Decorative Features 101 Chapter 3
Location, Excavation, Installation
Now that you are familiar with the basic types of decorative features, let’s talk about location. Just like in real estate, location is everything. The right location can minimize maintenance and maximize your enjoyment of the decorative feature. Be careful; it works in reverse. The wrong location can make the decorative feature a nightmare to maintain. You’ll ideally want a site that you can see and hear the feature from. These types of features are a big part of the outdoor living area. They can be placed around your paver patio or built into your deck. They accent landscape beds and walkways equally nicely, so pretty much anywhere you can see and hear them, you can enjoy these features. Avoid installing them in low areas in your landscape as that might allow water to wash in from the outside carrying fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides with it, especially if the feature is adjacent to lawn areas. Even dirt is going to cause trouble, muddying the flow and feeding algae that will grow on your decorative item if there are nutrients in the water. Sunlight can do the same.
Finally, think about visibility. You’ll want to check that the decorative feature enhances the vista from the deck or patio, the living room or kitchen window, or even from a special vantage point in the yard. For the most part a decorative feature is very low maintenance and families love the kid friendly aspects of these features.
MARKOUT - CRITICAL POINT!
While you’re thinking about exactly where you might like a decorative feature, find out exactly where you CAN’T put one. Dial 811 anywhere in the country to contact your local One Call Center, the local markout service that coordinates having your buried utilities marked out, free. It’s not a great idea to cut through the cable or telephone lines, but you must make absolutely certain you won’t be hitting a gas or electric line. Not only could it save you the major cost of a utility repair, it could save your life.
Basin Excavation and Installation
These features are very simple to install. Once you know where you can, and can’t, locate the feature, place your Fountain Basin where you want it, turn it upside down and paint or draw the shape of the basin on the soil. Then dig out what you have marked plus a few extra inches all the way around so you have room to backfill. Excavate down just to the depth of the basin, taking care not to dig too deeply so the basin will rest solidly on undisturbed soil rather than loose fill which might compact unevenly. Carefully level the bottom of the excavation, then install the basin and backfill around it, stepping the soil in to minimize shifting and settling.
Water Matrix Reservoir Excavation and Installation
For Water Matrix Reservoirs, decide on the number of matrices, the size of the Pump Vault you’ll need and a layout. You may wish to dig a narrow reservoir two blocks deep to line up 6 features along a single axis. Maybe you’d like to create a water feature off a corner of a house, so you want an “L” shaped layout. Most often, a shallow long and wide reservoir will work best, either for the greatest surface area to capture the most splash, or to avoid buried debris or a high water table. Once you’ve decided on your layout, excavate the hole 6” deeper, wider and longer than necessary. Level the bottom, place an underlayment of landscape fabric in the hole to protect the liner, then install the liner. Assemble and install the Matrix Blocks over the liner, then pull up the liner and underlayment snugly all the way around the blocks and backfill snugly. The reservoir will end up 6” below grade, leaving room to cover the top with gravel after the decorative features are installed and plumbed.
Now that you are familiar with the basic types of decorative features, let’s talk about location. Just like in real estate, location is everything. The right location can minimize maintenance and maximize your enjoyment of the decorative feature. Be careful; it works in reverse. The wrong location can make the decorative feature a nightmare to maintain. You’ll ideally want a site that you can see and hear the feature from. These types of features are a big part of the outdoor living area. They can be placed around your paver patio or built into your deck. They accent landscape beds and walkways equally nicely, so pretty much anywhere you can see and hear them, you can enjoy these features. Avoid installing them in low areas in your landscape as that might allow water to wash in from the outside carrying fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides with it, especially if the feature is adjacent to lawn areas. Even dirt is going to cause trouble, muddying the flow and feeding algae that will grow on your decorative item if there are nutrients in the water. Sunlight can do the same.
Finally, think about visibility. You’ll want to check that the decorative feature enhances the vista from the deck or patio, the living room or kitchen window, or even from a special vantage point in the yard. For the most part a decorative feature is very low maintenance and families love the kid friendly aspects of these features.
MARKOUT - CRITICAL POINT!
While you’re thinking about exactly where you might like a decorative feature, find out exactly where you CAN’T put one. Dial 811 anywhere in the country to contact your local One Call Center, the local markout service that coordinates having your buried utilities marked out, free. It’s not a great idea to cut through the cable or telephone lines, but you must make absolutely certain you won’t be hitting a gas or electric line. Not only could it save you the major cost of a utility repair, it could save your life.
Basin Excavation and Installation
These features are very simple to install. Once you know where you can, and can’t, locate the feature, place your Fountain Basin where you want it, turn it upside down and paint or draw the shape of the basin on the soil. Then dig out what you have marked plus a few extra inches all the way around so you have room to backfill. Excavate down just to the depth of the basin, taking care not to dig too deeply so the basin will rest solidly on undisturbed soil rather than loose fill which might compact unevenly. Carefully level the bottom of the excavation, then install the basin and backfill around it, stepping the soil in to minimize shifting and settling.
Water Matrix Reservoir Excavation and Installation
For Water Matrix Reservoirs, decide on the number of matrices, the size of the Pump Vault you’ll need and a layout. You may wish to dig a narrow reservoir two blocks deep to line up 6 features along a single axis. Maybe you’d like to create a water feature off a corner of a house, so you want an “L” shaped layout. Most often, a shallow long and wide reservoir will work best, either for the greatest surface area to capture the most splash, or to avoid buried debris or a high water table. Once you’ve decided on your layout, excavate the hole 6” deeper, wider and longer than necessary. Level the bottom, place an underlayment of landscape fabric in the hole to protect the liner, then install the liner. Assemble and install the Matrix Blocks over the liner, then pull up the liner and underlayment snugly all the way around the blocks and backfill snugly. The reservoir will end up 6” below grade, leaving room to cover the top with gravel after the decorative features are installed and plumbed.
