Why don't you post this question over at the Hypertufa forum? Everyone there is crazy about concrete and 'tufa. Maybe someone there can help. Any chance of a photo? 'Pup Here is a link that might be useful: Hypertufa forum

The following may be overkill, but it helped me with our fountain several years ago. I dug it up from the New England forum. If you search that forum under "installing fountains" there are four posts and these were in answer to my desperate questions. Marie clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by carl18 z6 NJ (My Page) on Tue, Jul 7, 09 at 19:53 O.K. Take a deep breath. . .kick the vole out of the way, and let's start over again from the beginning. Years ago, when I tried my first fountain/watefall, I was just as flummoxed as you are now, but eventually I got the hang of it. . .it's really no more complicated than installing a supercharged flush toilet or replacing the mainfold in a '54 T-Bird. . .but I jest, of course. . . Real solutions: we need to know the exact dimensions of your fountain. . . specifically, how deep is the "bowl" on top of the pedastal?. . .and how high is the fountain from the bottom of the pedastal to the top of the fountain? My guess is that the bowl itself isn't deep enough to hold the pump (which MUST be submerged, as everyone has pointed out), and the plastic (or rubber) tube which supplies water to the fountain from the pump must run down the center of the pedastal. Are we guessing right so far? If this IS the case, your only solution is a reservoir SEPARATE from the founain (which is why I prefer larger fountains where the catch-basin is an integral part of the fountain). . .personally, I would find the idea of an adjacent bucket (or reservoir) unappealing; you were actually on to the most logical and efficient solution with your five-gallon-pail. . .you just need to expand and refine that idea. Here's a cheap-and-dirty idea I've used over a dozen times in the past years for simple waterfalls, overflowing birdbathes, or fountains just like yours. You need to create a small pool to act as your water reservoir: my favorite comes from an animal supply source (such as AgWay) and it's a small watering trough for horses or other animal, very tough, 24" round, black vinyl bowl, about 8" deep - an alternate, would be a black vinyl mortar tray (from HD or Lowe's), the kind you mix concrete in, which are about 6" deep and usually rectangular in shape (roughly 24"x30"). Sink this vinyl reservoir into the ground, so it sits FLUSH with the ground level - it helps to dig your hole, tamp the bottom really hard, and fill with water (and let it drain away). . .this helps to keep the much heavier reservoir (filled with water) and the massive concrete fountain from sinking further down once it's installed. O.K. This next step is important. We don't want the reservoir to remain FLUSH with ground level, because dirt and rain run-off would tend to spill into it. So: we pour about an inch of clean sand into our hole-in-the-ground and set the vinyl reservoir on TOP of that. . .now, your black vinyl pool is sitting a perfect 1" (approximately) ABOVE ground level, which is exactly where we want it ! Take a sturdy piece of scrap wood that is STRAIGHT (a 3-foot section of 2x4 is ideal), lay it across the edges of your reservoir in at least three different directions, and with a carpenter's level on top check to see if your pool is completely level. Here's why we used the sand: if it's not quite level, you can tap on the bottom of the reservoir to gently lower one edge - the sand will give just enough to allow this - using your balled fist or a flat brick. Gentlly, now - you don't want to over- compensate ! Once everything is level, backfill with dirt around the vinyl basin (since you obviously had to dig the original hole a bit wider than necessary) and tamp that backfill firmly, being careful NOT to disturb the reservoir - water this backfill well (and gently) until really saturated, and let it all soak in well (maybe an hour or so) before proceeding. Now, we need to support the fountain. Using concrete bricks or patio blocks (HD or Lowes - the perfectly flat, machine-made ones that will stack securely) you create a "piling" in the center of your reservoir on which to stand your pedastal/fountain. Depending on the depth of your reservoir, and/or the thickness of your bricks, you might need only one layer (which would mean the pedastal base would be underwater - that's my preference), or perhaps two. Remember, if you use THREE piles of bricks instead of just the minimally necessary TWO, you'll make the pedastal/fountain steadier, thanks to the tripod effect). Your small little pump can rest on its side anywhere you like around the perimeter of the reservoir, with the power cord snaking up and over the edge and running off to the power source. By placing a small piece of slate (or a flat dark stone) on TOP of your pump, it won't be visible once it's underwater. Stand your pedastal/pump in place, hook up the pump tubes, fill carefully with water, and you should be good to go. Try flipping the switch and see how it works. . .your only job now is to keep the water level in the reservoir, if not full, AT LEAST covering the pump. Finish off the edge of your reservoir/pool with irregular slates around the OUTSIDE edge, resting solely on the ground, but abutting the vinyl pool - since these slates are roughly 1" thick, they are about level with the edge, and a SECOND layer of slates can perfectly jut out over the edge of the pool and disguise it's presence. You could easily substitute stone, bricks, or whatever suits your fancy. . . As for cleaning, I rarely ever need to clean my reservoir/pools (save for the occasional stray leaf or twig) If suicidal voles tend to start hurling themselves into your pool, why, just do what I'm sure Marty will be doing with all the voles in HER new pools - she'll be dipping them in kerosene and having little festive floating votives in her fountains ! Yes, at the end of the season, I siphon all the water out of the pool, remove (and clean off) the pump for indoor winter storage, and then stretch a small, dark brown or black tarp OVER the fountain and all the way to the outside edge of those slates surrounding the pool - in fact, remove that second layer, stretch your tarp and re-apply that second layer of slate to hold the tarp in place. The idea is to keep as much water/snow/wind-blown-debris out of the pool as possible; it not only makes Spring hook-up easier, but there's no freezing/thawing to stress the concrete or vinyl. Hate the tarp? One friend buries hers under a mound of pine boughs; someone else I know built an elaborate minature shed/house which drops in place OVER the whole pool/fountain, complete with little translucent windows that light up ! I told her all she needed was smoke coming out of the chimney - I'll bet she adds it this next winter. . . How long do these vinyl pools last? Well, I can only tell you that one I installed nearly 15 years ago is still going strong. How dense was I about pools/fountains when I started? My major concern was how I was going to extend the water lines from the house, underground some fifty feet to the pool's location - it was quite some time before I realized that pools and fountains require a POWER source, not a water source. . .duh ! Thank heaven I figured that out BEFORE I called a plumber. . . Carl P.S. Any questions? Let 'em rip. . . RE: How to install a fountain....desperately clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by ctlady z5 CT (My Page) on Tue, Jul 7, 09 at 21:09 RE: How to install a fountain....desperately clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by idabean 5A (My Page) on Marie Posted by idabean 5A (My Page) on Tue, Jul 7, 09 at 21:40 RE: How to install a fountain....desperately clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by cloud_9 z6 CT (My Page) on Wed, Jul 8, 09 at 21:21 clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by nhbabs (My Page) on Thu, Jul 9, 09 at 18:43 Idabean - My DH is the one in the family with hands-on practicality, and I have slowly absorbed a tiny amount of his wisdom and experience . . . Get a wet-dry shop vacuum to clean out the bottom of the reservoir, and the extension cords needed to reach as far as the pond if necessary. I have seen pictures of fountains with reservoirs filled with water smoothed pebbles or with a heavy duty screen covered by water smoothed pebbles. I guess you'd need a larger reservoir if you have pebbles filling it, but it's a nice effect. Here's a blog entry on fountains, and the 11th photo has what I'm trying to describe. Michelle may have directions somewhere else in the blog, but I didn't go hunting for that. Here is a link that might be useful: garden fountains - Michelle Derviss' blog

Actually NOLA, tile is easy to do. Thats a good suggestion by tfons. We do stone, not tile, but its the same process. I used to sell tile a few years ago, high end lines. The one inch are easy to bend around a curve, they come on a "mat" that can be cut, so the tile grout lines stay straight. You don't need to pick a "color", just go with a stone look neutral. I know the mastic( glue that holds it on) is very sticky and holds to most anything. And you can add an additive (forget the name) that sticks like a cheap suit, dries in 15 minutes for vertical surfaces. I have actually done tile myself, all on my own, when my hubby was out of town and I was impatient. It was a shower wall, not too hard at all. Tile can go underwater, so why not under dirt? So the grout lines get dirty, so what. Its a planter. You can seal the tile with a good sealer that is water resistant, mostly for the grout but yours wont' show in the planter anyway. Honestly this may be a gorgeous idea and easier than trying to paint - epoxy-overlay-fix - ugly concrete and not pay a fortune. I wish I was closer to N O but I'm in Vegas. I'm always up for a creative challenge. Glass can go underwater too, so you could do a glass tile but they are pricey. We did a glass waterfall wall for a casino a few years ago, it was solid glass but we just used a mastic ( grout for glass) on the whole thing where it attached to the walls/floor and it still is perfect abput hmmmm 6 years later. At least with tile/stone you wont have to do so much surface preparation like with an epoxy/paint/stain as you are covering the cement. I really like this idea, gotta give credit to tfons. hope this helps, Barb

..or on a flea market. They also have cute handmade stuff there sometimes Also: tiles. As in " tile art". If it something that speaks to you. Also: stained glass, mosaics I don't know how it will work with the house though. These are usually vivid, bright. But there are different styles too. Also: there are outdoor mirrors. Can't remember where I saw these..