Waterfalls
Nature still makes the best waterfalls.
There is something almost magical about a waterfall. It is peaceful and tranquil, yet it exudes a strength that is surprisingly invigorating. Moving water seems to take on a life of its own. It talks to you, gets inside you. It silences you, forces you to get deep within your own thoughts. It cleanses the soul, clears your mind, helps you focus.
Now that's a waterfall!
In pioneer days, it was easier to build a home along a creek, stream or river. Moving water was at your doorstep. But nowadays, finding such an idyllic setting is rare. So you have to bring the water to you.
The idea for our waterfall hatched in 1996, shortly after we bought our house in Swainton along with the adjoining vacant lot. Since we were busy with our careers, this project was given a timeframe of seven years. No hurry, it would just be constructed in my spare time.
Wow, that's inspiring!
Each year we tossed our fallen leaves and tree limbs into the pile, then covered them with dirt. At first, a wheelbarrow was sufficient. As the pile grew after a few years, we had a backhoe come in yearly and push dirt onto the still fairly small mound.
Our New Holland skid steer loader, the most useful equipment we bought for helping build the waterfall. It also has a backhoe attachment.
As we progressed, we purchased a used dump truck because it was now taking a lot of dirt to cover the hill each year. You notice, I’ve gone from calling it a “pile” to a “mound” to a “hill”. It was taking on its own life. Soon it was too big for a backhoe to cover and we had to go to a front-end loader.
With rebar in place, the footing for the waterfall was ready for concrete. It took 41 yards of concrete, or four truckloads.
In 2005, we finally had enough dirt. We had now carted in 400 tons of fill dirt, allowing it too settle each year before adding more. It was time to begin construction of the waterfall.
Building the 14-foot high retaining wall of concrete block.
We began by digging back about 75 tons of the dirt so that we could pour a footing as close as possible to the maximum height of the hill, which was now 14 feet. Then we layed in rebar and poured a 2-foot thick pad which consumed 41 yards of concrete.
The retaining wall is almost up.
A concrete block wall was next, and it spanned 64-feet across at the 14-foot height. The 75 tons of dirt was put back on the hill by an excavator, the only piece of equipment we could find that had the required reach. Then we added 9 cross walls for support, then a 4-foot wall parallel to the first wall.
Stairway to heaven.
There was also a block staircase to the top of the hill. In all we used 1,450 concrete blocks. For added support, we laid forms and poured 4-foot high wall of solid concrete 16-inches thick against the first wall.
The concrete pumper truck awaits an early morning load of concrete.
We moved the forms up and added another four feet of concrete, making it a 8-foot high wall. With all that dirt pushing against the wall, plus the anticipated load of the catch pond at the top of the hill, we wanted to make sure we had the necessary strength.
Filling concrete behind the plywood forms for additional strength.
Now it was time to begin forming the actual walls, which would be carved and crafted to look so much like real rock that you can’t tell the difference. We acquired two water pumps, each capable of 155 gallons per minute. So that’s about five gallons per second of water going over the falls. We hoped that would be a sufficient flow to get the desired effect.
The retaining wall, concrete support wall, cross walls, a knee wall, and rebar in place.
The next step got underway with Dan and Kym shaping the waterfall by bending rebar to form the pools, walls, and waterway. That took about 10 days and used 10,540 feet of 5/8” rebar - about 2 miles! Then all the rebar was covered in lathe as we filled behind with dirt to minimize overspray and air pockets.
Midway through shooting the structure layer of concrete onto the rebar and metal lathe. The lower pool is in the foreground .
We rented a shotcrete pump, compressor, and tube-and-clamp scaffolding for the next step. The first layer of concrete was shot about 4-5 inches thick over the entire structure. We did loads of 5 yards (a yard is roughly 3780 pounds) twice a day. Pushing concrete through a shotcrete pump and 2-inch hose is a slow process, so we had to limit our concrete in each load so that the concrete didn’t harden on us before completing each session. In about two weeks, the first layer was done.
The trees were wrapped to protect them from overspraying.
Next we waterproofed the concrete in the two pools and over the watercourse. Now for the first preview of our waterfall – a test run. The bottom pool (2,000 gallons) and top pool (600 gallons) were filled with water and we flipped on the pumps. It was a beautiful sight and the moment we’d been aiming towards for eight years.
The upper half of the waterfall is almost complete. The lower pool, in the foreground, is also taking shape.
The one thing I wasn’t satisfied with was the water flow. It was okay, but it didn’t “rush”. I quickly ordered another pump and it arrived five days later. The new pump and piping was set in place. Now we would have over seven gallons per second from the three pumps.
After a first coat of concrete was applied to the rebar and lathe on the lower half of the waterfall, we erected scaffold to make it easier to work on the upper half.
While waiting for the third pump, the pools were emptied and the final layer of shotcrete was begun. We had to drop to three yards per truckload so that Kym, Dan, and Paul would have plenty of time to carve the concrete while it was still workable. The rule of thumb with concrete is “90-90” – you have 90 minutes or until it reaches 90 degrees, whichever comes first. As the carving became more intricate, we had to limit ourselves to two yards per truckload, two loads per day. It took about a month to complete this step. From start to finish, we used 400 tons of concrete to build the waterfall.
With the undercoat of shotcrete finished, we filled the pools with water and did a test run.
Painting the concrete was next. It took about two weeks layering a dozen colors, then painting on moss and lichens for authenticity. Exactly three months after beginning the concrete stage, it was complete.
Douglas running the shotcrete pump as the concrete truck slowly dumps its load into the hopper.
Two things still needed to be done to finish the project – the pumphouse and the pavers for the patios. The pumphouse was originally intended to be made from concrete to look like stone, but by adding the third pump the pumphouse was now too big. The roof had to lift up in case any pumps needed to be replaced in the future, and a concrete roof would be too heavy. That spawned the idea to make the pumphouse out of cedar to look like an old mine entrance. A few days later that was complete.
Kym, Dan, and Paul spraying on the shotcrete and carving it to look like real rock.
The patios required 1,400 feet square feet of pavers for the bottom patio and 300 for the top. So as not to clash with the painted colors of the waterfall, we chose five earth tone colors in both 6” X 6” and 6” X 9” sizes. Two weeks later, the patios were complete and the project was done.
A wide range view of the waterfall.
By now the pools had once again been filled with water. We set out recycled plastic benches and turned on the pumps. Eureka! A success! The waterfall was magnificent and the sound was awe inspiring. Two weeks later we hosted our annual summer party and 300 folks got to enjoy the fruits of our labors.
Finally, the waterfall is finished three months after beginning the concrete portion of the project. |
Water flows into the bottom pool. |
Dappled sunlight bathes the lower pool and flower garden. |
Our pumphouse, made to look like a miniature mine entrance. |
Water flows out of the upper pool over the falls. |
The upper patio is a great place to relax as birds sing out perched on eye-level tree branches. |
The stairs to the top pool and patio almost seem carved from rock. |
A nice display of splashing water. |
If you would like to view our waterfall, or talk about the possibility of us building you a custom waterfall designed to fit your designated space and pocketbook, call Douglas at 609-780-7129 or email us through Contact Us page on this website. With proper notice, we can build you a waterfall anywhere in the United States.
