Click image to enlarge.
1. Dig the pond hole slightly oversized and set
the pond liner on a 2-in. bed of sand in the hole. Keep the lip of the liner
slightly above the surrounding soil to keep dirt from washing into the water.
Fill around the liner with sand to support the sides.
Click image to enlarge.
2. Lay out the path of the sluice with lengths of
split bamboo so the approximate slope of each is 6 to 12 in. every 10 ft. Vary
lengths and angles to best fit your garden or yard. Overlap the bamboo as
necessary to work out the best bamboo lengths.
3. Cut the discharge end of each sluice at about a
30-degree angle with a hacksaw. Cut off the uphill end a foot or so longer than
where the next sluice will drain into it.
4. Knock out the nodes with the claw end of a
hammer up to the point where the water will pour into the sluice. Leave the
nodes intact above that point to keep water from draining out the back end—
especially important for low slopes (see Photo 7).
Click image to enlarge.
5. Cut the end off a 3-ft. length of 1-in. bamboo
at an angle and drive it into the ground at a 45- to 60-degree angle. (You’ll
get the idea after the first one.) Lift the sluice to its approximate level to
determine the correct crossing point for the second stake. Drive in the second
pair of stakes at the top of the sluice using the same
technique.
6. Cut off 2 ft. of No. 8 copper
wire and wrap the crutch legs tightly together with five or six tight
windings.
Click image to enlarge.
7. Drive the downhill crutch of the next sluice
into the ground. Use a garden hose to check the water flow for positioning the
uphill crutch. Continue working your way up the hill with the rest of the
sluices and crutches.
8. Cut the top off a 4-in. full diameter length of
bamboo just above a node (so water won’t collect in the top; Photo 12). Then
measure and cut off a length for the spout base that’s 12 in. longer than the
height of the last sluice. Knock out all the lower nodes with a piece of 2-in.
PVC pipe.
9. Cut a 45-degree angle on the bottom of the PVC
and drive it about 8 in. into the ground just behind the last sluice (Photo 8).
Slip the spout base over the PVC pipe and trace around a 12-in. length of 2-in.
bamboo to mark the hole for the spout.
Click image to enlarge.
10. Drill a 3/8-in. pilot hole and cut out the
spout hole with a jigsaw fitted with a fine-tooth blade. Shave the hole edges
with a sharp utility knife until the spout fits snugly into the
hole.
11. Drill a 1-in. hole near the bottom and thread
the water line up through the bottom hole and out through the spout
hole.
12. Slip the spout base over the PVC pipe and
screw it to the PVC with a couple of 2-in. drywall screws. Slide the spout into
the base.
Click image to enlarge.
13. Estimate the overall rise by sighting along
the top of a 4-ft. level to get an “eyeball” benchmark up the hill. The
benchmark can be a stone or a stick or whatever. Then go up the hill and repeat
the sighting from that benchmark until you reach the fountain height. The
distance from your eye to your feet is what you’ll be adding to the
benchmark-to-spout distances to get the overall rise.
