Creative Waterscapes has been building waterfalls from artificial rock since 1994 under a California general contractor's license # C463913. We take great pride in our work, and our friendly and dependable service. Please take a look at our picture portfolio to the left by clicking on "Pond and Water Pictures".
Pool Construction
When you have settled on a design and have drawn a plan for it, a swimming pool is usually constructed in the following sequence: excavate as needed and haul away soil (contact “Dig Alert”, in your area to locate any underground utilities and their pipes before you start excavation. Do not forget to do this!)
When excavating, create a shallow area for the waterfall to be placed inside. The waterfall should be constructed inside this basin, which amounts to a large shelf inside the pool. In this way, the pool can never lose water because it is all contained inside the pool basin even if the waterfall leaks. After your pool is excavated, dig a trench for the main intake pipe (3” minimum diameter), then refill trenches with clean dirt or sand that is free of any rocks to prevent pipe damage over time. Other basic pool plumbing includes skimmers and their intake lines, pool vacuum intake line, return water lines, and skimmer equalizers. There may be more plumbing depending on the type and complexity of the equipment, and the pool design itself.
Set a form for the pool edge perfectly level all around the perimeter except in the area of the waterfall. Use a laser level to do the pool edge.
If there is a waterfall on a hill that is flowing into the pool, then a flat but slightly sloping extension of the pool must be added to the area where the falls will be to catch all of the water and return it to the pool. The edges of this “catch basin” must be raised 6”-8” to keep runoff from getting in and pool water from splashing and running out.
You are ready to set your steel in a grid pattern, #4 12" o.c. Later, install dobies (small blocks of concrete) under the steel grid in enough places to lift it off the ground. After the above work has passed inspection, shotcrete is applied per plans and codes. Seven sack concrete is the best for pools.
The information outlined above is intended only as a general overview of the pool building process. For more specific information, contact a licensed swimming pool contractor.
Swimming Pool Waterfalls
Creative Waterscapes has developed an exclusive method of constructing some of the most durable pool waterfalls available anywhere. We are so confident of this process that we can offer a lifetime warranty on our waterfalls.
Some people need to know how well the water features hold up in cold weather, and the short answer is to investigate on your own how that issue is handled by masonry, pool, and concrete contractors in your area. Whatever applies to their finished structures is going to apply to these water features that we’re doing. Whatever a home owner must do to winterize their swimming pools in cold climates will have to be duplicated for a waterfall.
Waterfall construction can involve artificial or real rocks and boulders, or a combination of the two. We offer artificial rocks and boulders for sale and instructions on how to install them. In designing the falls, try to create as many small rock pools as possible that are laterally offset and stepping down the front and even sides of the falls, and finally into the main pond basin. Try to avoid building a "rock pile", with water shooting out from the top rock. I have seen many waterfalls built this way and they usually look very unappealing.
Create a "starter pool" with smaller rocks or boulders at the top of the falls that overflows into the next small rock basin down from it, and so on. The smaller the waterfall, the fewer cascading basins you will have. Typically the basins are an oval shape and will be somewhat smaller at the top (roughly 1' x 2', or 2' x 3') and increase in size slightly as they descend down the front of the falls.
Swimming Pool Waterfall Repairs-----We can help you!
Our company has repaired and re-colored numerous waterfalls over our eleven years in business. Some of these repairs involved time related "wear and tear", especially the color and finished texture of artificial rock waterfalls. Most of our repairs, however, involve fixing what should have been done right in the first place by the customer's original contractor. This is an all too common occurrence, especially in the last five years or so when it seems "everybody" is suddenly an expert at building waterfalls.
Do you have a waterfall that was constructed with gunite or shotcrete and looks unrealistic or basically like a big pile of concrete that has some gouges or lines carved across it? We can re-texture your waterfall with patterns copied from real rock formations! Our process will make your waterfall waterproof and look much more attractive and natural-looking.
If you have a waterfall that was built for you and has never operated properly, or does not look like what you had in mind when you contracted for it, and your contractor refuses to fix it, CALL US! We will first of all advise you on the best course of action to take, whether it involves hiring us or not. If you do decide to hire us, we are licensed, insured, and guarantee our work! We can provide plenty of references from our past customers.
One of the areas some swimming pool owners are running into difficulty is where they have an artificial rock waterfall that is an integral part of their pool. Unfortunately, many of these waterfalls, (probably hundreds or more!) were just plain built incorrectly.
Typically these pool waterfalls were formed with steel rebar, covered with metal lathe, and then a thick coat of gunnite (a sand, portland cement, and water mixture shot out of a hose under very high pressure) was applied. The problem with this very common method is that the metal lathe that was tied to the outside of the formed rebar prevents the gunite from encasing the rebar as it should have. In a few years the metal lathe and steel rebar rust away from rain and pool water running over them when the waterfall is running, leaving only the gunite to stand on its own. Usually the gunite artificial rocks start cracking and falling apart not long afterwards. If any of the artificial rock is underwater below the water level of the pool itself, then forget it! The steel inside them rusts like crazy from being submerged all the time, and then you start seeing big streaks of rust appearing down the side of your pool.
If this sounds like your pool, call us! We can fix the problem and offer a guarantee on our work for as long as you own your home. Creative Waterscapes: (619) 287-2137
