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An edging consisting of pieces of flagstone establishes the perimeter of the patio-fountain-splash pad. The flagstone provides a transition from the exist- ing patio and to the new rock ledge. Romano decided on irregular shapes for the flagstone so that the floor of the new area would have a more interesting and natural appearance. The paving material selected for the patio-fountain-splash pad had to meet a lengthy set of requirements: • permeable to allow water to flow through and back to the rain tank water reservoir below • durable and strong enough for normal foot traffic and patio furniture • non-slip for safety • comfortable under bare feet • flexible in application to conform to the shape of the design with the irregular edges and varied corners Romano selected Porous Pave XLS, a pour-in-place permeable paving ma- terial that is 100 percent recycled rubber chips mixed on site with a liquid binder in a mortar mixer. Before getting started, the Liquid Designz crew put on gloves and coated their tools with vegetable oil to keep the binder and material from sticking. Romano had to figure out how to install the material without it falling through the openings in the rain tanks while it cured. "Based on the training I received from the manufacturer to become a cer- tified installer, I simply put newspaper on top of the rain tanks," said Ro- mano. "It kept the material out of the tanks while it cured, and the newspaper slowly disintegrated." With the permeable paving material establishing a surface meeting all the requirements, Romano had a multi-purpose, hybrid patio-fountain-splash pad. Challenge met with an innovative solution. Above: Forty rain tanks with a total capacity of around 1,300 gallons were installed on top of a 45 mil rubber pond liner that was sandwiched between layers of geotextile fabric. The waterworks included a 5PL submersible pump, a 2-amp pump, and a Snorkel Vault, which serves as a pump housing and part of the filtration system. The perimeter consists of irregular shaped pieces of 1.5"-thick flagstone that provides a transition from the existing patio. Right: To keep the pliant paving material from falling through the openings in the rain tanks while it hardened, Romano put newspaper on top of the tanks. The newspaper then disintegrated over time. Below, Right: Rock bench seating was installed on two sides of the water feature, and one yard of beach gravel was added. July 2016 35 DBM LC