There are many choices in water features to add to your swimming pool and a waterfall is only one of them. In future articles we will cover other types of water features, but for now, let’s talk waterfalls and rock waterfalls!
Do you want to add a water feature such as a waterfall to your swimming pool? If so, there are a few items you may want to consider — that you may never have thought of!
Is It Time To Add A Water Feature?
If you’ve been in a swimming pool that has a waterfall, we will bet you loved the look and feel and the romance of it, right? Having a cascade of fresh water pouring over you is somehow more refreshing than swimming. A waterfall is certainly aesthetically pleasing and will bring a true wow factor to your pool.
If a waterfall water feature is in your plans, there are a few items you will want to talk with your pool contractor about before he begins the project.
Fountain
Along with a waterfall you can have a fountain installed as part of the project. The fountains are sprayers that can shoot water out of the rock waterfall down into the pool, they can criss-cross the fountain or they can spray water from the sides of teh pool toward the other side.
A fountain can enhance a waterfall feature or it can be a stand alone feature that can enhance the waterfall.
Grotto
A grotto is an area behind the cascade of water from the waterfall. Your pool contractor can construct a seating area where you can sit and relax and watch through the veil of water the goings on in the pool.
This is an ideal place to enjoy solitude and listen to the sound of the cascading water. Add lighting and the grotto is the ideal spot for a romantic getaway right in your own back yard.
Lighting
Lighting should be a part of the discussion you have with your pool contractor at the same time you’re having the discussion about the rock waterfall.
The lighting will enhance the aesthetic appeal of the waterfall. The lights shining through the mists of the water add a mystical glow to the pool area. Add LED lighting because they are energy efficient and long lasting.
Hidden lights within your pool tiling or on the pool deck light the area without blinding your guests when they’re enjoying the pool area at night.
Ask your pool contractor to provide lighting ideas and show you photos of innovative lighting.
Natural
Waterfalls give almost any swimming pool a natural feeling. That feeling that you’ve happened upon a secluded beautiful spot in the middle of a jungle, for example. When you have a rock waterfall you have water that cascades over the rocks and into the pool below. The rock waterfall creates an impression of yoru pool being part of a natural formation.
Noise
Everyone loves the sound of a babbling brook or a fountain of water cascading in the background, right? Stop to consider, though that a rock waterfall may be a lot more noise than you were anticipating and it can be quite distracting if you’re not prepared. A loud waterfall, though can be an advantage if you live in an area that is surrounded by “ambient” noise from neighbors or traffic.
Talk with your pool contractor and go to the homes of some of his customers who have rock waterfalls and listen to the sounds of them. Is it relaxing or distracting? The noise of a waterfall can be enhanced or tamped down by the quickness of the water that rushes over, the width of the rock(s) over which it flows and other factors. Understand what you’re getting and what level of water noise you can live with and love.
Is a rock waterfall in your future plans for the family swimming pool?