Waterfall material

[jalapenopopper]

I am interested in building a waterfall and want it to last, be structurally safe and not affect pool chemistry adversely, and be nice to look at of course.

What types of materials are best for pool waterfalls?
I have seen concrete shapes to looked like stone, polystyrene covered in concrete, natural stone and then modern styles with type and finished surfaces.

should the waterfall be made of natural stone like limestone? Can boulders bring submerged? Or is it often a hybrid where natural stone sits outbid the water and has a concrete finished channel that handles the wet part?

If there are overhangs or grottos do these need a concrete and rebar supported shelf to put natural rocks on?

How do you waterproof the natural rocks and concrete?

Thanks for any experience or pointers.

 

[mknauss]

The use of any natural rocks, etc will likely lend to stains, calcium buildup, etc. Concrete will be much the same with efflorescence being an issue.

No matter what you use, be sure it completely drains when turned off. Any standing water will harbor algae.

 

[jalapenopopper]

The use of any natural rocks, etc will likely lend to stains, calcium buildup, etc. Concrete will be much the same with efflorescence being an issue.

No matter what you use, be sure it completely drains when turned off. Any standing water will harbor algae.

Thanks mknauss. Those are good points. I’m most concerned with structure and strength. If something might erode in ten years and collapse but seems like that isn’t common or we would see photos and stories of that happening.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My waterfall is made of natural stone boulders that are set in place on a concrete pad (made when the pool shell was shot) and held together with a waterproof S mortar. I would advise against concrete coated polystyrene - it’s cheap and it won’t last. Be warned though that natural stone waterfalls are expensive to build and should only be attempted by a company that has experience doing it. My PB outsourced the waterfall to a subcontractor that exclusively dealt with the building of ponds and waterfalls. They applied waterproofing to everything when constructing it.

I suggest you look around your area for vendors that build waterfalls, ponds, landscape water features, etc. Get lots of quotes and references.

 

[PdInc]

We’ve had this natural rock waterfall since the pool was built 25 years ago. We’re planning a major remodel in the fall, we’ll replace a few border stones, but the waterfall will stay. The bottom stone sits below waterline on a ledge.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I like my waterfall because it's big and has several jumping stones BUT it also has three basins in it that stay full so I am forced to run the waterfall twice a day to make sure the water stays fresh. It adds a lot of aeration if I run it for long periods of time. It's also attached to a 1.5HP pool pump which I absolutely HATE because its totally overkill for the task. The builder should have used a waterfall pump but, since those are being phased-out by DOE regulations, I'm likely going to have to purchase a variable speed pump. I really wish the DOE regs would have made an exception for low HP single-speed water feature pumps but they did not.

IMG_5195 (1).jpeg

• JoyfulNoise
• Jun 26, 2022

Waterfall

IMG_5196 (1).jpeg

• JoyfulNoise
• Jun 26, 2022

Waterfall

 

[jalapenopopper]

My waterfall is made of natural stone boulders that are set in place on a concrete pad (made when the pool shell was shot) and held together with a waterproof S mortar. I would advise against concrete coated polystyrene - it’s cheap and it won’t last. Be warned though that natural stone waterfalls are expensive to build and should only be attempted by a company that has experience doing it. My PB outsourced the waterfall to a subcontractor that exclusively dealt with the building of ponds and waterfalls. They applied waterproofing to everything when constructing it.

I suggest you look around your area for vendors that build waterfalls, ponds, landscape water features, etc. Get lots of quotes and references.

Great points and thanks for the detail. I agree about styrofoam.

When I searched in the past in austin it is hard to find waterfall contractors. They’re maybe all in high demand and limited supply.

 

[jalapenopopper]

I like my waterfall because it's big and has several jumping stones BUT it also has three basins in it that stay full so I am forced to run the waterfall twice a day to make sure the water stays fresh. It adds a lot of aeration if I run it for long periods of time. It's also attached to a 1.5HP pool pump which I absolutely HATE because its totally overkill for the task. The builder should have used a waterfall pump but, since those are being phased-out by DOE regulations, I'm likely going to have to purchase a variable speed pump. I really wish the DOE regs would have made an exception for low HP single-speed water feature pumps but they did not.

IMG_5195 (1).jpeg

• JoyfulNoise
• Jun 26, 2022

Waterfall

IMG_5196 (1).jpeg

• JoyfulNoise
• Jun 26, 2022

Waterfall

Awesome waterfall! I love the veggie growing onto it. Looks like a nice slice of nature.

Agreed about the low hp single speed having a use case and exception.

What kind of stone are the boulders?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Mostly granite and quartzite with embedded mica flakes. It’s local stone that’s quarried around this area at the various mines. If you’re going to go with real stones and boulders, the builder will have to source whatever they use locally or else the cost to ship large stones will be astronomical.

 

[1poolman1]

I like my waterfall because it's big and has several jumping stones BUT it also has three basins in it that stay full so I am forced to run the waterfall twice a day to make sure the water stays fresh. It adds a lot of aeration if I run it for long periods of time. It's also attached to a 1.5HP pool pump which I absolutely HATE because its totally overkill for the task. The builder should have used a waterfall pump but, since those are being phased-out by DOE regulations, I'm likely going to have to purchase a variable speed pump. I really wish the DOE regs would have made an exception for low HP single-speed water feature pumps but they did not.

IMG_5195 (1).jpeg

• JoyfulNoise
• Jun 26, 2022

Waterfall

IMG_5196 (1).jpeg

• JoyfulNoise
• Jun 26, 2022

Waterfall

The following classes of pool pumps are exempt from meeting the minimum energy-efficiency standards:

• Waterfall Pumps that operate at ≤ 30 feet of head with a maximum speed of ≤ 1,800 RPM