Faux Rock

Pondless waterfalls

These are a fascinating addition to most yards that address the problems with pond waterfalls. Not everyone has the natural landscape and slopes to work with in creating a regular waterfall. Pondless waterfalls on the other hand can be built anywhere. Moreover, the lack of a pond means less maintenance. Less to clean, no requirements to leave it running all the time, safe for children, and more uptime. Premade pond kits are available at most stores. Alternatively you can do a local search for waterfalls, water features or landscaping companies.

When constructing a pondless waterfall the two major things to consider are the size of the water reservoir and the dimensions of the cascading waterfall. Once those two things are determined the rest is history. A method WaterfallNow recommends for getting ideas is to do a search online. WaterfallNow is in the process of creating ready to order waterfalls for the garden. Those that have a project requiring on-site custom work can request much larger features.

How Do Pondless Waterfalls Work?

Pondless waterfalls require water but not the traditional pond. By now most people know how the evaporation process works in nature. A pondless waterfall works in a similar way. One way to picture the process is to imagine a giant hose that sucks water up from the earth up to the rain clouds which  sends rain back to the earth and gets sucked up again – repeat. The same water that comes down the waterfall and into the water reservoir gets sent back up to the top of the waterfall through a hose which then sends the water back down.

WaterfallNow’s rocks are hollow making them portable. First the hole is dug, second the pond liners (EPDM) are added, and third the rock and plumbing are installed. Additional steps depend on the level of customization depending on the lighting or plants used.  Most of the work is in the preparation of our rocks.

Just add plants

The Benefits Of WaterfallNow’s Pondless Waterfalls Include:

• Attractive year after year: Only light cleaning to the water reservoir is needed once every few months.
• Less that can go wrong: If there is a problem with one of the parts repairs or replacements are within reach.
• Not a permanent feature: Can relocate, take down, move, sell, use as a cover, or be upgraded to something larger.
• The beauty of a large water feature in even a small space: Scalable both vertically and horizontally.
• Not prone to freeze-thaw action or hidden leaks within the rock.
• No forming prep-work.
• Safe for small children: No fear of drowning in a pond.
• Less green bacterial mess: Higher upfront cost than other applications without the ongoing maintenance fees.
• Only need to turn on when in use: Cost on average $3-6 per month when used a few hours per day.

Many landscape designers use natural rocks to create cascading streams. This is the method that most people are familiar with and one that WaterfallNow no longer employs. In this situation it is most common for the landscape artist to work with the land as opposed to against the land. In some cases they re-create the land itself by adding large boulders or more dirt. This is done to achieve the desired height (dimensions) for the water feature. The benefit of pondless waterfalls for those that simply want a nice sized realistic miniature waterfall in their yard is that the land does not dictate what you can or cannot have.

Making The Pond

As always, contact BC ONE CALL before you dig to avoid hitting any plumbing).

WaterfallNow creates the water reservoir for indoor applications as well as for outdoor applications. All that is required is very light digging. WaterfallNow’s pondless waterfalls usually go only 3 feet deep for the larger projects and less for smaller ones.

Creating the pond sounds easy and often gets overlooked. Doing it right plays a role in ensuring that the water level will not decrease on a daily basis. This means you don’t have to constantly fill the pondless waterfall with more water on a daily basis. As long as the water that goes up falls back onto the pond liner and into the water reservoir you won’t risk damaging the water pump. Water pumps last many years when properly maintained. A water pump that is not fully submerged in the water will not operate as long as it could due to the damage caused on the motor.

Dig the hole, remove sharp objects and rocks, lay down a few layers of pre-liner (carpet/tarp) and the pond liner (EPDM) on top. These are the essentials.

Making The Artificial Rock Features

WaterfallNow employs a fibreglass/natural stone combination to create rock faces that look like the ones found in nature. These pieces are assembled either on location for custom work or premade (ready to ship). There is relatively low demand for artificial rock made using fibreglass as the majority of the population is unaware that such a thing exists. Most people are however familiar with styrofoam which isn’t as durable or concrete which is prone to cracking.

Let us know how we can better serve you as we continue to improve.