Water objects bring landscape design to life very well. A fountain located in your summer cottage can become a place for solitude, relaxation and contemplation. Its design can be purchased at the store or you can make a fountain in the country with your own hands, and this will be its main highlight. One cannot but agree with the statement that handmade is always especially expensive. This article is about how to make a fountain yourself.
Cottage decoration
Even a small and modest fountain, if you come up with an unusual shape, will decorate landscape design and give the site a unique look. A do-it-yourself fountain is a great opportunity to realize your fantasies. On hot summer days, it creates coolness, it is quite capable of creating a microclimate in a place of rest to a certain extent. The fountain acts as a natural humidifier, next to which on a hot day there is a feeling of freshness and coolness. In addition, it will give peace of mind and relieve fatigue.
There is a huge selection of outdoor fountain shapes, types, designs, sizes. And before starting work on creating a fountain in the country with your own hands, you should consider its design so that it harmoniously fits into the environment and is proportional to the size of the garden. It can be done in a "rustic" country style with stone decor, or, for example, in a natural style, decorating the site with an original design.
It is also possible to provide water overflow effects using backlight. And the main thing you need to create a fountain is a storage tank for water, a pump and power supply.
Recommendations for the location of the fountain
To maximize the effectiveness and decorativeness of the fountain, you need to choose the right place to place it. To make a fountain in the country with your own hands, you should listen to the recommendations of landscape designers:
- the fountain is arranged in an open space, it should be located near the place of rest;
- this decoration should harmoniously fit into the landscape design of the cottage (on a small plot - a small fountain);
- use a local decoration stone to decorate a small fountain (geyser), thus creating a natural look;
- when designing a creation, calculate the required power of the electric pump, as design dreams are not always consistent with electricity bills.
Not Recommendedinstall the fountain in an area in direct sunlight. This can cause the water to "bloom". You should not install it near the location of wooden country furniture, so that splashes do not spoil its appearance. Also, do not place fountains in an area close to trees, as their roots can damage the bowl, thereby breaking its waterproofing.
Fountain type
So, in order to build a fountain in the country with your own hands, you need to think about which water supply system is suitable for its functioning. Depending on what type of fountain will be created in the country, its type is selected. Technical executions are of two types: submersible and stationary. Do-it-yourself pump installation diagrams in the country for a fountain in the photo below.
The first type is installed directly in a natural or artificial reservoir, it resembles a geyser jet beating from under the water. A stationary fountain may look different in appearance. It is a separate landscape element made of different materials, different shapes and sizes.
Selection of equipment for the fountain
It should be noted that even creating a small fountain in the country with your own hands, it requires: a water supply system and a water outflow tank, nozzles, water level sensors, filters and pumps. By the way, you need to choose a pump for a decorative fountain correctly, taking into account the characteristics that should be obtained at the outlet: the height of the jet and the pressure of the water flow. The right pump will ensure longevity andfountain operation. It is important to consider that the equipment is not designed for continuous operation, it needs a break. Here are just pumps working in summer cottages, you can turn on in early spring and turn off in late autumn.
Water Spray Types
Decorative fountains, which are installed in summer cottages, are divided into types of sprayers. The most common used by summer residents are the following:
- jet spraying in the form of a single jet beating up;
- tulip-shaped when the jet shape emerges from the nozzle at an angle of 30° (similar to a flame coming out of a gas burner);
- tiered spraying, when the water pressure on the holes raises the water to different heights;
- rotating atomizer with spiral jets;
- water diffuser from the shower (as an option for a fountain nozzle).
Any of the atomizers listed above are sold in the distribution network. There are also more complex sprayers, but a dacha is not a square, not a park, so you need to choose exactly the sprayer that everyone in the household will like.
Mini-fountain in the country
You can make a miniature stone fountain with your own hands in just a couple of days off. The main thing is to have construction skills. But for those who made the dacha and country furniture on their own, it will not be difficult to make a fountain. So, construction work can begin at the chosen location.
As a side note: the correct forms in nature are practicallyare missing, so the appearance of the stone pond should be natural.
The photo above shows almost all the components that should be involved in the creation of this miniature fountain. Below will be described how to make a fountain in the country with your own hands step by step.
Master class
For the main part of the fountain, flat decorative stones are needed, in which holes will be drilled according to the diameter of the tube. Water will flow through it. Usually the tube is copper, with a diameter of 15 mm.
To install this design, you need to dig a hole in which to install a tank, which is a waterproof bowl. Secure it in the hole with sand and soil so that it does not stagger. The bowl must be deep enough. From the top of the pump to the edge of the bowl, the distance is from 150 mm and above. Don't forget to dig a small hole in which you will need to lay an insulated cable to connect the pump to the power supply. A plastic pipe is suitable as an insulating material. At the same time, you need to attach a copper pipe to the pump to supply water.
A pump is installed in the prepared tank, the structure is covered with a galvanized metal mesh. This measure is necessary to prevent debris from entering the tank.
The base for the fountain, on which the drilled stones will be installed, can be made from various improvised materials that are in the country. It can be left over from construction or repair work: metal tubes, wooden bars, beams or channels. Their length should be 10-20 more than the pit with the reservoir.cm from each edge.
It's time to start stringing stones on a copper tube attached to the pump. Children will help to perform this procedure, they have the skill of collecting pyramids. The stones are glued to each other with silicone glue. After it dries, you can turn on the water and try out the fountain created in the country with your own hands.
Fountain decoration
You can decorate the base of a small fountain with stones that serve as a continuation of the strung ones, and grease the gaps between them with silicone glue and fill them with small stones. You can make a small reservoir in the form of a bowl, around which lay an artificial carpet of grass. Pebbles and sand are also suitable for decorating this small fountain.
You can decorate such a fountain with decorative lighting. It will look magical when used with various nozzles for a beautiful spray of water. Designers recommend buying atomizers made of bronze.
Care of the fountain
Caring for self-made fountains made in the country is not so difficult. During the spring and autumn period of the functioning of the fountain, one should not forget to replenish the water in the tank, as it will evaporate on hot days. In the summer, this should be done a couple of times a month.
For the winter period, it is recommended to dismantle the removable parts, clean the filters in the pump, and cover the reservoir, protecting it from snow and dirt.
How to make an unusual fountain for giving
Fountains for giving can be donefrom any improvised material. A very good idea to create an unusual fountain from a recycled teapot. The video wonderfully shows the creation of a fountain in the country with their own hands with a step-by-step photo and an explanation of the work.
Fountains that work without a pump
The fountain can work without a pump. His work is based on the principle of communicating vessels (school curriculum in physics). Vessels connected by a tube are located at different heights, which allows water to flow from the upper vessel to the lower one. This device was invented in 200-300 BC. engineer Heron, who was clearly from the future, since even then he invented automatic doors, an automatic puppet theater and much more. But his inventions were rejected as unnecessary.
You can make fountains in the country with your own hands without a pump, looking at the picture below.
Everything is simple and clear on it. But this fountain does not have a closed system, as we could observe with fountains with a pump. This is far from a perpetual motion machine, so the action stops, after a certain period of time it is necessary to pour water from the lower vessel into the upper one.
And yet, some craftsmen make such fountains in their dachas. Work is performed in the following sequence:
- Pick up, for example, large-capacity drinking water bottles.
- In each container, make 2 holes in the lid. Their diameter should be less than the tubes (for tightness) that will be inserted into them.
- Insert tubes into each container so that one touches the bottom of the container, and the second is under the lid itself.
- Place a container of water over an empty container.
- An open bowl with a hole at the bottom is installed above the full capacity.
- The hole in the bowl connects to the lower container.
- All joints of tubes and holes are sealed with silicone.
- After the silicone has dried, pour 0.5 liters of water into the upper bowl to create excess pressure.
- The fountain starts to work.
- After stopping, it is restarted, but by swapping the containers (middle - empty and bottom - full)
Solar Powered Fountain
You can build a fountain with your own hands in the country with a pump that takes power from a stationary source of electricity, and from a solar battery. Solar fountains are portable, which can be placed almost anywhere in the open air, as there is no connection to the source of electricity.
They are usually supplied with a long cord that can be placed in the sun, and the garden decoration itself works in the shade. This feature alone makes it the most versatile fountain on the market. A big part of this new technology is that almost any outdoor fountain can be converted to run on solar power by switching to a solar pump.
Ideas and tips
If, after reviewing all the options for fountains for giving, you still cannot make a choice, it is recommendedlisten to the advice of those who have already installed such decorations in their dachas. These are the recommendations they give:
- To install a submersible fountain in the country, there are always improvised means, for example, an old bathtub, a cut car tire, an old basin. All this can be dug into the ground, thereby creating an artificial reservoir.
- For a stationary fountain, boulder stones, a large jug (jug), as well as part of a wall or a landscape composition in the middle of which you can hide a water hose are suitable.
- The cascade fountain on an alpine hill or made of watering cans, teapots, buckets, mugs, in which water overflows from container to container, will look beautiful.
- Original will be fountains, the elements of which are decorated with special paints that prevent moss and mold from appearing on the details of the fountain.
- In order for any fountain to please the inhabitants of the summer cottage and their guests with its murmur for a long time, one should not forget about caring for it.
The fountain that appeared in your country house will undoubtedly become the central structure and attract the attention of your guests.
