DIY Network

"Sweating Rock" Water Feature DIY and landscape designer Matt Clark show you how to get water from a stone. From "The Dirt On..." episode DTDO-107

	The "sweating rock" makes for a soothing backyard water feature.

Landscape designer Matt Clark stopped by DIY's The Dirt On. . . to show how to create a simple but stunning water feature called a "Sweating Rock."

What is a "Sweating Rock"?

It's basically a rock with a hole drilled in it and a pump underneath it so water comes bubbling out of the top and runs back down to the pump through decorative gravel. This project is simple enough for any homeowner to complete in an afternoon. You can even customize it to fit your landscape since rocks come in all different shapes, colors and sizes.

Tools and materials:

decorative rock (boulder)
submersible pump kit*
black irrigation tubing
compression fittings
2 metal screens**
decorative gravel
hose
extension cord
rock hammer drill***

*You can find this at an irrigation store or a home improvement store. Buy a little bigger pump than you think you need because you can always adjust it down. Don't hesitate to ask the professionals where you buy your pump for help finding the right size.

**You'll need one larger gauge screen also known as "Hog Fence" and a Fine Screen that will hold the decorative gravel.

***You can rent this from a home improvement store with a rental division. The diameter of the drill bit should be slightly larger than your black irrigation tubing.

advertisement

Assembly and Setup:

• Create a basin for your pump by digging a hole in the ground where you'd like the water feature to be. The size of the hole will increase with the size of your boulder. For a 1-foot wide rock, dig a 3-foot wide basin about 1-foot down.

• Line this hole with a pond liner.

• Place a cinder block or two in the hole so that it reaches ground level. This will provide some support for your boulder.

• Place your pump in the basin, leaving the electricity cord sticking out of the hole.

• Attach your relief valve to the pump. (This part should come with a standard pump kit.) This will allow you to adjust the water pressure for your fountain so you don't end up with a geyser.

• Attach a long piece of black irrigation tubing to the pump where the water comes out. This piece should be long enough to go through your whole boulder.
  

  	Figure A
  	Figure B

• Place the hog screen (the screen with the wider holes) over your basin so the hole is completely covered and your irrigation tubing is sticking up out of the middle of it.

• On top of this, place the fine screen down (figure A). Cut a hole in the middle of this with wire cutters to create a space for the tubing to stick out (figure B).

• Drill your rock with the rock hammer drill. Make sure to wear safety goggles and earplugs. Drill a hole from the middle of the top straight down. When you've drilled all the way through, back it off by reversing the drill and pulling it out of the drilled hole. Depending on the type of rock you purchased, this could cause the rock to split so you might have to buy an extra boulder or two just in case.
  
  
• With a partner, push the irrigation tubing through the hole in the rock placing the boulder on top of the screens. Once it's through, lift the tubing up and cut the excess off. Then, stuff it back in the hole so that the tubing is flush with the top of the rock.

• Add decorative gravel all around the boulder, covering the screens below completely.
  
  
• Now you're on the home stretch. Take a hose and wet down your boulder and decorative rock. Then aim the hose into the basin and fill it with water. The water level should be a few inches above your submersible pump. Push some of the gravel aside to peak through and check your water level.

Plug in the electrical cord and watch your rock "sweat." It will bubble over and trickle through the gravel creating a cool, calm fountain effect.

GUESTS :

Matt Clark, landscape designer
M2 Landscape
www.m2landscape.com