How to Make a Mosaic Water Fountain
A mosaic water fountain adds dimension and beauty to your landscape. You can easily make one yourself with the right tools and materials. You can find the tiles and ceramic materials for the mosaic at garage sales or your local home improvement store. Your local garden supply store will have fountain pumps and concrete planters. Creating a work of art for your yard or garden can be a simple craft project that you will enjoy for years to come.
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Break your tiles, ceramic plates, glasses or any other material you plan to use in your mosaic inside a plastic bag. Wrap the bag in a towel and gently hit the material with a hammer until the items are broken into pieces. You can purchase mosaic tiles at the home store if you prefer a uniform mosaic. Bits and pieces of plates, mugs, vases and tiles create an interesting mosaic design.
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Apply a small section of thinset inside the bottom of the concrete planter, being careful not to cover the opening for the water drainage. Press your broken tiles, glass and ceramics into the thinset. Cover the inside and outside of the concrete planter with the mosaic pieces, except for the drainage opening. Let the adhesive dry.
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Add grout to the crevices of your mosaic with a grout float. Clean all of the grout from the surface of the mosaic tiles with a wet sponge before the grout dries.
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Cover the fountain pump with a stocking to keep debris from clogging the mechanism. Attach the pump to an edge of a brick with the rubber band to keep it stationary inside the mosaic planter. Attach the plastic tubing that came with the pump and place the pump and the brick inside the planter. Feed the electrical cord of the pump through the drainage opening of your planter. Place plumber's putty around the cord to seal the opening.
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Place a brick on top of the brick with the pump attached. Feed the plastic tubing up through one of the holes in the top brick. Stack as many bricks as you need to reach the top of the water level in your mosaic fountain, feeding the plastic tubing through the holes of each one. Finish so that the end of the plastic tubing will not be under water.
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Fill the mosaic planter with water before turning on the pump. Adjust the pump as necessary for the desired fountain effect.
Resources
Tips
- Dig a small trench for your electrical cord if your planter sits directly on the ground.
Warnings
- Stand away from the fountain when you first turn on the pump.
Writer Bio
Katherine Kally is a freelance writer specializing in eco-friendly home-improvement projects, practical craft ideas and cost-effective decorating solutions. Kally's work has been featured on sites across the Web. She holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of South Carolina and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Photo Credits
- www.sxc.hu
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