How To Make A Clay Pot Fountain

A few weekends ago my husband and I made this super easy clay pot fountain. We love water features, and  love the sound of running water in our compact backyard. We also live near a busy street and the sound of water helps to soften the noise. (Watch fountain running; video at the end of this post)

It’s always a nice thing when you can make something out of unused materials that are sitting in your garage

For this project we used old Italian clay pots that we had sitting around in the garage,  just waiting to be put to good use.

It was 5 or 6 years ago that we made our first fountain, and it’s still running.  I first decided I wanted to try and make one after reading an article in a Martha Stewart Magazine http://www.marthastewart.com/269918/pyramidal-pots-water-fountain

I thought the fountain was beautiful, and I had to try and make one. I also, just happened to have, lots of Italian clay pots sitting around that needed a new purpose.

My way of making the fountain is slightly different from Martha’s. The first time I tried to make the clay pot fountain, I followed the directions in the magazine exactly, and used foam sealant per instructions. Unfortunately, I did not have good luck with it. The sealant took way to long to dry, was messy,  and it didn’t seal the hole. I may have done something wrong, I’m not sure.  I didn’t let myself get discouraged by this, I still wanted to make the beautiful fountain I saw in the MS magazine. So, off to the hardware store I went to find a new way to seal the holes in the pots. I was determined, and I wanted to complete my DIY fountain project in one day.

At the hardware store my husband and I found a solution to seal the holes. The solution was Waterproofing Tape. No standing around twiddling our thumbs waiting for foam sealant to dry.

Here is my way of  making a Pyramidal Pots Fountain

Supplies Needed

• You will need 3-4  sturdy clay pots for the pyramid.
We used pots sized from bottom up.
20′, 16″, 12″, & 8″. They need to have a hole in the bottom. And the hole has to be large enough to insert the tubing. I prefer Italian Clay Pots, because they are very sturdy. Note: We live in Southern California so we don’t have to worry about freezing temps.

• 2-4 smaller pots 8-10″ in diameter- To use inside larger pots.
• 4 bricks
• Fountain pump
• 1- roll Waterproofing Repair Tape
• Small Rocks
• Level and Scissors

Let’s Start Building The Fountain

> The first thing you want to do is gather all your supplies so they are handy.

> Pick a spot for your fountain and make sure it’s level. Remember, you will need to have an electrical outlet close, so you can plug in the pump.

> Start with the largest pot, the one that is going to go on the bottom. Make sure   it is clean and dry. This will help you make a good seal with the waterproofing tape.

> Cut a piece of waterproofing tape, peel off backing, and cover the hole in the pot.

> Cut several pieces of tape and crisscross to make a good seal.

> Move the base pot to the location you have chosen. You will build the fountain in place. It’s not advised to move the fountain after it is built.

> Use two bricks on the bottom of the big pot. Cut a piece of pump tubing. Important: make sure tubing is long enough to reach the top of your fountain when it’s finished   (approximately 4 feet). You can cut any excess later, but it won’t be good if the tubing is too short to reach the top.

> Place pump with tubing on top of bricks. Make sure the electrical cord is toward the back of the fountain so it won’t show when you are finished.

> Feed the tubing through a small pot and sit the pot over pump on top of bricks.

> Feed tubing through the next base pot, mine was 16″
> Use some waterproof tape to make a seal around tubing
> Place 2 more bricks and another small pot

> Continue building your fountain in this manner until you get to the top pot. See image below

> Check to make sure the pots are level. Adjust as necessary. Note: If you need to move the fountain use caution to not break the seals or pull out the tubing

> Fill the Pots with water and turn on the pump. Use caution or you might get wet.

> When you see everything is running OK carefully add rocks to the top 2 or 3 pots. Use the rocks to direct the flow of water.

That’s it! You are now done with your Clay Pots Pyramid fountain. It took my husband and I about one-hour to make our fountain.  I hope you make a fountain of your own. I would love to see pictures.

Sit Back, Take a Deep Breath, and Relax for the next 30-sec. as you watch and listen to the running water. WordPress took away the option of adding videos on a free site so you can no longer view it here. Click on the link below to see it on Youtube if you would like to see it running.

View video on Youtube

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have a question or don’t understand the directions, just leave a comment and I will do my best to answer them.

Cheers,

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the pump we use in our fountain. I’ve been asked what kind of pump we used and I didn’t really have an answer until I took the fountain apart for repair. The pump has been going strong for many years without any problems. I hope this helps.