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About This Project
We’ve all stopped, gazed and listened upon encountering a rippling brook or waterfall—to soak up the serenity that nature provides. But where is that spot when we need it most?
Since you probably can’t drive and hike to a tranquil location after a hard day’s work, you can use this project to help you re-create these all-too-fleeting moments in your backyard. And you can build your stream in two weekends.
In this story, we’ll show you how to slope the stream, lay the liner and install the pump and the catch basin as well as landscape the stream. We’ll help you plan the ideal location and size of your stream, and tell you how to select liners, pumps and stone. We won’t get into kits that are available either on-line or at home centers.We chose to build our system with parts and components that are readily available and less expensive than kits. They’ll give you more flexibility to design the stream that best fits your yard.
You can complete this project successfully even if it’s your first water feature. But it’s heavy work. The only special tools you’ll need are a strong wheelbarrow (one with pneumatic tires is best) and a two-wheel ball cart ($18 per day to rent) for moving and placing heavy boulders.
What’s My Investment?
For the basic materials (pump, plumbing, tools, sealant—see the list below), plan to spend about $300, not including the liners. Add in the underlayment and liner cost at about $1.20 per sq. ft. of stream (we used 120 sq.ft.).We purchased all materials from a home center, except for black expanding-foam sealant made for ponds and waterfalls and the EPDM rubber liner, which we bought from a local pond supplies dealer (www.aquascapedesigns.com). Aquascape guarantees its liners; other suppliers may void the guarantee once you trim the liner to size.
The largest additional cost of the project is the stone. The amount of stone and gravel will depend on your stream design. Take your plan (see below) to the stone and gravel retailer to get help with estimates. All told, our “deluxe” stream used 8 tons of stone and gravel, which came to $725, plus tax and delivery. One could easily reduce stone costs to $350 for this 15-ft. stream with fewer specialty boulders. You could save even more if you dig the entire stream into the ground rather than building the upper section higher.
Plan By Ear
Sit in a favorite spot and visualize where a stream with waterfalls would fit into your landscape—perhaps near a patio or deck.
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