Water Features

An architectural fountain with varied outlets and basins.

The copper bowl was custom made for this project by the Tinman in Seattle. Its a complete quarter sphere, four feet in diameter across the back.

An elevated side view, note the recessed pump station in the bed.

This fountains complexity came from the varied outlet sizes and basins. Note the lowest basin is nearly the smallest.

A zoom in on the copper bowl.

The copper tubing in the outflows created a nice finishing element.

The blank palette prior to construction.

Construction begins.

The basin begins to take shape, as well as the pump station. Note the large boulder behind the cinder block designed to protrude into the pond.

The completed pump station. A 1/2 Hp pump delivering approximately 90 GPM, over 12 lineal feet of weir edge.

Liner and underlayment being installed along with the sub-grade hydromechanical.

The basin is prepared for the concrete pour which will be the floor and the base to begin construction of the 'wall'.

The view of the basin after the concrete pour.

A view of the edge detail. Note the level conrol box in the far wall.

A photo showing preliminary construction of the wall and the lower delivery outlets being installed. The delivery outlets created weirs inside the wall, six linear feet installed at a lower level and six more installed ~3 feet higher.

A view showing a lower outlet embedded in concrete in the wall and the upper level of delivery outlets being installed.

After the wall was completed the concrete surfaces were sealed. In this case the client selected a black finish.

All that remained was to fill it up and turn it on. One of the design precepts here was to disguise where the water was coming from.

We were also trying to create an effect which was captivating but not overpowering. I think we were quite successful. The completion of the landscape will only further the effect.

This water feature wrapped around the front entry of this residence. The stone is Canadian Limestone at a flowrate of ~300GPM.

This water feature was a revamp of an existing water feature at the front entry of this nursery. We did the rebuilding of the weirs, upper ponds, irrigation and the lighting too. The stone is a standard Grindstone with a flowrate of ~550GPM combined.

This is the main weir which we outfitted to be a little higher with a more stair stepped effect.

This weir was a subsidiary weir that we made higher and built to be a freefall.

This water feature was built into the front yard directly below the main entry for a very dramatic effect.

This stone was again Canadian Limestone with a flowrate of ~300GPM. We installed the low voltage lighting for this project too.

A lateral view of the weir of this water feature, its drop was approximately 6ft.

A detail photo showing the upper basin on this project, better known as a zero bottom pond. The water is a mere 3-4 inches deep and it's hard to detect the inflow is nearly 300GPM.

A close up of the weir on this project. Considering this stone was only slightly undercut it gives a good feel for the velocity of flow.

This photo shows the upper reaches of the water feature as it wraps along the retention wall of the front patio. There is 8ft of fall on the stone wall that the waterfalls descend. The flowrates on these weirs vary from 50GPM to 750GPM.

A photo taken looking more left to capture one of the main weirs up top and to get a feel of the size of the upper pond. The stone used for construction was a blasted granite from Georgian Bay, Canada.

A more detailed shot of the central weir in the previous photo. This was unique in that we took about 150GPM from the main weir and wrapped it around the upright stone thus creating a fast running streambed.

The 8ft of lift for the upper area was accomplished by creating an engineered retention wall that the liner and subsequent stone was placed upon. We created approximately nine weirs along this upper retention.

A photo taken from the top of the wall and upper weirs. It's difficult to perceive there is ~800GPM flowing into this placid body of water.

Because the driveway snaked alongside the water feature from just after the main entry, a bridge was constructed to allow vehicular access across it.

A photo looking down on the bridge.

A close up photo of the weirs running under the bridge. The water recombined after the upper weirs at a point just above the bridge to create five subsequent weirs all flowing at ~1500GPM each.

A photo taken from above showing the lowest portion of the water feature. On the right you can see how the water feature travelled directly along the driveway.

Another of the lower weirs on this water feature, below the bridge. The average dimensions of the lower weirs were 8ft across, with 2-4ft of drop, and flowing at about 3-4 inches in depth.

A photo taken of the lower areas after the water feature and the surrounding turfgrass was installed. None of the plantings are in yet, they came the following Spring.

A little closer view of the lower pond area. This pond was supplied by two streams and weirs, operating at a combined flowrate of ~550GPM.

Another lateral view across the lower pond, this one was taken from on top of one of the subgrade pump stations. The stone is Canadian Limestone and this water feature operates year round.

A photo showing the left weir of the lower pond area. This weir is operating at approximately 300GPM and just prior to winter, has begun to form some ice around itself.

This photo shows the tallest weir on the project, approximately 8ft high and operating at ~300GPM.

This photo was taken from the upper reaches of this water feature, some 500 feet away from the weir that's pictured forming ice.

This project was difficult in that it was squeezed into an area between the jacuzzi and surrounding deck and the undeveloped area seen behind it. The client kept pushing the limit of the weir higher and it finished around 8ft high, running at ~300GPM.

A nine acre residence where we assisted in the layout of the water feature and were entirely responsible for the design and installation of the hydro-mechanical system for it. We designed and installed the irrigation system and security system conduiting as well.

A photo that captures what you see when you enter the main gate and are ushered up the driveway.

A photo that shows the same weir as the previous shot but from a different angle, looking across the main lower pond. This pond was fed from two weirs, this one and the next photo.

The lowest weir feeding into the main lower pond. This weir and the one above it created the waterfront buffer to the par 3 golf green in the frontyard.

The last weir below the golf green. This view is looking back towards the tee boxes and the subgrade pump station.

A photo showing one of the control weirs, under a stone bridge, in front of the golf green. These were installed at varying points along the water feature to regulate the flow of water in certain areas.

A photo looking out from the main driveway toward the East property line.

A photo from the main driveway looking back across the main lower pond to the subgrade pump house. We created it by stacking two precast concrete vaults to achieve the necessary depth for the main 15Hp pump.

A photo taken looking downstream towards the lower areas.

Another photo from the East side of the residence to the adjacent residing stream. This conveyance connected the water feature effects in the backyard to the water feature effects in frontyard.

The area directly behind the home that was constructed with a Japanese motif and contained the main weir. Note the tea house in the upper right corner.

The main weir behind the home, at approximately 8ft in height. The stone is Canadian Limestone and the flowrate is ~1100GPM.

Using the teahouse for orientation, we see the upper pond above the main weir.

This photo shows the highest pond and point of the water feature on the property. Note the calmness of the water, it's difficult to tell there is an inflow of ~1100GPM into this pond.

We refurbished this water feature after the owners purchased the house and found it had not run for some time. All the stone was fieldstone found on the property during the homes construction.

We repaired liner problems and rebuilt every weir, then we increased the flowrate with another old pump that had been left on site. The flowrate is ~350GPM.

A detail photo showing a close up of one of the weirs that was completely gutted and rebuilt.

We let this water feature run extra long one year, into the winter, to the delight of the owners. We ended up with some beautiful photos after the first snowfall.

One of the most unique things about this water feature was that it was over 300 feet long and pulled its water from a lake behind the residence, hence there was no need for a lower pond.

10th and Taylor Condominiums, Fairhaven, WA

An architectural fountain with varied outlets and basins.