Water Blade Installation Guide

1. A wall.

Water blades are usually mounted into a wall which could be made from a variety of materials, for example; wooden sleepers, plywood and batten, bricks or blocks.  The blade is then mounted inside of the wall and usually, the faces of the wall are clad in a material to finish off the wall.  Split slate mosaic tiles are hugely popular as a method of cladding the wall but tiles, render or brick slivers etc are also ideal.  The front lip of the water blade must protrude out of the wall at least 3cm so that the water will fall down clear of the wall face.

2. A Water Blade.

Firstly, decide on the width of blade you would like.  Water Garden offer Water Blades in widths of 30cm, 45cm, 60cm, 90cm, 120cm and 150cm.  We also offer a standard front lip of 6cm or an extended lip of 12cm.  If the wall is being clad with a material less than 3cm thickness, then a standard lip should be fine (as the lip will stick out of the wall by 3cm).  If you prefer to have the lip sticking out further or the blade needs to sit deeper into the wall, the extended lip version may be more useful.

The next point to consider is how high you want the blade mounted above the pool or reservoir.  As a general guide, we suggest lifting the blade no more than 1 metre above the water surface.  It is perfectly fine to lift a bit higher (or indeed lower) but we find that the falling water sheet will start to break up quite dramatically the higher you go, which is not as attractive as a continuous sheet.

Purpose build Reservoir.  This is a plastic tub, usually supplied with a safety grid and pump access hatch.  This can be buried or built around to disguise.  Usually the pump is submersed into the tub, then the grid is covered over with decorative stones.

Hole and Rubber Pond Liner.  You can simply dig a hole then fit a protective underlay and a rubber liner, essentially creating a small pond.  This is easy to do but consideration needs to be taken in order to decorate and disguise the perimeter (black rubber liner does not look particularly attractive).

Concrete and block.  Probably the most adaptable solution is to pour a concrete base, then build up the sides of the reservoir using concrete blocks.  Once built, use a waterproof render to seal the insides and finally use 3 coats of specialist Pond Paint to create a fully waterproof internal pool.  This may involve employing the services of a local builder but the end result will look great.  We suggest passing a 25mm diameter stainless steel pipe through the rear wall of the reservoir so this pokes out 3” or so either side of the reservoir.  The flexible 25mm pond hose can then be connected to the pump, both sides of the steel pipe and water blade and then secured with hose clips.  This keeps the pump connection low down and discreet in the reservoir.

4. Water Pump.

One of the most common mistakes made with water blades is the poor choice of water pump.  If the flow rate is too little, this may result in a veritable dribble coming out of the blade.  Unfortunately, many suppliers simply do not understand pump selection and we are often called to select the correct pump the second time around.!  When you force water through a hose or pipe, you will lose some of the water flow due to ‘frictional loss’ which is resistance caused.  Therefore, pipework needs to be taken into account when selecting the pump.  Also, water flow will reduce as you lift the water uphill, which also needs to be accounted for.

All of our water blades have recommended pumps on their web page which we have carefully calculated to ensure more than sufficient flow to give you exactly the effect you require.  Our hose and fittings kits also include a flow regulator so you can adjust the flow rate to give you the exact effect you want.  Many people prefer a tapered, tranquil sheet of water whilst other like a fuller width, more dramatic display.  We will give you both options from the same pump.

Where possible, we like to select a pump with a side outlet and this keeps the pump and flexible hose discreet and low down in the water.  Pumps such as the PondoMax Eco and AquaMax Eco Classic are ideal and are also very energy efficient.

5. Hose & Fittings Kit.

Our hose & fittings kits include all the required connectors and flexible hose to get you from the submersed pump and up to your water blade.  This also includes a means of adjusting the pump flow rate to give you exactly the right cascade effect.