Well it all started when I saw this at an estate store that sells mainly antiques, furniture. Interesting browsing the buildings that house this stuff. Some of the items were extremely expensive when new and the books, dinnerware, all kinds of things that you could see being used in a big place. Some of the drapery, rugs and curtains were made beautifully. They do carry outside furniture but they usually dont carry fountains so this was kind of surprising, when I happened upon it.
When I saw it, I just kind of stood there looking at it for a bit. The wheels started to turn and the possibilities shifted into high gear. First the price, I know the owners and the workers and asked about the price and it was perfect. Next step a few pictures and talk with the other half.
So confer with the other half and we get to this and its a go. She just pointed her finger and that was the ok sign to replace the small bird feeder we had in a corner of the yard.
So this is the bird feeder in the corner at the lower left of the picture and this is the new fountain sitting on the corner of the patio with the other pieces on the grass. I never expected the bottom piece of the fountain to be quite that heavy. I could barley lift it and had to roll it from the front to the back of the house rather than moving it any other way. Solid concrete, had to be 6 to 8 inches thick in certain parts and unbelievably heavy.
This is the working fountain mounted, level, new pump, had to play with the hoses and seal the bottom of the fountain to hold water. I actually had to put the base in the spot I wanted it, and make sure it was level. Then put a wood ramp next to the base to roll the bottom bowl up to a height that I could just let it fall onto the base. First attempt didnt go as planned and in the save it was like trying to stop the Valk from going over after it gets to the tipping point of no return. But stop it I did and devised a plan to put the tow strap through the center of the bowl and through the center of the base and the friction on the tow strap on the cement allowed for controlled movement of the bowl as it went onto the base. Finally got that done, and had to rest for a minute or two.
The plumbing was interesting till I could get the flow right and seal the upper bowl to the hose so that the water went over the side of the bowl instead of through the center next to the hose. You can barely see it but a certain amount of water percolates out the top of the vase the lady is holding. It flows down and most of the water that flows from the upper bowl is the upper hose that is loose from the lower hose. Allowing the water to bypass the connection between the two and filling the upper bowl.
I also had to run conduit from the power source at the back porch under the patio and behind the bushes running it all the way to the back of the property. In this conduit is the internet connections rather than having them run overhead and power for the fountain. Another project done in this removing the overhead wires and running them under ground. Plus trees swaying in the wind and rain and contacting the lines making the power go out. The poles will stay but the high mounted power lines will be gone and the only wires on the poles will be the internet wires and those will be covered by bushes.
All in all it really came out nice and was exactly what I had wanted for awhile. At night the constant sound of the water is soothing and relaxing as you sit on the back patio or porch. But if I ever do this again I will get some kind of portable lift to hold and transport the bowl and position it.
Did finally replace the grass that was covered due to filling in a rotting tree trunk that was taken out of that spot. Even the overhead power lines are being rerun underground so no more wires overhead and all underground giving the backyard a much cleaner appearance. Whats an add bonus is the power lines running underground will not be so effected by strong winds and rain.
