How to Build a Brick Fountain

A brick water fountain has a clean, crisp appearance that adds beauty to your outdoor living space. The variety of water features, such as fountain heads and statues, can be interchanged as often as you like, making this design easy to adjust to changing styles and tastes.

Things You'll Need

• Fountain head or statue Tubing Pressure-treated plywood Fountain pump Bricks Pond liner and padding Chemical algaecide

Instructions

1. Prepare the space where you are going to build the pond for your fountain. You will want the surface to be clean and level. Mark off the area that will be the base of your fountain. Wood decks may need more support for the weight, so you will want to use a layer of pressure-treated plywood 3/4 to 1 inch thick cut to the shape of your fountain base.

2. Lay several layers of bricks along your outlined space to make the exterior walls. Do not lay the bricks directly in line with the ones below them, but rather stagger each layer by positioning the bricks in an offset pattern. This will give the structure better support. You can make the pond for your fountain as deep as you like, but use at least three layers of brick.

3. Position the padding that goes beneath the pond liner inside the basin. Then lay the pond liner over it so that it snuggly lines the bottom and insides of the brick walls. Leave the excess overhang on the top of the brick wall for now.

4. Add another layer of bricks on the inside of the basin so the liner is securely sandwiched between the inner and outer wall of bricks. The inside wall and outside wall should be the same height at this point.

5. Cut off the excess pond liner still protruding from the top. Place a final row of bricks crosswise over the inner and outer wall of bricks to give it a more professional-looking finish.

6. Build a pedestal of bricks inside the pond in the position and to the height you desire for your water feature. Position the fountain head or statue on top of the pedestal. Place the submersible fountain pump behind the pedestal where it will be less visible. Attach the tubing from the pump to the water feature. For safety, plug the pump into an outlet with a ground fault circuit interrupter.

7. Wipe or rinse any brick dust from the inside of the pond so that it is as clean as possible. Add water and chemical algaecide, following the directions on the bottle.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are going to be adding fish or plants to the pond, be sure to get pond cleaner that is safe for them. Consult your pet store about any water treatment your pets may require.