Waterfall Repair

I remember working on my Honda Trail 70 as a kid.  SAE tools did an awesome job of stripping all the bolts and nuts on my little metric bike.  Vice grips and a crescent wrench were my most popular tools.  I never got into duct tape much, but maybe we didn't have any.  My spare parts consisted of a box of junk nuts, bolts, and wire that my dad had collected since his childhood.  Don't get me wrong.  I was a lucky kid to have a bike, but I had the wrong tools for the job.  I think my habit of tool throwing started at about this time. 

This latest blog task had the same problem (without the tool throwing).  We were using the wrong parts and didn't even know it.  The story starts something like this:

Hey Honey, the pond is empty again.

"What??!!??!!??"

I'll fill it back up, no problem.

Luckily, I'd made a minor mod the first time it happened.  Rule #1 of fish ponds: put your pump intake high enough in the water that it can pump itself dry, and your fish are still in water.  Our pump is sitting on 2 big rocks about 10 inches from the bottom.  The fish were pretty unhappy when this happened the first time (I didn't know rule #1).  I look out the window most mornings, and I caught the development before all the water was gone.

We worked on the problem several times.  This time, I'm the cheap labor, and my wife is the brains.  When I say "we" worked on it, I just mainly picked up a few rocks, brought beer, and watched the kids.  We were stumped.  We'd make a change, have a nearly empty pond, make a change, have a nearly empty pond, and so on, and so on.  I finally threw in the towel late in the season and unhooked the pump.  They wouldn't have any biological filtration, but that's not a big problem during the winter.

Where do you find the expertise for a job like this?  The pond store of course.  Our local shop, Kentucky Garden and Fountain has been in the business for a long time, and we like them a lot.  They listened to the problem and had the answer in 2 minutes. 

"You guys need a waterfall box."

A what?

"Waterfall box.  It controlls the flow of the waterfall, so your water stays in the pond."

Trumpets sounded, the clouds parted, and we swiped our credit card to the tune of about $200.  We also picked up another liner for the waterfall in case it was leaking, too.  A trip to Lowe's got a a new hose for the pump, fittings for the new box, and a shutoff valve.

Waterfall Box

The waterfall revamp ended up being a pretty big job.  The entire waterfall and stream were yanked out and rebuilt from scratch. 

Teardown

Rebuilding the path

We had to drill a hole in the side of the box and install a fitting for the water hose.  Basically, the box fills up from the bottom and pours out the front in a smooth, controlled fashion.  TIP: make sure that the box is level, so it functions correctly.

Waterfall box placed

Spray adhesive holds the liner to the waterfall box and is used in various places to hold the liner together.

Stones placed, waterfall liner installed

We added a shutoff valve to the water hose, so the waterfall box doesn't drain when we shut off the pump.  The valve is used when we clean the biological filter or do maintenance.

Shutoff valve (red handle) added to water hose

Remember me talking about the home survey on another post in the blog?  While working on the pond, we decided to kill two birds with one stone.  From the survey:  SOIL APPEARS TO BE GRADED ABOVE THE MASONRY FOUNDATION AT THE REAR BASEMENT WINDOW.  THIS CAN ALLOW SOIL MOISTURE TO ACCESS LOWER WOOD WALL COMPONENTS.  We shoveled out the dirt and replaced with pebbles that don't go past the brick foundation of the house (another one crossed off).

See the dirt line on the siding? 

Having the right tools, parts, and expertise made all the difference in this job.  We also make it a point to support our local businesses, so help can be right down the road.  Did I say in this post that I'm lucky to have a wife with this much talent?  I think I just did!

Want to read more about pond?  Click here to see how we overwinter goldfish.
Click here to read about taking care of landscaping lights.

Completed project!!!