New Pool - Spillway question

[Twins95]

Moved from here.
I have a newly remodeled pool to which what was supposed to be a waterfall spillway was installed. Spill way surface is 4 travertine flagstones with 1/2 inch grout lines. Originally they installed bull nose stones at spillway, then they cut the bullnose off flat with one edge of spillway extending 1.25 inches off spa wall and the other 3 inches. That obviously has to be corrected but they want to just shorten it to a 1.25 inch ledge. I argue it needs to be at least two inches. Plenty of water flow but the sheet is inconsistent. Anyone have any guidance?
My engineer head says a single plank rather than 4 would be better and undercutting the outside edge might also help

 

[Jimrahbe]

95,

Show us a couple of pics of what is there now...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Dirk]

My engineering head aligns with yours. Lining up four stones with mortar and grout to produce a perfect sheet of water would be near impossible. I don't see how adjusting the depth or angle of the overhang would make any significant difference, as long as the sheet isn't hitting the wall behind it.

What about applying a single piece of uninterrupted material, across the existing edge? A 1.5" x 1.5" piece of granite would do the trick, I should think. Or 1.5" D x 3"H if you wanted a thicker look. Attach that perfectly level to the existing travertine, such that no point of the travertine is higher than the granite, and that could solve the issue, without having to tear out any existing material. The attachment method would need to be very sound (epoxy? with stainless steel pins maybe? etc), but it can be done.

 

[Twins95]

My engineering head aligns with yours. Lining up four stones with mortar and grout to produce a perfect sheet of water would be near impossible. I don't see how adjusting the depth or angle of the overhang would make any significant difference, as long as the sheet isn't hitting the wall behind it.

What about applying a single piece of uninterrupted material, across the existing edge? A 1.5" x 1.5" piece of granite would do the trick, I should think. Or 1.5" D x 3"H if you wanted a thicker look. Attach that perfectly level to the existing travertine, such that no point of the travertine is higher than the granite, and that could solve the issue, without having to tear out any existing material. The attachment method would need to be very sound (epoxy? with stainless steel pins maybe? etc), but it can be done.

The sheet is not consistent, hitting the wall most frequently on the shorter side. Spillway stones protrude about 1/4 inch to the inside of the spa. Adding a cap sheet of anything thicker than metal would raise the spillway too high and still would not address the irregular distance from the outer spa wall. Currently the four stones are sloped about 2 degrees towards the pool.
thanks to all for comments.

 

[Jimrahbe]

95,

You need a slot in the bottom to relieve the surface tension.. About 1/4 inch back from the front and 1/4 inch deep and 1/4 inch wide.. All the way across the spillover.

The hangover on my waterfall is about 2"..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Twins95]

95,

You need a slot in the bottom to relieve the surface tension.. About 1/4 inch back from the front and 1/4 inch deep and 1/4 inch wide.. All the way across the spillover.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thank you! Slot across surface of spillway I assume? Could the builder cut back the overhang to match the shortest side or 1.25?inches or does the slot presume replacing the current four pavers to ideally 1 but at most 2 with a 2inch minimum overhang?

 

[Dirk]

I meant adding a new piece of stone or granite along the edge, not the top. The new piece would be a single, straight piece, all the way across the width of the spillway. Bullnosed on the top, if you like. Angled on the bottom. It could be any height or depth, but deep enough to get the sheet away from the existing wall. I didn't realize the spa was curved. This idea would eliminate the curve of the spillway. And they'd have to cut the existing spillway straight across. Like this:



I'm not seeing the four stones you're referring to. I see two stones. No matter. If cutting the existing cap stones straight across is not an option, you could do the new end cap in pieces, I suppose. As long as they aligned them perfectly level, then you'd get an even sheet.

 

[Twins95]

I meant adding a new piece of stone or granite along the edge, not the top. The new piece would be a single, straight piece, all the way across the width of the spillway. Bullnosed on the top, if you like. Angled on the bottom. It could be any height or depth, but deep enough to get the sheet away from the existing wall. I didn't realize the spa was curved. This idea would eliminate the curve of the spillway. And they'd have to cut the existing spillway straight across. Like this:

View attachment 171081

I'm not seeing the four stones you're referring to. I see two stones. No matter. If cutting the existing cap stones straight across is not an option, you could do the new end cap in pieces, I suppose. As long as they aligned them perfectly level, then you'd get an even sheet.

I like the idea but with a round spa it would only work if it was a flexible solid piece. My wife and I like the rounded shape, the spillway replace a brick stair step that was not only dated but was a maintenance pain. I have attached a photo of the base of the spillway. I have to think that at the very least eliminating the horizontal grout line would improve water flow

 

[Dirk]

OK, I see the four stones now. There are two across the front, but they each have a straight edge. So you could add the edge cap I'm thinking of in two pieces, which would keep your "round-ish" shape but extend the spillway out away from the wall...

You could do this in a very temporary way, with wood, to fine-tune the shape, and to see if it would work. If not, no loss. If it does, then you'd have a template to use to have someone fabricate the shapes in stone. That's how I'd do it, anyway...

There are double-sided adhesive tapes that would hold a couple pieces of wood to the existing stones well enough, and long enough, to test the wood templates. They'd peel off and leave the stone unscathed...

 

[Dirk]

You haven't filled in your signature yet (please do). Do you have a variable speed pump? Have you tried increasing the RPMs for spillway mode yet? This is a trick that PBs use to hide spillway defects. More flow over the spillway can hide a lot. Not ideal, but it'd certainly be the easiest thing to try...

 

[Jimrahbe]

Slot across surface of spillway I assume?

95,

The slot would go across the bottom of the spillway..

But not sure how you would do that if is not a straight line...

Jim R

 

[Dirk]

A 1/4” bead of caulk along the bottom, right near the edge, would work similarly to what Jim is describing. I used that trick on my metal roof’s overhang. The bead, the slot and the angled bottom all do the same thing: they inhibit the water flow from running back along the bottom...