Landscape Architect:

Bill Moore Licensed NJ Landscape Architect

Infield Designer:

Chris Cipriano

Pool, Waterfalls, Landscaping & Masonry Design/Construction:

Cipriano Custom Swimming Pools & Landscaping.

Solution:

A natural landscape filled with large stone waterfalls flowing into the swimming pool, accent planting and living boulders to create an Adirondack style backyard.

POOL WATERFALLS DESIGN & LANDSCAPING -MAHWAH NJ

Our prospect reached out to us because he saw our work and was hoping we could address some concerns he had with his existing swimming pool and landscaping. He told us he had purchased the home with the swimming pool, but the pool had some operating and cosmetic issues; he also felt the swimming pool was too close to the home. In addition to the swimming pool concerns, there were considerable erosion and landscape issues, which also needed to be addressed.

Natural Style Waterfalls in Swimming Pool Design with Custom Features:

  • Mammoth swimming pool with over 1200 square feet of swimming area
  • Sun shelf garnished with hand crafted iridescent glass tile
  • Fiber optic pool lighting built into large natural boulder waterfalls
  • Color LED pool lights.
  • Hand-crafted iridescent glass tile set into trim of swimming pool and spa
  • 250 tons of boulders used to build a natural setting waterfall towering over the swimming pool

Natural Landscape and Stone Masonry Features:

  • Custom Volcanic Fire Pitâ„¢ offered exclusively from Cipriano Landscape Design
  • Natural TCO patio
  • Large boulders set for swimming pool waterfalls and blended into the landscape design
  • Custom outdoor kitchen with built-in grill, granite veneer, and stone corbels
  • Lush gardens with colorful plants surround the swimming pool area deep into the woods to add layering and depth to the landscaping
  • Engineered rain garden and bio swale for storm water management

We worked out our new swimming pool and landscape design and within a matter of weeks. Demolition of the old swimming pool was swift and efficient. The old swimming pool was six hundred and fifty square set as a raised design at twenty inches higher than the adjacent patio. When we ripped out the old pool debris and saw the old gunite swimming pool was shot on top of the exposed ledge rock, we realized why the unusual pool elevation was set the way it was. It was time to bring in the rock hammer. “No problem, happens from time to time” is what we told our client. We didn’t bargain for the private road entry-bridge to the development, which was exactly the weight of the machine & hammer, without the truck and trailer! Also, the bridge clearance was exactly four inches wider then the distance of the tracks. We drove the machine across the bridge, over plywood, with men on either side to verify clearance. Needless to say, we, the owners, and the adjacent property owners were all relieved when the hammering was behind us.

Weathered Sandstone boulders were selected for the swimming pool waterfalls and surrounding landscape. Boulders were carefully strapped and set into place so as not to damage the moss, ferns and lichen present on the stone. Three separate waterfalls were constructed on the swimming pool ledge to create varied effects with water and sound. The largest waterfall is fed by a small stream of cascading boulders, all set within an extended pool shell. Over two hundred and fifty tons of stone were used to create the swimming pool waterfalls and transitional planted boulder landscape slopes. Three 5 hp pumps utilizing six-inch lines were installed to push the 1200 gallons of water over the stone waterfalls. All of the boulders were set within an engineered, steel reinforced gunite pool shell, which doubled as a retaining wall holding back the adjacent slope.

Finishes and details were not overlooked in the process of building this large swimming pool and waterfalls. A one-inch by two-inch running bond tile mosaic of slate and iridescent glass tiles was installed at the pool waterline and step and shelf banding. Grey Tennessee Crab Orchard was installed as the pool coping and patio, with irregular pieces as large as three foot by four foot. Color changing lights were installed in the swimming pool: two in the pool, one at the Sunshelf and one in the spa. Fiber optic spot lights were also installed in and around the waterfalls to create shadows, depth and accents on the stone. An exposed aggregate plaster was installed in the swimming pool to create a sparkle in the water. The icing on the cake was the Volcanic Fire Pit installed between the main waterfall and the oversized spa. Natural gas powered flames rise from a bed of crushed glass and light up the cave created within the natural boulders.

Landscaping and planting work was the last element to finishing this pool project. A mature maple and hornbeam tree were transplanted from on site to create the feeling of the woodland forest coming up to the edge of the mountain pond. Extensive drainage was required on the site. A bio swale with plants and native rock carries the runoff down to a rain garden. A rain garden is a shallow depression in the landscape with well draining soils and vegetation to catch water and filter it back down to the ground water. Our rain garden design was approved by the Mahwah building department to replace conventional seepage pits. Lastly, summer flowering plants created a softer edge to the large quantities of stone on the project.

Through all the adversities, selections, and sheer magnitude of constructing the swimming pool and landscaping, the homeowner was left with a beautiful and soundly built project. We also had a lot of fun building it!

POOL WATERFALLS CONCEPT PRESENTATION VIDEO