally, he used the old liner fabric for the waterfall but it kept leaking so he tore it back down and used concrete for this part also.  We arranged and rearranged and REARRANGED the rocks and flagstone until we got the right look and sound that we wanted.  The noise level depends a lot on the positioning of the rocks and how far the water falls.

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See my concrete bird?  I got him from a yard sale a couple of weeks ago for $5! I’m thinking about painting it to look more realistic.  What do you think? Should I paint or just leave it alone?
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We added in a few plants including some Aztec Grass from Home Depot.  Due to the extreme heat of the summer, the plants are not looking as well as what they should.
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Hunter put this piece of telephone pole in.  Tim plans on getting some type of rope and wrapping it around the pole.  He wants a pelican to sit on it but it hasn’t found one that works.
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Of course, he added in a few tiki torches!  He loves these things.  We probably have about 25 of them!  We purchased them from Home Depot.
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I also arranged the flagstones up top to cover the top of the bucket.  I wanted it to look as natural as possible.  We are really enjoying our new pond and especially the waterfall.  I love the sound of the water!  It is so relaxing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing with:
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Home Sweet Home Friday @ The Charm of Home
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Tuesdays Treasures @ Myuncommon Slice of Suburbia  
Tuesday  Your Cozy Home Party @ Cozy Home Scenes     
Cowgirl Up Party @ The Farmhouse Porch    
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm Cottage 
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here 
Home & Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life   
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage
Thrifty Things Thursday @ The Thrifty Grove    
Thrifty Thursday @ Tales From Bloggeritaville 
Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch To Yours

21 comments:

  1. I love your waterfall!!! It is just lovely!!! It must sound wonderful too, love that sound too! It is so relaxing! You two did a fabulous job!!!

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  2. Your waterfall is amazing and your yard is such an oasis! I would absolutely love to relax in this space. Fantastic job.

    Thanks for dropping by my FB page and "liking" me ; ) I really appreciate it!

    Have a great evening.

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  3. Wow! I know it was a lot of work but I really love that you did it yourself. You guys did such a wonderful job and should be proud of it. It is beautiful! A tropical oasis for sure!

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  4. LOVE your pond and waterfall!!! You did an awesome job. You are right about the sound...love it!

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  5. I would drove one of these in our backyard oh and the pool!;) Thanx for sharing at THT!

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  6. That´s a Lovley waterfall.....nice photos,,,,,
    and do not miss.

    S
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    it is FUN :)
    WELCOME
    HÃ¥kan ( The Roseman)

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  7. Beautiful job, Tammy! I know how much work it is building a pond like that...but so worth the effort. There's nothing better than hearing that trickling water on a hot summer day. :)

    xoxo laurie

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  8. This looks great! (And my opinion is to not paint the bird.)

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  9. What a fantastic remake of your small pond. It looks like a project done by professionals on HGTV.

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  10. LOVE IT!!! The waterfall and the yard sale heron!!!

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  11. Wow... a dream backyard.

    No paint to heron, thanks §;-)

    My second time joining in Met Monday.

    Happy mid-week-
    /CC from Stockholm

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  12. Wow, you and your sweet husband make quite the team. Great job on the pool and the waterfall. We just put in a pool this year (nope we did not do it ourselves) and all we have as far as a waterfall is a pipe sticking out of the ground. Maybe your pictures will get us motivated to find some rocks! Love that heron you bought. I'm gonna come to Louisiana and visit some yard sales. We don't have good stuff like that here in Alabama. And no paint on him, he's perfect as is. Thanks for the lovely pics!

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  13. Your waterfall makeover is really beautiful. It looks like a lovely spot to relax and enjoy the trickle of water in the background. You and your husband did a great job! I'm visiting from A Delightsome Life.

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  14. I love your waterfall! It is really beautiful! And of course the sound of the water is relaxing. I hope to have a waterfall one day soon. I will keep in mind your tips. Thank you for sharing!

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  15. Looks fantastic and my opinion would be DON'T paint it!

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  16. This looks so beautiful! Just found you and now following GFC. Would love it if you would link up to my linky party.
    www.onemoretimeevents.blogspot.com

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  17. That is so beautiful ...I can't even imagine how wonderful and relaxing it must sound and feel to be there :)

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  18. Wow Tammy! That turned out beautiful! What a wonderful job you did. Congrats on finishing this beautiful pond! Thank you for sharing at TTF this week. I hope you have a fantastic week!

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  19. My husband and I have been talking waterfall and swimming pool lately. It sure won't happen this year, but your backyard area is just the type that I have envisioned. Do you happen to have a fire pit? Cause if you do, I would just move in with you. :)
    And imo, leave it concrete.

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  20. Awesome waterfall. My wife and I have been debating on installing a waterfall in Salt Lake City. I think this would not only make our back yard resplendent, but it would fit with our triangular shaped yard. After the motivated work maybe we will even celebrate with some jr. bacon cheeseburgers.

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Thank you so much for all your lovely comments! I try to return the favor and visit each one of you! ~Blessings, Tammy~