How to build a wall fountain?

[Alex]

I have seen wall fountains in retail shops that featured water pouring
down a slate tile surface...would love to have one of these in my
house, but the prices seem to start at $600! There couldn't be TOO much
to one of these...can anyone help me figure out how to build one?
I'm sure I'd need the right-sized submersible pump, as well as any
waterproof lighting it needed. What kind of material would make up the
BACK of the fountain, to which the slate tiles would be secured?
Getting the water from the bottom to the top is just a matter of
finding the right pump, but how do you distribute the water evenly from
left-to-right along the top of the slate, as opposed to all the water
just coming from the top-middle? Some kind of trough? Split the plastic
tube carrying the water, into four five other tubes?
Finally, what should the basin be constructed of? Could I just make a
wooden enclosure, and line the inside with a protective material of
some sort?
Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated...

--Alex

[scul...@tfb.com]

If cast- then concrete is best as it actually hardens in contact with
water- gypsum products simply fall apart in a fountain.
OR you could make the back out of copper or any other metal- but its a
good idea to seal it against corrosion.

As to getting water to spill evenly- first- cut the TOP EDGE of the
slate perfectly straight. Then- in mounting the slate you will need to
have some kind of resevoir at the top, just behind the slate where it
isn't readily apparent.

The water is pumped up into this resevoir and allow it to overflow over
the front edge of the slate- so the front edge of the slate will have
to be a little lower than the other 3 sides of the reservoir.

Then- the most important thing is- when you mount the fountain- make
sure the overflow edge of the slate is perfectly level- this way the
water will spill evenly across the entire front edge.
After that its a matter of playing around with the flow rate of the
pump to make sure the water comes over at the rate that you like.

Now- you could also arrange the resevoir to have a metal "drip lip"
that bends over the slate's top edge- or any other material and
arrangement that will provide a dead level and smooth surface for the
water to sheeet over.

christopher

[Gary Waller]

You can buy the pumps, etc. at nationalartcraft.com. I have boughtt from
before and had no problems.

I've seen those fountains everywhere - starting at $30 retail - maybe
check around a little more. Still better to make your own though if you
have the time. A lot of the questions you ask will be answered as you
tackle the project - you don't want us to spoil your fun do you?

[Mac]

I have looked at a few of these and most seam to distribute the water
through a length of copper pipe which has holes drilled about 1/2 inch to 1
inch apart. just have to experiment with pipe, pump and size of holes to get
the effect your looking for,good luck with your project.

"Alex" <alex...@charter.net> wrote in message
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