Built a Bridge over Waterfall...not sure if I like it.

[adam_]

UPDATE (7/30/08):

Well after finding out it's gonna take a couple weeks to get the manufactured stone I want I decided to play around a bit and I picked up a few $6 1/2 round cedar post strips from Home Depot and created this....I think it looks better but still not sure if I am in love...What do you think?

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Original Post:



Last night on my way home from work I decided to pick up some material from HD and built a Bridge over our Waterfall...not sure if I like it & looking for some opinions. Mind you that it is not quite complete, I plan on finishing off the exposed front frame by either painting it, or covering it in the same Trex composite decking material that the walking surface is made of... but you can get a general idea of how it's going to look. See pics & post your opinion! Thanks!

BEFORE (no bridge):

[attachment=2:rb9mmn88]waterfall1.jpg[/attachment:rb9mmn88]

AFTER (bridge):

[attachment=1:rb9mmn88]waterfall2.jpg[/attachment:rb9mmn88]
[attachment=0:rb9mmn88]waterfall3.jpg[/attachment:rb9mmn88]

 

[Crzyfrlss1]

Not sure if I like it either :?

The wood looks out place with the stone.

Perhaps a bridge made out of rock or stone would look nicer

Thats just my .2

 

[adam_]

Not sure if I like it either :?

The wood looks out place with the stone.

Perhaps a bridge made out of rock or stone would look nicer

Thats just my .2

That's exactly what I though, the wood doesnt fit in with the rocks...maybe I will cover the front frame with similar looking rocks! Anyone got photoshop skills? LOL

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I agree, there's something here about the combo of rocks/wood that doesn't "mesh"....but I've got no suggestions.

Why a bridge? Access purposes?

 

[adam_]

I agree, there's something here about the combo of rocks/wood that doesn't "mesh"....but I've got no suggestions.

Why a bridge? Access purposes?

Why did the chicken cross the road?

:lol:

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Yeah, I got ya. We have to walk all the way around our pool to access our equipment, we didn't think to put some sort of access from our deck to the equipment side. IT's very annoying now, don't know why it didn't occur to us. Could probably put in some stairs but it will have to wait.

 

[newnick]

Might be the type of wood that doesn't look good. You could try to find a piece of driftwood (natural looking) to cover the end up with, possibly cutting it flat on the backside and screwing it on the steps.

 

[adam_]

Might be the type of wood that doesn't look good. You could try to find a piece of driftwood (natural looking) to cover the end up with, possibly cutting it flat on the backside and screwing it on the steps.

Hmmm...that may look ok too, but I'm leaning towards this manufactured stone.
[attachment=0:1uc7farf]stone.JPG[/attachment:1uc7farf]
http://www.stonecraft.com/
Stones>Ledgestone>Pennsylvania

 

[Riles_J]

Do you have room to route the bridge behind the planting. It was hard to tell from the pics, but if you could maintain planting in the front and put the bridge behind them you probably wouldn't even notice it.

Riles

 

[adam_]

nope, no room back there.

 

[heikejohn]

How about making it only half as wide, half as tall & pushing it as far back as possible, and covering it with large flat stones. Like the ones you have on the side. To look just like the stepping stones you already have. That way it would look less like a bridge, but more like natural stepping stones to get you over your waterfall. You would still be able to see about half of it and not cover it up. It's too nice looking to hide it under a bridge.

 

[Riles_J]

What about just installing a couple more stepping stones just like the ones that work their way up to the water falls. That would look slick, just not sure how the install would work without more pictures.

Riles

 

[adam_]

Well after finding out it's gonna take a couple weeks to get the manufactured stone I want I decided to play around a bit and I picked up a few $6 1/2 round cedar post strips from Home Depot and created this....I think it looks better but still not sure if I am in love...What do you think?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Please pass the Poi! I'll get my grass skirt.

So did you order the stone and this is temporary or did you decide to give this a test run and see how it rates with the masses?

 

[danwis]

I definitely like the new look better. I think the jagged edge of the wood you added makes it work better with the jagged rocks.

 

[adam_]

Please pass the Poi! I'll get my grass skirt.

So did you order the stone and this is temporary or did you decide to give this a test run and see how it rates with the masses?

Have not ordered the stone yet since there's no rush considering the leadtime...Would like some feedback on this, my coworkers seem to think it looks much better now, and I "kinda" like it. I think it will look better if I mount a few nice lights on the cedar posts. I could also mount some spot lights under the bridge to point down onto the waterfall for night time....so many ideas...lol
I think the stone would look better but it's gonna be a pain to install and is alot more $$....decisions decisions...

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I like it too. I've always wanted to do my deck area with the "tiki" feel.... just never got around to it. Hey I say anything to save money in todays economy. If you like it, keep it. To heck with the $$ stone.

The thatch on the roof? How does that weather? Do you have to store inside, or do you leave it out most of the time?

 

[adam_]

I like it too. I've always wanted to do my deck area with the "tiki" feel.... just never got around to it. Hey I say anything to save money in todays economy. If you like it, keep it. To heck with the $$ stone.

The thatch on the roof? How does that weather? Do you have to store inside, or do you leave it out most of the time?

That thatch is about 2 years old and still looks good...typically the good quality stuff lasts about 4-5 years...I keep it outside all winter long and even the snow doesn't hurt it....if you have the room I'm sure storing it inside if you have harsh winters would extend the life, but it's not neccessary. The only thing you shouldnt do is cover the thatch, that builds mold and destroys it.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

I like it better now, but it looks too 'new' compared to the rock. If you could age it some I think it would blend in pretty nicely.

I like what somebody suggested about extending your stone slab steps up and over, instead of changing materials.

Nice oasis!

 

[adam_]

I like it better now, but it looks too 'new' compared to the rock. If you could age it some I think it would blend in pretty nicely.

I like what somebody suggested about extending your stone slab steps up and over, instead of changing materials.

Nice oasis!

It'll age in no time, probably within a month, i'm sure the stain used is low quality. Maybe I'll power wash it and then stain it a gray-ish color to blend better w/ the rock.