Outdoor Fire Pit Construction

We just finished this custom outdoor fire pit for our clients in Weaverville NC. 

It sits on a new extension of the backyard patio area with amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

We constructed the pit using local granite and capped it with Bluestone. 

We laid out the structure for the fire pit using concrete cap block. The blocks were mortared to the newly poured concrete slab and wrapped with wire mesh. 

Then we veneered the blocks with local re-claimed granite. 

We left some ventilation holes at the the bottom of the fire pit to allow oxygen to get to the fire. 

We will extend the existing flagstone patio around the new pit. 

We capped the fire pit with cut Bluestone. 

Using a string and a piece of rebat set in the middle of the pit, we were able to create consistent lines as we cut the cap stones. 

The finished fire pit. 

Living Waters Landscaping 

828-301-8017

Www.livingwaterslandscaping.com

Asheville Landscaping: Patio Update

 We finished the brick edging on the patio we are building in Asheville. Also got most of the Pennsylvania cut flagstone laid. 

Check back soon for more pics.  

Living Waters Landscaping 

828-301-8017

Asheville Landscaping: Flagstone patio

We had kind of a slow week with truck maintenance and sourcing the right materials for our clients patio in Asheville. 

Today we got the edging done for the patio. We specialize in dry laid patios like this one will be. However, we will occasionally mortar in the edging of a dry laid patio. This particular project will have a 3 ft brick skirt. With a tumbled Kentucky grey stone in the center. 

The mortared edging for this feature will keep the dry laid brick and stone from eventually migrating outward. It is not always needed to have a mortared edge. A heavy stone edge or a plastic/ metal pre-fab edge would also work. 

However, for this patio we decided that a mortared edge would be the best fit and the longest lasting edge. We tend to over-build our features a bit sometimes. 

We also prepared the base material for the patio as you can see here. We use a 3/4 drain rock for the base with a screed of 3/8 crushed stone for leveling. This is not always a standard practice for ft laid patios. However, we have found it to be superior to the traditional sand and road bond installation. The gravel allows for a stronger and free draining base.
We also attempted to install this large stepper that will be the entry stone in the patio. However, at nearly 5pm on a Friday, we decided to wait for fresh Monday morning energy!
Check back for more updates. 

Living Waters Landscaping 

828-301-8017

#ashevillelandscaping

#flagstonepatios

Asheville Landscaping: Retaining Wall Construction

We have been working on a concrete retaining wall in Asheville, Nc this week. It has been an interesting job due to the site conditions. With the temperatures ranging from 20-70 degrees, each day is very different. We build retaining walls of all sorts in the North Carolina mountains, dry stacked stone, concrete, segmented block walls and boulder walls. But the site conditions can make or break you on any job. Winter work in the mountains will always throw you a curve ball. Being prepared is the key! Prepared with the proper clothing and tools, but also prepared to face the changes on the job due to weather. 

Although this site was rather difficult, due to the fact that the wall was to be built over a culvert pipe, every job site will have its specific difficulties. Learning to foresee these issues is crucial in the development of your landscape business. We found on this job that the creek and the cold weather wasn't the biggest issue. The underground springs in the meadow above the construction site were. The footers for this wall were full of water each day and the soil was falling in. We were constantly fighting erosion. 





We approached the situation with calmness and confidence, knowing we can produce a good product no matter the conditions. So we focused on proper construction techniques, as well as staying safe and dry in such muddy conditions. We might have over built the wall a little, but better safe then sorry.

This retaining wall was built to give our clients access to their property and future home site. Raising the level of the driveway over the culvert pipe, with the construction of the concrete retaining walls, allows them to bring in heavy trucks without compromising the integrity of the pipe. 

The wall will be veneered with natural stone as a finish.

We enjoy the opportunity to build walls in Asheville, especially in the winter when other types of landscaping slows down. So no matter the weather we are thankful for the work.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding retaining walls, stone work, landscaping and, of course, water feature construction in Asheville and the surrounding area. 
We would be happy to answer any questions and we give free local estimates.

Jacob

Living Waters Landscaping

828-301-8017

Asheville Landscaping: Landscape Design

Family Friendly Landscaping

When we are designing a landscape for our clients we always consider the wants and needs of the whole family. We try to design features and gardens that will allow our clients to relax and have a peaceful place for their families. The pondless waterfall, pictured above, was designed for our clients in Asheville, NC as a place for the kids, friends and dogs to gather and enjoy the garden together. This is the first priority in all our design ideas. Allowing a space for community and gathering together.

The pondless waterfall offers a peace of mind for our clients because it is low maintenance and easy to enjoy.

Let us know if you would like a free consultation of your yard, garden or commercial space.

Jacob

Living Waters Landscaping

828-301-8017

Living Waters Landscaping Asheville

Living Waters is now on Twitter!

Stop by and say hi sometime.

https://twitter.com/LivingWaters101

How to Build a Pondless Waterfall

Pondless Waterfall Construction

Here is a quick guide to building a pondless or vanishing waterfall in your backyard or garden area. The Pondless waterfall is a great addition to any landscape design. Simple and low maintenance, yet guaranteed to be the focal point of your garden. 
We will be detailing a Filtrific Vanishing waterfall in this post. 
To read more about the difference between a Filtrific Vanishing Waterfall and the traditional Pondless Waterfall go Here.

As with any waterfall or landscape design, I always recommend doing a drawing or having a professional designer draw out a plan for your project area prior to construction of your water feature. This will allow you to plan for future planting or hardscaping and make sure you are satisfied with the location of the waterfall before construction begins. 

The first step, after you have decided on the right location for your waterfall, (considering things like, the view from your house or seating area, and making sure the water flows from a naturalistic starting point.) would be to size your system. 
Your system size is the total amount of water that will be circulating through the waterfall and any point. 
Using the Filtrific sizing chart is a very useful tool, and will help you figure out how much space you will need to hold the total volume of water in your feature. This is a very important part of the project. You will need approx. 3 times the volume of water, flowing trough the waterfall or stream, in your holding tank or pondless basin. Do not under estimate this step! I have seen many projects gone wrong by not having enough volume of water to run the system.

The Filtrific system has two basic components. The first is the filter box and pump housing. This box will hold your leaf catch baskets, pump, overflow port and automatic fill valve (if you choose to use an auto-fill).
The second component is the expansion tank. This is only needed if your system has a greater volume then the filter box can hold. (See sizing chart).

Once your design, location and system size are set, you are ready for excavation. 
Dig out an area to set your filter box, as well as, a rough excavation for the waterfalls and stream. Give yourself enough room in the waterfall excavation to account for placing boulders and stone. Always make sure your excavation is 'cupped' into your slope to give the feature a natural look. 

Here you can see the installation of the Filtrific filter box as well as the expansion tank. 

Make sure to set you box to the level of your finished grade for it to flow correctly. 

Here is the box installed with the plumbing roughed in. You can see the overflow, pump discharge and auto-fill lines ready to be backfilled.

The best part of the Filtrific system is the fact that you can install the filter box in a remote location away from the bottom of the waterfall. This allows for easy access to the pump and can aide in the overall ascetic view of the feature.

Now that your box is placed and your excavation is roughed in, you can begin the construction of the waterfall. The first step is laying your liner out. Measure your length and width of the excavation area to be sure you have enough liner.

We used a 45 mil EPDM rubber liner with a 9 ounce Geo-textile fabric underlayment for this system.
Be sure there are no rocks or roots under the fabric that may puncture the liner.

Now you can start placing stone. 

Starting at the bottom of the falls, set your stone and boulders on top of the liner, using extra caution not to damage the liner. 

At each step, or fall, make sure you stop and backfill behind the liner to achieve maximum flow of water over the stone. You can use mortar or waterfall foam behind the stone to aid in this process. 


Stone placement is a very artistic endeavor, it can be tedious, but is rather rewarding in the end. 

Work you way up the falls until you reach your desired height.  At the top of the falls you can choose to install a waterfall starter box or just run you pipe from the pump into the stream or falls.

After you are satisfied with the waterfall you can move back down to the bottom of the falls and install the fixed skimmer.
The fixed skimmer allows for a small pool of water to gather at the bottom of the feature while it is running. When the waterfall is turned off, the pool of water drains into the filter box, leaving no standing water in the feature. A real maintenance plus!

Now you are ready to install your pump and get your new waterfall flowing! Trim the edges of exposed liner, leaving approx. 8 inches around the edge to compensate for settling. 

Using the Filtrific system when installing a vanishing or pondless waterfall will make the maintenance on your system much easier then the traditional
pondless waterfall system. Do some research on the different types of waterfall systems, or give us a call for a free consultation.

Thanks for reading this post and enjoy your new Vanishing Waterfall!!

Jacob

Living Waters Landscaping

828-301-8017