Monday, June 19, 2017

Our Farmhouse Chic Fountain

I'm thrilled to be partnering with smartpond® for this farmhouse style fountain. 
Their pond and water feature products are created exclusively for Lowes. 
This is a sponsored post. We've been provided the pump, tubing, and we've been compensated for our time and the supplies. 
This was a project that Bill and I had fun doing together.


When were asked to do this, we immediately wanted a stock tank as the basin for our fountain.
One of our favorite restaurants in Ft. Worth is in an old gas station.
Stock tanks full of greenery line the old concrete driveway.
We have been wanting to incorporate one of these tanks into our yard for a few years. 


This area of the yard has had me stumped. 
I've always wanted a border of flowers but the roots of our old trees are so near to the surface of the grass, nothing will grow.
Our new fountain adds urban, farmhouse chic to our front lawn and it coordinates with our stock tank pool in the back
It looks so cute in front of our split rail fence.
This fountain was easy to put together.


The sheep stock tank was for sale around the corner at the feed store. 
They loaded it in the truck for me but it was easy to maneuver by myself when I got home. 
I just rolled it from the truck to the split rail fence.



Bill made a stand out of some cedar. 


He put his H.S. Geometry skills to use as he came up with the perfect angle for our X shaped stand.
You could put the tank on the ground or make a simple stand out of bricks or rocks. 


I used some paint remover and Goo Gone to strip off the painted logo and some stickers. 
Once those things were finished, we made sure that the tank was level. 


When I saw this antique pump, I knew it would be a perfect centerpiece for our project. 
I was immediately filled with nostalgia because I used to play with one at my grandparent's lake house. 
 I'm crushing on the green paint!


I bought it and brought it home.
If you can snake plastic tubing through an object, it can be the focal point of a water feature. 
I didn't realize that this old thing had a metal stopper or plunger that was in the way of where the tubing would be threaded.  


I had a moment of panic because I was determined to use it. 
I unscrewed the bolt that was holding the connecting rod to the pump handle. 
We put the rod in the vise. The plunger was at the other end of the rod. 


The Sawzall cuts metal so we used it to cut through the cage around the plunger. 




Then we cut off the plunger (the metal thing in the center of the cage.)
My goal was to keep this as original as possible so we were thrilled that this worked.


Once we removed the plunger, we put the connecting rod back into the pump.
We were able to thread the tubing through the center of the pump and out of the spout.




We bolted it to an old metal milk crate to elevate it to the height it needed to be.
We are both old enough to remember the milk man so this was a fun piece to add to our fountain.



Once the old pump was secure, we attached the new pump to the other end of the tubing. 
We trimmed the tubing to fit and set the pumps and milk crate in the stock tank. 
We filled the stock tank, plugged in our pump and we were good to go. 


We noticed the water slowing a little. 
I realized that the pump had too much of an area of water to draw from. 
 I put an open plastic shoe box under the milk crate. 
I put the new pump inside and it fixed the problem. 


It circulates 100-170 gallons per hour and it has a three year limited warranty.



I love that it has a low water shut off.
 Our old pump was not and our bird bath ran out of water several times.
Please follow all the safety instructions that come with the pump. 



This frog would be a cute focal point for a fountain. 


The flowers and lumber came from Lowes. 

Antique pump as water feature

I love hearing the water when I come out of the house.
The gentle gurgling makes the Texas heat feel cooler. 






It's so darling!


If you would like to win a pump from smartpond, leave me a comment below.
I need your email address if you are not a blogger.
A winner will be chosen on June 26th.
Good luck!
Thank you to smartpond® for giving us this opportunity.
Thanks to Stacey @ Poofing the Pillows for recommending us for this project.
We love it.  
Katie 

22 comments :

  1. This looks amazing! I love the way the fountain is all incorporated in your landscape. Great idea!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your stock tank fountain, Katie! We have one of those old pumps mounted on a post in a flower bed, but nothing comes out of it! So glad you included how to remove the plunger in order to thread the tubing inside. (I'm old enough to remember a milkman but our milkman was a cow!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice project. I remember using the old pumps as a kid. They are remarkably easy to use. Sometimes the pump would lose its prime so a jug of water would always be left next to the pump. You will never have that problem with your old pump.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Definitely the best farmhouse design I've seen. Tanks are so indispensable on the farm.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Quite a project, Katie! But it looks so darned cute and just perfect as a farmhouse fountain!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love this water feature. It's perfect for my yard, too, but I think I need to have a little smaller tank. But, you have me excited on keeping my eyes open for the "perfect" spillway... I don't think I could manage the hand pump changes needed. Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Katie,
    Love that Bill used his HS Geometry! There is something very soothing about bubbling water in a fountain. Your pump is perfect for the tank.

    Judith

    ReplyDelete
  8. Now if that's not the cutest fountain, Katie! I love that you found the antique pump and made it work. I agree that gurgling water does help our Texas heat feel a little cooler. You and your hubby did a great job!

    ReplyDelete
  9. How charming! I've noticed how popular stock tanks have become lately. Yours looks great as part of your landscaping. I bet it sounds so soothing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Katie, This is so beautiful and such a nice focal point in your garden. You and your hubby did a wonderful job and the flowers setting around the stock tank look so nice. I love the sound of the water in a fountain too. My hubby found an old pump years ago and made one of these using a wash tube. We had to change it out later due to upgrades near our pool and replaced it with another fountain but we loved that one for a long time!!
    Thanks for sharing!! Happy Summer!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. How clever of you! My grandparents had a stock tank and a pump on their farm but they weren't used together as a fountain. I love this!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a good idea! I have an old pump I picked up at a garage sale. I might just have to try this!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a great fountain! I love what you did with the stock tank and the old green pump handle. I've been thinking about making our old claw foot tub into a fountain and have been wondering about pump, etc. Who knows, maybe I'll be your winner. That would be neat. If not, I'll have to make a trip to my local Lowe's which is out west of town.

    Enjoy your fountain. The trickling water sound is so soothing and cooling.

    Happy Summer ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've use a tiny pump I had in an old interior fountain, in my bird bath. I'm on the lookout for a better way to do it, but the bubbling water has a peaceful sound. Love your project!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love your fountain! Do you worry about snakes getting under your tank since it is raised off the ground? (I think I'm over-anxious about that!)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love your fountain! Reminds me of our old pump at the farm.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love that you used the old fashioned water pump! There used to be one of these that sat in front of my grandma's house!
    maryw1981 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very good written article. It will be supportive to anyone who utilizes it, including me. Keep doing what you are doing – can’r wait to read more posts. CageHeaven guinea pig cages

    ReplyDelete
  19. This type of pump is installed at the bottom part of the tank, specifically under the gravel. water pumps by Danner Aquarium protein skimmers are one of the most important devices you can use to maintain water quality in a saltwater aquarium.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nowadays, you will likewise discover the drinking fountains as a piece of the inside style moreover. wall fountains

    ReplyDelete
  21. In any case, wall water fountains have moved into private homes also, and retailers have grasped the chance to showcase these to purchasers looking for the loosening up hints of falling water in their very own homes. wall fountains

    ReplyDelete