DIY Network

Indoor Waterscapes: Tabletop Fountain, Part 1 From "Waterscapes" episode DWAT-105

If you don't have room for a water garden in your yard, you can still bring the tranquility of falling water into your home with an indoor water feature. This tabletop water feature is made from clay pots and bamboo.

In this episode of DIY's Waterscapes workshop, we turn our attention indoors. Host Heidi Robinson is joined by water-garden expert Randall Tate and by installer Christopher Sterchi. Together they take on the creation and installation of two indoor water-features. One is a dramatic water fountain that features a cascading waterfall in an archway separating two rooms in a home. Our first project, however, is a simple tabletop water feature that can be enjoyed indoors or on a patio.

Materials

Submersible pump
Clay bowls
Bamboo
Thin gauge wire
Raffia
Flexible tubing
Bricks
River rocks
Cordless drill; hole-saw attachment
Saw
Epoxy glue
Needle-nose pliers

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Bamboo Tabletop Fountain: Basins and Spout

• In this segment, work begins on a water feature that can be displayed on a tabletop or tucked away in a corner on a stand (figure A).

• To tackle this project, Heidi is joined by Randall Tate, waterscapes expert and owner of The Water Garden® (figure B).

  Figure A

  Figure B

  
  

  	Figure C
  	Figure D
  	Figure E
  	Figure F
  	Figure G
  	Figure H
  	Figure I

  For this project, we use a large ceramic bowl for the basic fountain container. The water will be pumped from the main container up through a large hollow bamboo tube, where it will spill out into a smaller ceramic overflow container (figure C). The water flowing over from the smaller container into the larger one will create a dramatic effect and pleasing sound.

  Other materials required include a submersible pump, flexible tubing, smaller pieces of bamboo, thin-gauge wire, raffia and some decorative river rocks (figure D). These materials are available at most home improvement centers, and the materials we used for this project cost less than $100.

  It's important to use ceramic containers that have been glazed so that the water won't seep through. And it's best to look for containers that don't have drainage holes in the bottom. If the bowls you choose do have holes in the bottom, mix some fast setting epoxy to fill and seal each hole using a plastic utensil or putty knife (figure E). Allow the epoxy to cure according to the manufacturer's instructions.

  Determine how high you want the larger bamboo pole to be and cut with a saw to the length desired. Our large bamboo piece is about 3 inches in diameter and about 3 feet in length.

  Using a hole saw of the appropriate size (figure F), drill a hole into the larger piece of bamboo to fit a piece of bamboo that is smaller in diameter. (For ours, the hole-saw was 1-1/2 inches in diameter.) The smaller piece of bamboo will serve as the spout. Though the water will be carried inside the bamboo through the flexible tubing, for aesthetics it's best if the bamboo pieces fit together snugly. Randall used a pocket knife to whittle down the end of the smaller piece to achieve a good fit.

  Once the hole has been cut, place the spout section into the hole (figure G).

  Important: Inside bamboo, at the joints between sections, there is an internal disc or membrane. These will need to be broken out or perforated in order to insert the flexible tubing for the waterfall. You can use a hammer and any kind of metal rod or pipe a to break through the membrane.

  Once the membranes have been pierced, feed the tubing through the spout and down through the larger piece of bamboo. Allow about 8 inches of excess at the end so that you'll have plenty of room to connect the pump.

  Measure how much tubing you'll need at the top, to run to the end of the spout (figure H), and cut the tubing to the appropriate length using a knife or shears.

  Thread the top end of the flexible tubing through the opening of the spout section (figure I), and insert the spout securely in the hole.
  Cut a notch in the bottom of the larger bamboo to anchor the end of the tubing in place (figure J). The notch will also allow the end of the bamboo to sit flat on the bottom of the container (figure K).

  Figure J

  Figure K

  
  

  	Figure L
  	Figure M
  	Figure N

  With the bamboo spout complete, and the epoxy cured in the containers, you can now begin building the support system for the smaller container. Using smooth paver or standard bricks, place enough bricks in the larger bowl so that the smaller bowl will sit above the water level of the larger bowl. For our fountain, we used a total of 5 bricks -- four arranged in pairs, and a single brick on top to support the smaller container (figure L).

• The smaller pieces of bamboo are used to help stabilize the larger bamboo spout and add a decorative element to the fountain.

• Using smaller sections of 1-inch-diameter bamboo, place a piece of wire around each intersecting corner and hand-twist to connect the pieces together. Tighten the wire with a pair of needle-nose pliers to fasten the pieces securely (figure M).

  Use raffia, tied around the bamboo at each corner, to conceal the wires and add a decorative touch (figure N).
  

RESOURCES :
Create Your Indoor Fountain: Expressions of the Self
Model: 0966710207
Author: Paris Mannion
(October, 1999)
Fountain Book Press
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

The Water Garden Design Book
ISBN: 0764153730
Authors: Yvonne Rees, Peter May
Barrons Educational Series
(August 2001)
To order this book from Amazon, click here.

The Master Book of the Water Garden: The Ultimate Guide to the Design and Maintenance of the Water Garden
ISBN: 0821227963
Author: Philip Swindells
Publisher: Bulfinch
(April, 2002)
To order this book from Amazon, click here.

GUESTS :
Randall Tate
Owner, The Water Garden
5212 Austin Rd.
Hixson, TN 37343
Phone: 423-870-2838
www.watergarden.com