waterfall??

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T

twinsticks

0
May 28, 2009
49
south jersey
I am looking to add a waterfall to my pool, line already there and pump pool builder did it whe he built pool .. What do I and can I use for waterfall slate, rocks, make something out of concrete buy something already made not looking to spend a fortune..

The pool is a true L liner
 
Welcome to TFP!!

Whichever way you go, be sure that the flume spills all the water into the pool :hammer: (I've seen too many pools with waterfalls or spill over spas that loose 100s of gallons each day because not all the water ends up back in the pool!)
 
If you do see any water cling to the underside of the overhang and travel backwards, you can use a thin bead of clear silicone caulk just under the lip to force that drip to fall back into the pool. A trick from pond waterfalls that I assume is OK to use in pools.
 
Hi Everyone

Don't want to highjack this, but the subject would be the same if a open a new topic.

I would like some advice to build this type of waterfall:
cascata7.jpg


It will be 2m wide, made of concrete,rebar and finish in wood, but i dont see any comercial waterfall to put inside the concrete that large...
I think i will make one with stainlees steel. Will i need to make some kind of cup to attach the 2" fixture for pipes?
waterfall.jpg

I dont want it to cost me a fortune, and i beleive it will be possible to DIY.

Any ideas or sugestions are welcome

Kind regards
Goahead
 
twinsticks,

I didnt buy it or made it yet.

Thats just pictures from the internet. :goodjob:

DIY is the info im looking for...how to make that?

I have a near by company that works very well with stainless steel and they are cheap. So maybe if i have more feedback how to make it, or what is the best approach to have a waterfall like that..i could ask the company to build one for me.

- Make a "cup" and very straight and round leap at the end??
- How big should the cup be?
- 2" pipe is ok for a 2meters wide waterfall? (pipe will be 11 meters long and maybe 4x 90º elbows)
- To achieve a curtain, how much LitersPM or GPM should my pump deliver?
- Disavantages having such features in a pool?
etc etc

With a leds strip the water fall will have a fantastic look at night.

Any comments appreciated

Kind regards
Goahead
 

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Here's something to think about...

I work for a large steel fab corp. I just went out in the plant and asked the head foreman (who has a waterfall in his pool) his opinion on the grade of SS that should be used. He said his advice would be to go with aluminum. It will save you a LOT of money and there is no risk of it ever rusting. He told me that SS is not foolproof, it can actually rust over time, especially in a chemical environment, or if it gets the surface scratched up. The majority of SS is plated, not solid through and through. (I learned something there. lol) If the business near you works with stainless, they most likely have the ability to weld aluminum also.

I can't wait to see your pictures of the finished product!
 
Thank you Dave and Samantha

Never though of that... :hammer:

I will ask the company for their capabilities using aluminium, i also agree and believe it will be cheaper.

Does anyone here ever saw a waterfall 2m + wide?..i really would like to know how many fixtures for pipe do i have to put and other data. (GPM, measurements etc)
Has you can see in attachment (sorry for my poor paint skills and for the inches/metric mix) that is what i was thinking to build.
I believe that the "cup" will have to be less high (10cm maybe)...i really want to use the thin concrete thickness possible to be strong, accommodate re bar, waterfall, it self and at least 2 persons above it. :mrgreen:

[attachment=0:34kzus9o]waterfall_scatch.JPG[/attachment:34kzus9o]
 

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There are sites on the internet that will help you calculate the flow you need for a weir like that. Something about width of waterfall and height of water as it crosses, that height will be the hard part. Too thin and you won't get that sheet of water continuous. I suspect that the depth of the reservoir in back and the extension forward is also important to getting the flow to settle down and move flat instead of gushing out at the connections.

The calcauation will also involve the height above the water surface and some estimates of head losses to pipes.
 
Twinsticks,

I would not recommend aluminum for a pool. While aluminum will work very well in a marine (salt water) environment, it doesn't work well when chlorine is present. 316 stainless would be a better choice for marine as well as chlorine environments.

Here's a cool link that I use at work to aid in material selection. http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/techinfo/ch ... esults.asp


Any sheet metal fabrication shop will have no problem fabricating this part for you. Don't worry about the SST plating issue mentioned earlier. SST sheet metal will be 100% SST unless otherwise specified.
 
Not sure how much that would cost to have it fabricated out of aluminum. Have you looked at the sheer descent waterfalls? They are pricey but all the calculations are done and you just bolt it in.
 
@Twinsticks, one of the considerations I have read about when adding waterfalls after the fact is making sure they don't put too much weight on one isolated area of the bondbeam (if concrete) or superstructure (if liner). It kinda makes sense that one would need to be careful with that to avoid differential cracking. My sense is that a proper footer behind the beam to carry the lion's share of the weight would eliminate the issue, but perhaps one of the pros can chime in.
 

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