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W Wall fountains are a unique way to show off your creativity, add value to your customer's build, and broaden the scope of your portfolio. A wall fountain consists of a basin and accompanying plumbing and electrical connections set within a CMU or stone wall. A wall fountain may look simple enough to build however, after talking to three professionals, LC/DBM learned there is more to them than meets the eye. Building It For Show V.I.P. Landscape out of Las Vegas is a full service landscape contracting firm and licensed masonry contractor. They built a wall fountain in their Las Vegas showroom to let their clients and com - petitors get a glimpse of their work. The basins for this wall fountain were prefabricated. Units such as this come in a kit with a pump and all essential hardware ready to install. The scuppers used on this build do not need to be adjusted and create the desired sheet flow right out of the box. The system utilized units that have an LED color- changing light rail just below the scupper. "Wall fountains are not for landscape contractors who concentrate on run- of-the-mill plant and flower beds," said Wes Maggard, owner of V.I.P. Landscape. "They require an eye for design as well as considerable technical know-how." This project was more ornate and tech - nically challenging than the average wall fountain. According to the contractor, it is not the typical build an average installer or contractor can undertake. Building It From Experience Horticare Landscape Company out of Lafayette, La., applied their wall fountain building techniques using precise brick - work and clean lines while maximizing the available space. The final product re - sulted in a unique and tranquil backyard destination that has a New Orleans feel. Horticare owner Booke Inzerella de - signed the fountain himself with input from the client. Construction began with a monolithic pour for the basin that would eventually be enclosed using traditional brick and mortar, which was also em - ployed to build the back wall. "The monolithic pour basin and sealer were critical for this project in this cli - mate," said Inzerella. However, before any brick could be laid, the builder installed all of the electrical and plumbing for the pump and back wall scuppers. One of Inzerella's key recom - mendations is to run the system several times to check for problems such as leaks prior to completing the masonry work. "You need to make sure there are no leaks in the plumbing and that everything works right before you brick it all in," he said. "If you haven't done this before it can be a challenge." A monolithic or gunite basin gives the designer and builder more room to adjust 20 LC DBM Continued on page 22 the More Than MEETS EYE Above In order to let their customers see what kind of work they do, licensed landscape and masonry contractor, V.I.P. Landscape, designed and built a wall fountain for their Las Vegas show- room. The contractor uses prefabricated basins and ready to install color changing LED scuppers to facilitate installation and maintenance. by Andrew Soto LC/DBM